Around the 'Shoe

Think about how many kids are on any D1 football roster. Many of them regardless of the program will never see real action. They could be great players but someone on the team might simply be better. That doesn't mean you pull their scholly. If we did that we are no different than the corrupt teams in the SEC that over-sign every year. If we expect the players to be loyal to the university we need to show loyalty to them.

Two things are wrong with your reasoning. First, these recruits committed to tOSU while a dark cloud of uncertainty was hanging over the program. Dump them now in fair weather and the karma spirit will exact its revenge. If you're wondering from a CEO's perspective: coming from a business background, you never want to upset your suppliers. If Urban Meyer revokes the scholarship offers of so-called "deadweight" verbal commits, high school coaches will remember and Meyer's recruiting will become exponentially more difficult.

In sports, like in business, relationships are EVERYTHING. Meyer is a smart man so I'm sure he realizes this as well.

I agree with the OP. Don't confuse this with oversigning. Oversigning is signing more players on signing day than you know you have available. As long as you inform the player at the end of the season or by January that he has not met expectations then that gives that player the winter break and/or the spring to look for other schools to go to. It's when you yank out his feet in June and July and tell him to get outta here is when you have the oversigning issue.

And the OP was not referring to the current verbal commitment on the team. I agree that this is a special circumstance in which you can't turn them down now. Now if this was any normal coaching change, then Meyer would have full discretion to mix it up as he pleases. This happens ALL THE TIME when a new coach comes to town. It's not the school's recruits, it's his recruits. He's got a job to keep and excel at. No point using the old boss equipment and machinery if you can get your own, more functional equipment and resources.

The academic scholarship analogy fits perfectly here. If you don't perform, then your spot gets taken away from you.
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the guys that i listed were not brought in during a "dark" moment. even if they did, that was up to them coming in. either way, thanks for your input. I see where you're coming from with regards to the relationships with high school coaches.

But it's ok for these kids to leave early for the NFL....this is big boy football...not UNICEF

thank you for actually reading all of my post. This is what i was really talking about. of course, no one else discussed the academic scholarship analogy. Speaking of relationships...if I was the CEO of a company i would like everyone to know that i employ the best, not just people who want to be here. Every year, finding 25 kids to play for OSU is the easy part. Getting the really good ones to come is the hard part.

remember this....if we would do something like that and pull a scholarship from a kid who we already offered under Tressel, the high school coaches of these kids would be pissed. No quicker way to hurt your recruting in state than to piss off the high school coaches in Ohio. With urban here there is no need to piss off the local coaches and battle for Ohio kids.

NCAA Admin. Rule 17.11 says FBS teams are limited to 105 scholarship players. So even when you deduct for redshirts, injuries, walk-ons, and specialists (kickers, punters, long snappers and holders), you're still looking at a active roster that's almost 4-deep at every position. It's mathematically improbable to think that when you're turning your roster over every 4-5 years, all those kids are going to play. Some are going to quit/transfer/flunk out/get dismissed, some won't be able to play because of injuries, some will just not pan out. I can't find a source but I want to say you're allowed to suit 85 for home games. The B1G allows 70 for road games so assume 20 of the 105 are redshirts and another 15 of the 85 who get to dress for home games don't travel to away games. Assuming your travel squad contains your best/most indispensable players, that means you need about 65 guys, including the specialists. That's 3-deep at best at most positions, with some parts interchangeable, i.e., a back-up FLK can also play WR or a back-up OT can also play OG. 3 QBs + 15 OLs + 6 WRs + 3 TEs + 2 FBs + 3 RBs + 12 DLs + 9 LBs + 12 DBs = 65. Add your specialists and you're at 70.

You don't want 1st and 2nd stringers running the opposing team's offense, defense and special teams in practice. But as some point, you have to acknowledge you're recruiting for a) depth, b) development (e.g., Tyrann Mathieu, who was a 2-star prospect), but also c) the scout team. You need practice players. Here's another way of looking at it: start with a minimum of 44 1st and 2nd stringers who have to be able to compete every down, plus ideally, another 22 3rd stringers. That's 66. Add your specialists and redshirts back in and that means you have 10-15 scholarships leftover for guys you really don't need, like Adam Griffin, but for one reason or another, want (he's a legacy if there ever was one!), a long shot you want to take a chance on, or for walk-ons who have worked hard and earned a scholarship for their senior year.

There's a noble way to do this, a way to look out for the best interest of a kid and the program. If a kid isn't going to get playing time here, Taylor Graham, you can sit him down and tell him this man to man. Offer your help to him, help him find a school at a lower lever or like a MAC school that would be more then willing to give him a scholly. That way you free up a scholly but the kid doesn't have it yanked from him. As a coach you can develop good relationships with other coaches and write the player like Graham something equivalant to a letter of recognition. Must do this as a poster said as early as possible in Jan. You aren't pushing him out but you are being open and honest. Tell him you appreciate all his hard work and it doesn't make him a bad person, it's just not working out here. Sit down with his family if you have to or call them, just be a man up front. Tell him that you hope he still loves the university,.. So there's a way to handle it with tact. Also, as for the OP some of those guys you mentioned are going to get medical hardship scholly's. They will have their 4 years paid for but it will free up a football scholly. There's just ways to help the individual and the school.

If you offered a scolly , you shouldn't pull it away unless the kid fails in the classroom or on the field. Let me explain , by failing I don't mean not starting. Some of these " benchwarmers" or towel holders know they won't see the field.. Ever. So what do they do , regress. They are a worse player when they leave than when they came in. This hurts the team because interposition competition declines . But when they are replaced by someone who is hungry competition levels go up and so does the level of play . Scolly should be earned on the field the same as it must be in the classroom. If you fellow bucknuts don't think this team has some serious ass draggers on it you are fooling yourself.

^^^ I am not saying be sec like. I am saying it is a job and it should be earned. It shouldnt be just a great seat in the shoe is you guys get what I am saying

+1 I have to agree with you there. What is the benefit having some kid on the bench when he knows he has absolutely no chance playing in the game unless it is against Akron or some other bad MAC school. You would think these kids would want to play elsewhere at a smaller school or some other Big Ten school like an Indiana or Minnesota and get playing time in the game. This is the exact reason why it is going to take two to three years to get to the national championship game under this new coach. People get let go all the time for redundancy and having unproductive kids on the field is a weakness for the most part. Right now, Meyer is going to have to live with Fickell's recruiting mistakes. Urban is going to need to coach up these kids and make them better players. I think these kids are around just to increase Ohio State's APR and nothing else. They get their degree and OSU gets the NCAA off their back about a low APR score.
Players can rescind offers from NCAA schools, is it easy for a coach to rescind an offer to a player since there is no scholarship just a committment.