The Best Damn Recruiting Board

I will time about to expire so no need to fret...anyways got a question seriously why you so critical of the Zaire kid anyways? Really what is you beef with him?

Ok I read what you said and here's why I disagree. first that stats you quote are not the entire picture the numbers are low because or dropp passes. If you watched the games and I have seen everyone of them and reviewed the films he cant be held accountable for dropped passing especially when they are in the hands. Although some passes where thrown overhead or under the % of those dropped where something like 55%, which would account for the over all completion numbers to be low. remember this is a run first team thats the philosophy of the coach. so the wideouts and Qb are not getting the reps they need for timing purpose. I dont by the competition argument becuase Alter plays some prettygood teams and most are well coached. Remember you are placed in divisions based on your boy enrollment not on how tough you are because there are some horrible D1 teams that would not play schools like Alter or Kenton which is D4 because they would get beat. So you cannot help who you play you just go out there and compete and win the games. He does that. What makes this kid so special is that he wills his way to win. He exstends plays and he has he team believing in him. These are the things that makes a quarterback. These are the intangiables that you often here coaches and experts talk about. Having atheletism(sp) is a plus but having the will is even better. Troy Smith was not only a gifted player he aalso had the will to win and thats why he was so good his senior year. I think what hurt him at the next level is that he stop working he stop trying to improve his game and he didnt develop his entire game. I beleive if he commits himself to that he could get another shot at the next level.

Back to Zaire I have read on many blogs and different articles that he he could play reciever and defensive back because he a "good" athelete and that he is too short and blah blah blah. We have you follwed his spring off season. He is blowing it up by showing off his skill set. Folks from across the country are loving this kid ability and potential. He has either come in first or second against the big boys who have had private coaches and a like. he did with with hard work and getting better. His arm strength and accuracy has improved and his footwork is tremendose. He was selected to the eleite11 camp in cali for next month. Most folks at that regional felt he should of won the columbus regional(won by that kid morris who is going to the school up north) by was invited by the program because they loved his skills set and his competivness. No other Qb from ohio even place in the top 20. Zaire was the number 2 out of 80 Qb's who came from all over the country. some where the so call superstars and he outshined them all. so now he will compete against the top 23 in Cali to see who is the best in the US. Not bad for a kid with little to no Qb coaching.

As for Notre Dame I beleive he chose the school for its rich academic tradition first and also because he believes he can go there to compete and win the job. That simple! Not worried about Reese he throws to many interceptions and now gets into stupid trouble, hedricks to slow and has no confidence golson(the best of the lot) doesnt communicate well with the sideline and kiel waaaaay overated and cant adjust to the fast pace of the offense and what I heard is not that bright to pick up the offense. So he or Golson will transfer.
Well enough said whats next....

Ok I hear you but again dont by it. Again you still didnt address the intangables of what makes a good to great QB. If youlook at the coaches history at this school and that is run first second and anytime so as any good solider would do the Qb listens to the coach. The team actually overachieved as no one expected them to go undefeated and yet that group "willed" their way to victories 10 and 0 is a hell of a thang when you considered what they had to work with. So I am proud of what they did. Now back to Zaire, Dropped balls are dropped balls and although the Qb takes the blame for them (fair or not) thats part of the game, but to be blamed or looked at as not being a very good Qb is foolish becuase at the end of the game they won them despite the dropped balls. New England didnt as a result of Wes drops. If this kid Zaire played in an offense that threw the ball as many times as say trubuski he would have as many or more yards than him, but he doesnt so he works with the system he has. Trust me on this he will be much better in this coming season and going forward because he gets it.

I never use his school as an excuse for not putting up good numbers you did. Again you failed to realize the philosophy of the program that he works with run first second and then maybe pass. There is no sufisticated(sp) passing game there or the kind of recievers there that is going to get you those inflated numbers(see kenton's maulk boys) and thats no knock on what he has but if you are looking at big passing numbers your never going to get it until the staff lets him loose. I again I ask you have you seen all of his games and notice the big plays that he has made to keep the drives alive and scored some points? Probably not but yet you can come on the site and try and create this picture that this kid isnt good enough to play Qb at the next level and I I guess thats what cooks my grits because you only go my stats that dont tell the entire picture. Honestly Iowa did you think all of those BCS schools who offered and the 8 who didnt after he committed are wrong about his abilitiy to take his game to the next level? I dont think so This kid continues to show up at each venue and prove the critics wrong. What Qb's in his class has the offers he has? From any of the divisions? None and remember he comes from little ole tiny division three schools that dont produce very much huh? I know of at least 8 schools in the division that has produce some big time talent.

Please if you will tell me what makes a great high school Qb?

First of all I am not Zaire and secondly its not getting ugly I just want iowa to answer the question without throwing out useless facts that mean nothing.

I have a nephew who plays for a MAC school. His father played for OSU, was a captain as a senior. When he was a sophomore, he was getting looks from OSU, Illinois (Zook was his dad's position coach at OSU) and other B1G schools. Pretty heady stuff. But by the time he'd finished his junior year, he realized he wasn't BCS material. That was hard for him; it was a downer for all of us who'd watched him grow up and looked forward to the day he'd wear the scarlet and gray. If anyone had a right to be a homer, it's a family member but we took off our colored glasses and accepted it. We didn't carry on like we knew about how to evaluate a kid better than the coaches who were all passing on giving him a scholarship, which included another brother-in-law who's an AC at another midwestern BCS school. My nephew accepted it, we accepted it, he has practiced and worked hard, started as a RS FR and now enters his senior year as a three-year starter. In other words, we put aside our personal bias, something you're clearly incapable of doing.

All you've offered is your personal opinion because a) you're obviously an Alter fan, and b) you clearly don't know that much about football. You obviously can't be a objective, whereas I can. I don't have an axe to grind with Zaire the way you're the president of his fan club. I'm just not that impressed. And that's the difference. I've offered analysis, then relied on statistics to refute the tepid points you've made which, aside from being poorly articulated, are based almost solely on your subjectivity. Because you're his #1 jock carrier, your opinion's just any more credible to me than members of my own family who were convinced my nephew was better than he really was but had nothing to base that on than their own feelings and prejudices. I get that you want what's best for him; believe it or not, I do, too. I don't like to see anyone fail. And hopefully he won't; I just don't see him being successful playing QB.

So let's see how he does this year playing a slightly tougher schedule since it includes Guerin Catholic out of Indianapolis, which has a pretty fair QB of its own (3,000 yards TO) and lost in the Indiana state semi's; Fenwick, which now has QB Ricky Davis, who transferred from Moeller; and Chaminade-Julienne, which will have Darrien Howard zeroed in on him. Still, adding Guerin's not a huge upgrade from last year. Alter still has 2-8 Fairmont, 5-6 Napolean, 2-7 Purcell-Marian, 2-8 McNick, 4-6 Carroll, and 4-6 Bacon on the schedule. That's a combined 19-41. Wow. Really tough rows to hoe there.

Similar sentiments used to describe Zaire's development also were uttered in the case of Tim Tebow's development in the NFL. How many would feel comfortable with Tebow leading your NFL offense full-time?

That's not to compare Zaire with Tebow -- has not earned it yet -- but to highlight to the folly of reading too much into offseason workouts and practice performance.

1crazyknight,

I would agree if you merely stated that Iowa's facts and statistics don't tell the whole story; however, they are very relevant to this virtual diatribe. I'm sure we'd all agree that the quality of opponents is a key determinant in individual and team performance -- i.e. on average, good teams and players perform better against inferior teams than against their equals.

Further, to reiterate I have not seen Zaire play a single down on tape or otherwise, and without watching every game, though, I couldn't be sure. Still, it seems rather extraordinary that over half his incompletions were attributable to drops. I can't imagine the receivers consistently performed that poorly given the record alter's hc has amassed -- unless the competition was so bad that the drops had little impact on the final outcomes.

I'm sorry you don't get it but that's your problem, not mine. And yet I feel like I'm bouncing a ball against the wall because you refuse to just come out and admit you're his biggest fan and that your personal prejudice may be clouding your ability to be objective.

I have given you my honest, unbiased opinion. I have said I don't have anything against Zaire. I'd like to see him do well but I'm also personally not impressed. I've said from the beginning that I'd defer to Urban as a better judge of talent but from the sound of it, he and I are closer to being on the same page than you and he are. Virtually 100% of your posts are about this kid--and not just as 1crazyknight but under that other screen name you had before this one--which makes you a homer of the worst kind, claiming you know so much about football but only posting about Zaire...if you know so much, which I also doubt, why aren't you sharing your high football IQ and acumen with us on other salient topics that have nothing to do with Zaire? I'll tell you why: you're here as a Zaire fan first, foremost, and always, not as a Buckeye fan. And that's why you need to be on the ND board where I'm assuming they're all getting high taking big whiffs of Zaire's jock, too.

BTW, no one said anything about Mauk or O'Connor last year because neither of them was recruited by OSU. Why should we waste time discussing kids who don't matter to us? O'Connor we one day might if he's ever integral to an OSU v. MSU discussion. If you want to talk about those guys, you should go to Missouri's or Michigan State's boards where I assume those kids' qualifications are hot topics, unlike here where they're not even on the list of the top 1000 things Buckeye fans might discuss.

You are clearly Zaire's biggest fan on 247. Good for you for supporting a local kid. I've called you out on that numerous times and every time you've dodged the issue and tried to shift the burden of proof on me, as if you being a homer is irrelevant to the discussion but somehow I'm being unfair to him by being objective. I'm just being honest, pal, calling 'em as I see 'em, while you're acting more like a politician evading a question about how he happened to award a big government contract to a vendor without disclosing the vendor's his brother and would personally profit from the contract. Do you see how that kind of favoritism stinks? (I'm guessing not.)

What makes a good QB to me? 1) Leadership, particularly staying calm and keeping a cool head when the pressure's on or he's under fire. 2) Decision-making and game management. 3) Talent, specifically when he's throwing the ball (mechanics). 4) Intangibles--heart/desire, competitiveness, accountability, "coachability," being a great teammate. 5) Measurables--speed, height, strength, durability. 6) Winning, which he can't do on his own but as they say, the only people in football who get credit or blame for wins and losses are head coaches and quarterbacks. There isn't a kid on a HS roster who has more to do with his team winning or losing than the QB.

You'll say he's got all those in spades and maybe he does but as his #1 jock sniffer, I'd expect you to say that. I, for one, have yet to see much evidence of any of it, other than a 10-1 record against inferior competition. And despite you claiming Alter plays great teams, the evidence proves otherwise.--out of 11 opponents last year, only four had winning records and only three made the playoffs, and one of them had a 5-5 record. That's not quoting stats, that's stating a fact. And shame on you for throwing his receivers under the bus by claiming his 43% competition rate is their fault.

So now that I've answered your question, I would like you to tell me something: how is it you can tell me "states" aren't indicative of Zaire's talent when you posted them on the Nebraska board as a way of trying to impress their fans, particularly since you inflated his passing stats, claiming he had 1,000 yards when it was actually 729 (see attached link)? In other words and contrary to what you've said, you must think "states" matter or why did you mention them on the Nebraska board? Sounds to me like you talk out of both sides of your mouth, conveniently saying whatever serves your purposes best.

As I said, let's see what he does his senior year. Otherwise, I'm done talking about Malik Zaire. He's decided he's going to Notre Dame, which puts him in the same category as Mauk and O'Connor, which is that none of them are relevant topics for Ohio State fans and not worthy of further discussion.

I have tried hard not to make this personal. I have refrained from attacking you but since you've chosen to start the name calling, I have to say you may be the biggest idiot I've encountered on this board, and that includes scUM and PSU trolls. And that's not even taking issue with the obvious fact you're an uneducated, semi-illiterate redneck moron who can't spell or punctuate.

I answered your question, now before you go, please return the courtesy in kind and answer mine: if "stupid stats" don't matter, why did you post Zaire's on the Husker board? Do you not understand that's why you aren't credible, why you have no integrity? You call people out, demand a response and then when you're confronted with a question, you pretend like you didn't hear it. And then you use inspirational quotes that others have come up with because you lack the intelligence or life experiences to be able to say the same thing in your own words. I'll bet you don't even know who that quote's attributed to. It's probably something you saw on a poster once.

But consider the question rhetorical because I already know the answer: you're a homer and a hypocrite who talks out of both sides of his mouth. Good luck to you...loser.

Why stats matter is simple. I understand some teams run more than others, while the competition really matters. When you say half of his incompletions are due to WR drops, well what about the other half? What corners/safties does he throw against? This is where competition matters. When you are throwing against better competition, well the WR's are not generally open as often and more passes are defended, causing an even higher incompletion ratio. So to say Iowa is writing half of the story....what about you? Are you really giving all the details? No.

It is really difficult to rate any player when they come from D III, camps help but this is why there are not many offers to these smaller schools. As Iowa said, maybe it was someone else, if he is so good his numbers should be off the charts playing against his level of competition. I realize his teams level is also not as high, while generally this is offset with the competition he is playing against. Lastly, it is Alter... they have a great record, which generally leaves you to believe better players than the competition in 90% of their games.

No one is saying that we hope he fails, while maybe the questions are not worth the risk with limited numbers. I do trust Meyer and his ability to rank a high school QB more so than myself, Iowa, or anyone else on this board.

Who the heck is jojoblackirish? Where did this dude come from? I didn't even catch it until now. All this time I thought I was responding to posts from 1crazyknight. But looking at their profiles, jojo and 1crazyknight are obviously the same person posting under different names. Check out jojo's post history--it's identical to 1crazyknight's! That's at least three names this dude operates under: 1crazyknight, jojoblackirish and another name he's used that also has "knight" in it.

Check this post on the Husker board. Jojo's the one who mentions Zaire's stats (not that they "matter") but in the post immediately below it, in which the next poster quotes Jojo, it says the it was posted by 1crazyknight. http://nebraska.247sports.com/Board/142/Previewing-the-2013-class-Offense-7523703/1#a7629386 What is this bullshit?

That's bullshit. Be a man. That starts with being yourself. All the time. Not masquerading as other people. What a pussy.

First, I want what's best for Ohio State. For that, I will always defer to the man who makes $4 million a year to make those decisions. But if all things are equal, I'd personally prefer to see Ohio kids wearing S&G. It validates the state as a viable HS football power. But at the end of the day, if Ohio's talent doesn't translate into a team built to compete for NCs at the next level, I will accept that and embrace whoever Urban wants and whoever wants to play for us, no matter where they're from.

In my opinion, based on my observance of each players tape, they looked relatively equal. However, the staff saw something in Barret they didn't see in Zaire. So, I trust that Barret is the better player. As Iowa pointed out, I don't make $4 million to evaluate talent, so I trust that UFM picked the better player.

Although you do bring up a good point. I am a bit concerned that Meyer is burning bridges in Ohio. Whenever you shun in state talent and go OOS, I'm sure that doesn't sit well with the coaches of these high schools. I think the main problem is that UFM was hired so late that he didn't have the chance to evaluate many of the in-state kids in camp. This will not be the case in 2014. Meyer is already evaluating 2014 players in camp. So, I look for him to absolutely clean up in Ohio in 2014.