With a low amount of players committed to the 2010 recruiting class thus far, today's national signing day brings some uncertainty for the Ohio football team.
According to Scout.com, Ohio has only seven incoming players committed to play football starting next fall.
For this time of the year
that is unusually low said Bill Greene, recruiting expert for Scout. That might be the lowest in the country.
Last year, the Bobcats inked 22 players on signing day, and 20 the year before.
Most (Mid-American Conference) schools are in the high teens by now; ideally you sign 16
17 or 18 guys a year
Greene said.
Rivals.com has 10 players listed as committed to Ohio but that still trails in comparison to other schools around the MAC.
Scout.com has 15 players listed as committed to rival Miami, 18 to defending MAC champion Central Michigan and 26 to Toledo.
College coaches cannot comment on, confirm or deny information about recruits until they actually sign a letter of intent because it is a violation of NCAA regulations.
One explanation Greene has for the low number of commitments for the Bobcats is that they could be sitting back, waiting to see what is left after signing day before they make all their offers.
Although the Bobcats do not have the deepest class currently, there are still a few quality recruits Ohio is after.
One of these players is offensive tackle Eric Franklin, of Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown.
Franklin has offers from some more prominent football programs such as Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and Purdue, but Greene said he might not be academically eligible to sign with a Bowl Championship Series school.
Franklin is in academic peril
Greene said. The big offers will go away
but a MAC school will take a kid that does not qualify.
This may leave Franklin to choose between MAC schools that have offered.
He could sign with a MAC school
sit out a year and figure things out academically
or go to a two-year college
then basically become a free-agent and be recruited all over again
Greene said.
A similar scenario occurred with two-time Ohio Mr. Football, Erick Howard, a highly touted recruit out of North Canton, who recently committed to Akron although he received interest from Ohio State and Cincinnati.
Another player the Bobcats are targeting is Brandon Neal, a cornerback out of Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio.
He would be a good get
