Ohio football coach Frank Solich put his fingerprints on a new foundation yesterday as he announced the 2005 recruiting class.
The class is made up of 24 high school players and three mid-year transfers. In all, 12 of the players who signed a letter of intent hail from the state of Ohio; the 15 others played in 10 different states.
We're very excited about the group of players
Solich said. We had a large graduating senior class which opened up a number of scholarships that we were able to give out.
Solich said the ability to recruit different states was helped by the new staff.
The fact that we were able to put this staff together and (that) they came from different parts of the country helped somewhat in the recruiting process.
Areas of need that Ohio addressed were the offensive and defensive lines, which accounted for 10 of the 27 players.
We think that was a need for us a need to try to get a few bigger bodies into the program Solich said.
Nine of the linemen are from Ohio, with the lone non-Ohioan being Josh Leuck, a defensive lineman from Omaha, Neb. Leuck is the only player signed from the state of Nebraska.
Solich recruited the state of Ohio evenly, taking three players each from the Cleveland, Columbus and Youngstown areas, as well as two players from Cincinnati and one from Dayton.
We certainly want to do a great job with recruiting the state of Ohio
Solich said. We know that that will be the bloodline for us
not only this year
but (for) the overall future of the program.
Solich wouldn't single out any individual players when asked if anybody stood out from the rest, but he did say that all players will have an equal chance to play next season.
It's obvious that there are certain positions that we need to boost right away
he said. It's obvious that we think it's a very good class. I won't single anybody out.
Solich also said that there will be a lot of competition in practices and that how deep or thin a position is could determine if a freshman will play.
I think everybody understands that we're starting from ground zero. Guys are going to have to earn their jobs
and that will be the case every spring. There will be a lot of competition in the spring. That does not lock a job up. We will look at incoming freshmen. We'll have a couple scrimmages
a number of practices. Some of these kids will have the physical makeup to do it. Some will have the mental makeup to do it.
Ohio added two quarterbacks to the roster by signing Josh Febus, from Dublin, and Brandon Jones, from Marietta, Ga.
Defensive back was another position that Ohio put a lot of emphasis on -six were signed, including Idris Lawrence from Division II state champion Brookhaven.
Part of the challenge for Solich and the coaching staff was the short amount of time they had to work with as Solich was hired Dec. 16.
Looking back on it
the staff has done a great job
Solich said. I really feel good about our nine assistant coaches and what they've been able to accomplish in a very short period of time.
Solich also credited the former assistant coaches for helping in the recruiting process.
They were willing to share information on whom they were recruiting
