Predicting Duane Long's Top Ten
St. Ed's O-Line (minus Kalis). Duane Long's Top Ten doesn't have room for all of them. (Image: Lonnie Timmons | Cleveland.com)
This is an addendum to Ace's Thursday Recruiting today. In that post Ace noted he was worried Long's prO-hio biases might have led him to leave some important future Wolverines off the list:
Meanwhile, Duane Long has rated 11-50 of his top 50 prospects in Ohio [parts 1, 2, 3, and 4], and here's the Michigan commits included so far: Tom Strobel (12), Pharaoh Brown (17), Jarrod Wilson (18), Joe Bolden (26), A.J. Williams (31), and Caleb Stacey(48). That means Kyle Kalis and Chris Wormley are almost assuredly in his top ten, but it'll be interesting to see if Kaleb Ringer and Allen Gant make the cut or are (unjustifiably, in my somewhat-biased opinion) left off the list entirely. For context, the #50 prospect, Mason Monheim, is unrated on Rivals and holds offers from Illinois and a handful of MAC schools.
Here's a list of guys rated highly by Rivals who did not make the Top 50 (yet):
Name | Position | High Schoool | Stars | School |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kyle Kalis | OL | St. Edward | **** | Michigan |
Ifeadi Odenigbo | DE | Centerville | **** | --OPEN-- |
Se'von Pittman | DE | McKinley | **** | Michigan State |
Adolphus Washington | DE | Taft | **** | --OPEN-- |
Josh Perry | LB | Olentangy | **** | Ohio State |
Greg McMullen | DE | Hoban | **** | Nebraska |
Kyle Dodson | OL | Cleveland Heights | **** | Wisconsin |
Warren Ball | RB | St. Francis DeSales | **** | Ohio State |
Bri'onte Dunn | RB | Glenoak | **** | Ohio State |
Chris Davis | ATH | Austintown Fitch | *** | Pittsburgh |
Demitrious Davis | ATH | Austintown Fitch | *** | Pittsburgh |
Allen Gant | DB | Sylvania Southview | *** | Michigan |
Kaleb Ringer | LB | Northmont | *** | Michigan |
Joseph Spencer | OL | Mason | *** | Illinois |
Anthony Stanko | OL | Howland | *** | Penn State |
Sam Grant | TE | St. Edward | *** | Boston College |
Maty Mauk | QB | Kenton | *** | Missouri |
Chris Wormley | DE | Whitmer | *** | Michigan |
Andre Jones | DB | Colerain | *** | Cincinnati |
Sebastian Smith | DB | Central | *** | Indiana |
Sean Draper | DB | Glenville | *** | --OPEN-- |
Ryan Leahy | DE | La Salle | *** | Cincinnati |
Greg Kuhar | DT | St. Edward | *** | Northwestern |
Tyler Orlosky | OL | St. Edward | *** | West Virginia |
T.C. Klusman | OL | Elder High School | *** | Louisville |
Ross Martin | K | Walsh Jesuit | *** | Duke |
Thats' 26 dudes with BCS offers and whatnot. Long has 6 guys in his Top 50 who aren't rated by Rivals yet. Those guys and their offers:
Name | Long's Rk | Pos | Best offers |
---|---|---|---|
Dion Dawson | 13 | DL | ??? |
DeShawn Dowdy | 27 | WR/TE | WVa., Cincy, Iowa St |
James Sanford | 34 | DB | MSU, Cincy, BG |
Eric Williams | 37 | QB | Cincy, Toledo, EMU |
Terrell Jackson | 42 | DE | Duke, CMU, Ohio (NTO) |
Mason Monheim | 50 | LB | Illinois, Miami (NTM), Akron |
Dawson is a legit freak athlete none of the sites (Scout, ESPN, 247) have heard of except Rivals, and they little more than his name. Scouting Ohio lists his deeds as a running back, but Long is excited about him as a DT. I couldn't find any schools that offered since he apparently has grade issues that will likely see him head to a JUCO and reemerge at some SEC school in 2 years. The rest have maybe one BCS offer (if you count the Big East as BCS). This is the level one must pass to be in the Top 50. If you might fit that description, you are not in the Top 50. That about does it for Klusman, Kuhar, Leahy, Draper, S.Smith, and A.Jones. Spencer, Anthony Stanko and the Austintown Finch athlete Davis duo might have an argument for Top 30 but not Top 10.
Mortal Locks: (3) Ifeadi Odenigbo, Kyle Kalis, Bri'onte Dunn. Each were mentioned in reviews of the other guys in a context of almost/just as good as...
Almost Certainly: (3) Se'Von Pittman, Adolphus Washington, Greg McMullen. Long has been all-up-on's for these guys all year. They are consistently rated the tops in their respective positions, or near enough to it because they all play the same position (...as Wormley and Odenigbo too)
Because it's Long you know he'll have: (2) Warren Ball, Josh Perry. Two more 4-star guys committed to Ohio State. Eight other OSU commits (every one but Pat Elflein) have already been profiled, and Ball, Perry and Dunn (see mortal locks) are OSU's three most highly rated recruits this year.
"Is _____ better than a MAC player?"
Kyle Dodson
Why: He's the last consensus 4-star not among the pretty.
Why not: Ohio State and Michigan passed on Mount Dodson -- Wisconsin likes road graders but Long does not necessarily share that opinion.
Is he better than a MAC player: Absolutely.
Sam Grant
Why: Long once said Grant might be the best among the St Ed's group, which includes Kalis and previously profiled Darryl Render.
Why not: The nice things slowed when the Ohio State offer didn't materialize.
Is he better than a MAC player: Probably.
Kaleb Ringer
Why: Long has long had Ringer listed as his top linebacker in Ohio.
Why not: Concerns about his size. Wolverine.
Is he better than a MAC player: Absolutely
Chris Wormley
Why: As of March made Long's 1st team All-Ohio, ahead of Pittman and McMullen; Washington was starting SDE.
Why not: Wolverine.
Is he better than a MAC player: Uh....
Allen Gant
Why: Most sites rate Gant higher than Bradley.
Why not: Wolverine. Son of Wolverine. Long may think Sylvania is part of Michigan. Also it's almost certain Gant won't make the Top 10 because Bradley's writeup called Bam the second-best safety in the class, and Jarrod Wilson was placed above him.
Better than a MAC player: Pretty sure.
Maty Mauk
Why: He's a really good QB
Why not: Long has been pretty consistently leaving Mauk off lists since last year.
Better than a MAC player: Probably.
Tyler Orlosky
Why: Like Grant a St. Ed's guy ahead of Render. Long called Orlosky "the most underrated lineman in the state" and put him 2nd team at both guard positions ahead of #44 Jacoby Boren (YTB), but behind Michigan's Stacey (48) and MSU's McGowan (14).
Why not: Behind #48 means out of the running.
Better than a MAC player: Yes.
Ross Martin
Why: Might be the best kicker prospect in the country this year
Why not: Is a kicker
Better than a MAC player: Yes.
Best guess is Wormley almost has to get one spot unless Long has found a reason to hate him (other than committing to Michigan). Ringer is a good bet for the last one, being the top LB in the state and all. That still leaves Gant off the list. However there's plenty of reason to think some of these other guys might take their places, especially Dodson and Grant. That could mean some of M's recruits are slipping, or that I just need to learn to take Duane Long lists with a Bleacher Report serving of salt.
September 1st, 2011 at 2:17 PM ^
You double-counted Bri'onte Dunn - he's listed in both the first and third categories.
September 1st, 2011 at 2:19 PM ^
You counted Dunn under under both Mortal Locks and Because it's Long.
September 1st, 2011 at 2:25 PM ^
Dammit -- thanks guys. Edited.
September 1st, 2011 at 2:41 PM ^
Agree with your guesses. Dodson did get an OSU offer, albeit a little late. It seems strange to leave him off altogether. It does show the depth of talent in Ohio.
September 1st, 2011 at 3:00 PM ^
will most certainly be in the top 10 with Kalis. Didn't the top few already leak and Wormley was #1? Duane is big on Worlmey, hence the first team Ohio and possible #1 overall.
September 1st, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^
Duane Long does not make a whole lot of sense here..
September 1st, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
didn't know Mike's dong was a potential pipeline. i don't like justin, he was immature in his departure, but Mike was an absolute stud for Bo and i hate to see the usual screeds against he and his family (which does not occur above, but surely will follow).
September 1st, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^
It is crazy not to have Kaleb Ringer in the top 50. I don't think he will be in Long's top 10 so that has to mean he falls outside the top 50.
Long used to say that Ringer was one of the best LB in the state, but after he committed to Michigan his stock dropped. Now you can see Long writing things like, "Luke Roberts is a steal in this class."
September 1st, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^
My money's on Wormley & Dodson.
Crazy talent in Ohio, though.
September 1st, 2011 at 4:49 PM ^
1. Odenigbo
2. Washington
3. McMullen
4. Ball
5. Kalis
6. Pittman
7. Perry
8. Dunn
9. Dodson
10. Wormley
September 1st, 2011 at 10:12 PM ^
Not sure if you are expressing your picks or if you are anticipating what Long will list, but I completely disagree about Ball. Last year he only excelled against weak teams and was held in check against decent or better defenses. He isn't in the top 3 RBs in the state in my book. Josh Perry shouldn't even be in the top 20 either.
Gant will not be in the top 10 - nor should he be. Wormley and Kalis are locks. Ringer will be a stretch for top 10 and it will be a slap in the face for him to not be in the top 50. Oh well, it's Long for you.
September 1st, 2011 at 10:32 PM ^
That is the actual list, copied from Long's site. It was posted today.
Ringer is not in the top 50. Nor is Gant.
September 1st, 2011 at 7:15 PM ^
Is not unreasonable. The list in its entirety? Not having Ringer on there is inexcusable (He was considered one of the top LB in the state by Long a couple months ago). Gant can be argued about, but I think he probably belongs above a few of the people on the list to be sure.
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