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Can Ohio State continue to pull out of Krop?

Can Ohio State continue to pull out of Krop?


    Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel, Michael Brewster, and Company did a great job in 2008 of pulling two highly recruited players out of Miami Krop High School. The BrutusReport.com 2008 Football Recruiting Chart has Krop Cornerback Travis Howard and Middle Linebacker Etienne Sabino both rated as 4 star prospects. But does that necessarily mean that they will continue to get recruits from one of the hottest high schools in South Florida with the University of Miami (FL) staking their claim once again on the area?

    The Buckeyes grabbed up cornerback Travis Howard first out of Krop High School. They then followed up that steal of the class of 2008 by signing his classmate Etienne Sabino the second best middle linebacker in the country according to Scout.com. This was done on the way to getting the fourth best class overall in the country, which included four Florida prospects; Sabino, Howard, Brewster and quarterback/safety Orhian Johnson out of Boca Ciega.

    Miami (FL) has had some down years but now they seem to be regaining ground and pulling in the type of classes that led them to two National Championship games early in the decade. The Hurricane resurgence is being led by Head Coach Randy Shannon, a Miami player from the 1987 National Championship team, who wants to rebuild the great tradition that has slipped since Ohio State defeated Miami in the 2001 BCS title game. In 2008, Shannon signed almost every Miami Northwestern High School player that qualified for a D1 scholarship, but missed out on Krop.

    In 2009, look for Shannon to try to sign a couple of Krop players. Defensive Tackle Brandon Taylor has early interest in Miami, Ohio State, and several other southern schools. Middle Linebacker Quan Fletcher has pretty much the same list of schools as Taylor. Both of these prospects are rated in the top 20 at their positions nationally. If Ohio State is able to have two more highly rated players follow Howard and Sabino to Ohio State, the Buckeyes will have done something that is almost impossible to do in recruiting, create a pipeline from a high school to a college that is 1200 miles long.

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