No real surprise that Ron Tanner went ahead and made it official this morning with a verbal to the Buckeyes. The only question was why did he wait. He always seemed to be talking up the Buckeyes but never verballed. If he was running around all over the place visiting I would think he wanted to make sure but he was not doing that. It doesn't matter. He is a Buckeye. I love his playmaking potential. He is a nice compliment to the more physical Jeremy Cash. Tanner is one of those players who always seems to be around the football and ends up with it in his hands a good bit. He is another in a now long line of kids Jim Tressel has recruited

Thought you got rid of me? Nah. Bloguin changed to a new server. The first was defective so we moved again. Now all the bugs are worked out and we can get back to it.

So much has happened in the last week. We got a couple of verbals and camp gave us more reason to believe that the next class is going to live up to expectations and could exceed them.We had some personnel changes.

First, the verbals. Nick Vannett is a huge get. We do not throw to the tight end. I know that drives so many of you crazy. It does not drive me crazy. I agree with the basic principle of the offense. Run the ball and go down the field to to the playmakers. The tight ends that fans are getting excited about are in tight end friendly offenses. That means the tight end is a primary receiver sometimes. I don't think we will ever see that here and I am fine with that.

For several months now we have been talking about how we were going to get all these elite players in and who might get left out.

We have talked about the Glenville pair, Shane Wynn and Aundray Walker. How could they wait until after the season, do this the "Glenville Way" when there were great players looking to verbal early? I have it from multiple sources that the staff would like to take two quarterbacks in this class so Cardale Jones could still make it in. My response has been, where does he fit in? How does he fit in? We may be seeing why right now.

We are looking at spots opening up. There has been a rumor that Jermil Martin will leave. Many believe he still will. Count me amongst them. We have all heard about the tragic news

The Big 33 was played last night. I had no idea that it would be on the NFL Network until I stumbled across so I missed the first few minutes.

The talk of the Big 33 practices was Darryl Baldwin. I could not believe how big he had gotten. He looks like he is ready to get drafted not getting ready to step on a college field. Mark Porter has been saying left tackle for the longest time. I have always believed he was an offensive player but I thought the chances of him getting this big were not great. If you can see the great picture Gary Hosteau posted on Bucknuts make sure you take a look. The buzz is about him as a defensive player. I think if he does stay on defense it will be at DT. He is a

Camps always seem to produce offers. I don't know if this one comes as much of a surprise. Massillon split end Devin Smith became the most recent offer. That he will become the next committment is likely. He has been wishing for a Buckeye offer all along. I think there was some surprise that he did not have one already. He had a great year after transferring in to Massillon. With his performance I was a bit surprised that he was not already offered. I thought there was a possibility that he would not be offered. I think it showed how much he wanted to be a Buckeye that with his offer list he decided to come down here and let the staff get a look at him. Sometimes players who have lists that include such schools as Notre Dame and Michigan can get a little peeved at the lack of an offer and not show up at camp. I think that this class is so locked up, that the staff decided to take Smith despite being in the top

This expansion of the Big Ten and Pac-10 that is unfolding is driven by our love for football and the money that comes from football. Have you thought about the other sports that are being left behind?

What got me thinking about this is the Kansas basketball program. Is there a program out there that can boast the legacy that Kansas basketball can lay out on the table? John Naismith is the man who invented basketball. He was Kansas first basketball coach. Wilt Chamberlain played at Kansas. It holds the longest current streak of NCAA tournament appearances. It is first in the number of winning seasons. Three national championships and

There is a rumor going around the top defensive tackle prospect Kevin McReynolds has had his offer pulled after the Buckeyes received a verbal from Indiana's Joel Hale. First, Jim Tressel does not pull offers. However, telling someone you are full at his position is not pulling an offer. I don't know if it has happened. I have not heard anything about that happening. I can see both sides of it. McReynolds is a difference maker at a position that you don't turn down elite players at. The problem is we have five current DTs and only one senior. We have two commitments from DTs and several other players in Farris, J.T. Moore and Melvin Fellows who could grow into DTs. We are running out of room and the number of elite

What a week for recruiting. We would have been satisfied getting one of the nations top three quarterbacks in Braxton Miller. That we landed Evan Spencer and Joel Hale too, saying it was icing on the cake is an understatement.

What more can be said about Miller. Not only is he a great quarterback. Miller could not be a better fit for this offense and what Jim Tressel wants in a quarterback. He is Troy Smith deluxe. He is far more advanced than Smith was at a similar stage. He is bigger and is even a better athlete. As I stated a short time ago when I compared Miller and Cardale Jones again after seeing Millers junior film, Miller is such a good athlete that he would likely be a Buckeye target to play running back or wide receiver. There is so much chatter right now abotu Pryor

The recruiting landscape is starting to take shape. It is looking like arguably the best class of the Tressel era. That is saying a lot considering how well Jim Tressel has recruited here.

Tomorrow a huge piece of the puzzle falls into place as Braxton Miller makes his verbal. That it is going to be the Buckeyes is the worst kept secret that I have seen in a very long time. Everyone is talking more about his impact on the rest of the class. Make no mistake. These kids want to win badly. That competitive drive is somethin crucial to what makes these elite athletes, elite athletes. They do things nobody else can do because of that thing that burns

Jim Tressel and the Buckeye staff have gone out and secured the inside offensive linemen that the program needs. We have three guards in Tommy Brown, Chris Carter and Antonio Underwood, and the center of the future in Brian Bobek. Right tackle is set for years to come. Where is the left tackle?

I think Jim Tressel would like to know that too. I have not looked around nationally at much just yet but offensive tackle is one area that I have looked at alot of players. I am sure some players have yet to emerge but right now the left tackles are just not there. That is a big problem. It goes beyond Adams not yet living up to expectations. It is about the fact that h