Is it possible this whole thing could just be about Rourke enrolling in school to make it official? Or did that happen before this?

If either Morris or Zaire end up at Ohio, it is not going to be because of our football prowess. And that is not a knock against Frank, or the program, it is simply reality.

Morris is a Sports Ad major. He is smart enough to know his professional future is not on the field. Therefore, taking advantage of OUr Sports Ad grad program makes sense.

Zaire is a gradating from Notre Dame with a degree in Film, Television, and Film. Last I knew, we had a pretty good program ourselves. My guess is he also may realize that the NFL is a long-shot (after an undistinguished career at ND). This is not Russell Wilson taking a year at Wisky - totally different. Therefore, if he is looking at broadcasting as a future career, Ohio (and perhaps the Sports Ad program) also makes some sense.

If either hold out a dream of playing on Sunday's then OHIO provides limited value. If, like most all other Graduate Transfers, they see an opportunity to better prepare for their future and play the game they love, then OHIO can make an argument.

Bottom line, if either ends up here, it will be primarily for our academics...the horror!!!

Just because a player has a "list of schools", doesn't mean the schools have a list with that player.

Michigan and Ohio State offered him as a QB.
This is from Big Ben's site. Read and stop making up your own facts. Ohio’s Division I Offensive Player of the Year and runner-up for Mr. Football honors in Ohio in 1999.Ben set state records by throwing for 4,041 yards and 54 touchdowns during his senior season. He also scored seven touchdowns. He was named league, district and Toledo Blade Player of the Year.

Findlay went 10-2 during 1999, advancing to second round of state playoffs before losing to Grove City. Ben played in both Ohio North-South and Ohio-Pennsylvania Big 33 All-Star games. He threw two touchdown passes, including the game-winner, in the North-South game. He was coached by Cliff Hite.

As for basketball, Ben averaged 26.5 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game as a senior point guard. He was a .300 hitter as a shortstop for Findlay’s baseball team.

Ben was named all-league and all-district performer in both basketball and baseball. He was the team captain in all three sports.

College Career –

Ben’s talents weren’t a secret to the Miami (Ohio) University staff, which invited him to its summer camp before his senior season. Ben performed well but left with no scholarship offer.

“We waited until he played a game,” Miami head coach Terry Hoeppner said. “I didn’t want to be the genius to offer this guy who never played quarterback a scholarship.”

In that first game, Ben threw six touchdowns. “I said, ‘That’s good enough for me,’” Hoeppner said.

Ohio State University also went after Ben, who set state high school records for yards (4,041) and touchdowns (54) playing in a high-powered offense similar to Miami’s.

In the end, Miami won. Ben saw a shot at being a four-year starter after then-No. 1 QB Mike Bath’s eligibility expired. “It came down to what would be comfortable for me and what felt right,” Ben said. “I prayed a lot about it, talked to my family about it, and it seemed like the right fit.”

you are right, OSU offered him after his junior year to play wide receiver, he gained 20-30 during his redshirt year at Miami. During his senior, OSU offered him as a QB, but Miami had a great offense and Hoepner closed the deal.
Here is some more info
Ben moved to wide receiver in his junior year, where he caught 57 balls for 757 yards. He became good friends with Mike Iriti, Tony's son and also a wideout on the team. They would eventually become one of Ohio’s top passing tandems.
Ben always envisioned himself as a quarterback and knew the job would be up for grabs in his senior season. That kept him interested in football. Otherwise he would have skipped his final year to concentrate on winning a Division-I hoops scholarship.
The summer before the 1999 season, Ben and some friends attended a summer camp on the campus of the University of Miami (Ohio). A RedHawks assistant spotted Ben tossing the ball around and alerted head coach Terry Hoeppner. He was furious that a local kid with that much talent did not appear on any recruiting sheets in their office until he discovered the young man had never taken a snap. Hoeppner made a note to follow Ben’s progress back in Findlay.
A few weeks later, Ben was named the starting quarterback for the Trojans. He spent the fall riddling enemy defenses. His years as a receiver had paid nice dividends, as he got to understand coverage schemes from the secondary. This not only helped him read defenses, it also taught him how receivers find seams and how much time they need to get open. It also didn’t hurt that Ben now stood 6-5. With the size to see over the pass rush, he still maintained the shiftiness he had developed in basketball. Despite his height. Ben juked tacklers as if he were a halfback. His experience at shortstop was beneficial, too—he was a strong passer on the run.
Ben could hardly believe how easily quarterbacking came to him. He threw for six touchdowns in his first start for Findlay. Miami of Ohio offered him a full scholarship the next day.
As the season progressed, every game was like a personal highlight film—Ben looked at enemy defenses and had his way with them down after down. Overall, the Trojans went 10-2, advancing to the second round of the state playoffs, where they lost to Grove City High School.
For the year, Ben passed for 4,041 yards and 54 touchdowns. Both marks set state records. Going into the season, Ben had assumed he would be playing college basketball in 2000. But his success on the gridiron convinced him that he might have a brighter future as a Division-I quarterback.
 
This was far from a consensus opinion, however. Because Ben was new to the position, college scouts were late in catching on to his talent. By the time big-time programs like Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State started sniffing around, Hoeppner had already sold Ben on the idea of suiting up for Miami of Ohio. He told the teen that he could be the next Chad Pennington, who had just finished a sterling career with Mid-America Conference rival Marshall. There, with Randy Moss, Pennington had put up incredible numbers.
http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Roeth/Roeth_bio.html
See you tell yourself a story that sounds plausible instead of reading. Listen to how Hoeppner sold him on going to Miami vs. 3 Big Ten teams.

Would beg to differ on this note.

Ohio can basically offer a guaranteed starting QB position. Wisconsin or whoever would not, or be flat lying. With only 128 FBS teams total, there's probably less than 10/20 that could offer you a starting spot with little/no competition returning.

The MAC absolutely does produce NFL QBs. And Ohio produces WRs that at least get sniffs at the NFL(and with mediocre QBs). Maybe QBs as not much in the past 3/4, but if you look in the past 5/10 or so, it's proven that skilled ones get a shot in the league. Then it's up to you to show you have what it takes.

Regardless of who it is, they look at the possibilities of showcasing 13 games at Ohio vs a 'maybe situation' at another school, and gives us the QB we've all been hoping for. One can hope :)

So in short, you're saying you don't understand the difference between most and all. Well at least we got that out of the way...

Smh at some of this thread. If anyone associated with the Ohio Football program reads this, they have to be rolling on the floor.

The scripture says bad company corrupts good morals and also so as a man thinketh, so is he. That is why you don't share your ideals with everyone, doubters will trample upon them. We say lets get Malik Zaire, before we get him to visit, we have people. Why would he come here. I don't want anybody better than Quinton. Yap, yap yap and then the excuses. Let's get told no before we commit ourselves to failure. We all love Ohio, why wouldn't someone else?

To get back to the point...to bring some reality focus back to the discussion.


A solid qb could start immediately at OHIO, which is not necessarily so at a school with a better schedule and competition. But the coaching at OHIO and the history of qb (non-)development is not a feature that would attract.

If you're a good-sized talent and believe in yourself, I can't believe that you come to OHIO with it's mediocre coaching and competition and record. Also, the 2nd smallest stadium in college D1 ball and a minor media market can't appeal.

Dude, that article is from 2013. BCS is dead. It's either CFP or NY6 (New Year's Six) Bowl games.

No disrespect intended, but who gives a #$%& what they call it. It changes every couple of years. Everybody knows what Allen is referring to. Why get caught up in the ESPN semantics? Hell, I still use D1-A and D1-AA because it's easy to understand, and nearly everyone gets it. No further explanation necessary.

I might. Especially if I thought it would drive pedantic dweebs crazy.