....I am every bit as happy as the rest of you that we're not losing 8-9 games a year, but did anyone seriously believe we'd still be facing these issues in year eight? How does BSU turn it around in two years? Kent in two years? BGSU in three years? Yet we are paper-thin in critical areas.
Is that faster? Ohio won the MAC East in the second year. It seems pretty much the same to me. However, even though Ohio has won more MAC games in the last 5 years than any other MAC team, they haven't won a championship, and I agree that they need to get that done. Miami and Buffalo have generally sucked, but both have MAC championships in this time period.
As far as the specifics, I have no knowledge of Sano, so I can't comment too much on that. The injury rate at Ohio has been very, very high, so there may be a problem. I have also said for years that they must improve on the nutrition side. With no training table, are the kids eating the right things? I suspect there is a big room for improvement there.
Regarding playmakers on defense, most of the defense is injured. Pretty much the entire defensive line and secondary is out, so I don't see how that's a fair criticism. Personally, among the reserves I like Devin Bass. I think he's the best tackler of the lot.
As for possible coaching changes, I'm open to them. I wouldn't be surprised to see them. I'm less concerned about offense than defense.
Regarding the recruiting, Ohio under Solich has gone through 3 distinct phases:
Phase 1 (2005-2007) - All kids were under-the-radar types. The recruiting services knew nothing about them. Few, if any, had any offers other than from Ohio. There were still some that could play, like Hartke or Mike Mitchell.
Phase 2 (2008-2010)- Mostly under the radar types, some had another offer. Many were injured their Junior or Senior year, or changed positions, and so didn't get offers. TT, Brazill, Dovell, Wosely and Carrie are examples of this group. This year's team consists mostly of this group.
Phase 3 (2011-2013) - The last couple years most of the recruits have 2-4 other offers, and they are players known to the recruiting services, and they are selecting Ohio over a variety of other schools. Most of these players are redshirting, or are redshirt Freshmen, so it is early to tell how these will turn out.
Ohio did pretty well with the totally under the radar group, though 2007 and 2008 weren't the greatest. As the Phase 2 players took over, 2009-2012 has been more consistent. What will the future bring, when the Phase 3 players are upperclassmen?