I remember when I first came to this site reading that the biggest difference between a program like Ohio and one of the top ten programs was depth. Ohio some good players, but the quality dropped off fast below the first team.I remember the first few teams, and that was certainly true. It no longer is true, and I think that's probably the biggest difference between 2010 and 2005. The top players may be a bit better than the 2005 team, but the second and third teamers today are much better than existed previously. Given that football is a game with a lot of injuries, and given that you really need a good substitution rotation at some positions, that makes a huge difference by the end of the year.

Does anyone have any thoughts on why the depth today is so much better? I came up with the following plausible reasons:
1. Recruiting - Less players are recruited today that are total bombs. Not all recruits turn out to be stars, but these das virtually everyone that is recruited eventually contributes in some way. In most recent years only 1-2 players end up never playing.
2. Walkons - The walkon program is starting to consistently produce players that help the program. Under Grobe walkons were important, and walkons contributed under Knorr as well, but the last couple years we seem to have seen and increase in them contributing. Walkons, or former walkons listed in the top 2 strings against Wofford include George Batsakes, Nathan Caldwell, Kevin Culver, Eric Benjamin, Chad Clemens, Dak Notestine, Paul Hershey, and Jeremey LaVoie. No doubt there are quite a few more that are third team as well.
3. Better player development - Perhaps the lower level players are getting better coaching, allowing them a better chance to develop into a player that can contribute.
4. Better conditioning - Perhaps there has been improvement here, that is helping to develop a solid team? I know that the program allowing players to stay over the summer has to help, for example.
5. Better morale - Perhaps the morale of the team is higher, and the lower players feel more drive and opportunity to move to the top?

It seems to me that there is probably no one single cause, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be #1. More likely is that all of these are factors. In any case it certainly is true that the depth is dramatically better.  For example, 5 offensive linemen that I expected to contribute this year will not (Pinder - grades, Bunner-retired, Laudermilch-injured, Flowers-injured, Davis-homesick), yet I still feel Ohio will have a solid offensive line.

I would say that the reduction in schollies to 85 has led to more parity.  However that applies across the board, not just Ohio's improvement.  Then I would go with the hiring of Frank and then insert the remainder of your logic to follow.

I think that part of the depth may come from the fact that we rarely have positions set in stone going into a new season.  Every player can legitimately feel as though they're going to get a chance to contribute, leading them to put forth the effort to stay focused throughout their time at Ohio.  Players offered scholarships (at any depth) by Ohio probably hasn't changed too much over the past five years, however the mindset probably has.  I know that when I was at Ohio (late Grobe years, early Knorr years), I knew a number of players who were just collecting their scholarship but knew that their chance of really being a playmaker was slim.  Now, no matter if you were first-string last year or third-string, you may go into camp thinking that this could be your chance.  By having Solich play so many players and not seeming to play "favorites" with the kids, everybody can buy into the program and stay committed throughout the duration of their time at Ohio.

colorado, it probably depends on how you count them. For example, do you count guys that never showed up at all? Or guys that played some, but then got injured? In the 2005 class, Farley never showed, and Mellot left very soon after coming. Among the rest of the class, I'd say that everyone else contributed.  In the 2006 class D'Aguanno left quickly, and Black was injured and never able to play, but you also had Karr, Reese, and Hubbard that didn't play much, if at all. In 2007 Hightower and Pinder had eligibility issues, but pretty much everyone else played except O'Hara who transferred and Spegal who was injured. The later classes aren't much different, but it's early to tell as they still have a lot of eligibility left.

I more or less agree with you, but I think it's worth pointing out that when they signed Hightower to the 2007 class, and he turned out not to be eligible, they were able to replace him before the fall camp with Matt Donahue, who did play. Thus that scholarship was never wasted - it was used on someone who was a valuable contributor. We've seen the same thing with other guys who weren't eligible being replaced with other late additions. The thing that hurts your depth is when you have a guy that hangs around for four years, yet never plays. The ones that come and go quickly aren't the problem, unless there are too many of them.

 I just bought a new truck with some of the money we saved for his school.

That's a wonderful rationale for this year.....kinda sucks for next year when you consider that college grads get upper double figures and lower triple figures on the low end average.

Sorry......misread......or as W said....I misremembered what I read.