Very interesting. That means that the coaches show 14 recruits, while BA shows 15, so one of the players we have listed is likely incorrect.

BOARDMAN

Boardman senior linebacker Evan Croutch is still going to play college football in Ohio but not at the place everyone thought.

After attending Ohio University’s home game against Northern Illinois on Tuesday night, Croutch verbally committed to the Bobcats on Wednesday morning.

Croutch had verbally committed to Youngs-town State in mid-August but decided YSU was a little too close to home.

“It really came down to one thing and that was a chance to get away from home,” Boardman coach Joe Ignazio said. “He felt like he would be a little bit more out on his own rather than being right down the road.”

Croutch finished his career as one of the best defenders in school history, recording 223 career tackles and 24 tackles for loss, which both rank fifth all-time at Boardman. His 18 tackles for loss ranked second all-time.



A second team All-Federal League selection in 2013, Croutch had 75 tackles (51 solo), two forced fumbles and an interception this season for Boardman (2-8). He also carried 36 times for 158 yards and caught four passes for 58 yards in limited duty on offense.

Ohio only began recruiting Croutch in the past few weeks after a scholarship opened up, Ignazio said. The Bobcats have two local players on their roster: senior wide receiver Landon Smith (a Girard graduate who originally committed to YSU before joining Ohio) and redshirt freshman wide receiver Brendan Cope (Howland).

“He called [YSU linebackers coach Ron] Stoops this afternoon and talked to him, just to let him know he was thankful for the opportunity,” Ignazio said. “Evan has always spoken very highly of both Coach Stoops and Coach [Eric] Wolford and the rest of the staff. The decision came down to OU giving him an opportunity to get away from home.”

Croutch did not respond to interview requests.

I noticed William Johnson is not on the roster on Ohiobobcats.com.

Not sure about Keller....but he looks like a Poling clone....and that ain't bad.

I guess it depends on if you think he can play or not. Recruiting is funny, though. I've noticed one thing - the players that come in with no other offers tend to turn out really good or really bad, while the ones that come in with a bunch of offers tend to be more predictable.

Casper71--your thoughts?

That also confirms the class will be no more than about 15 players doesn't it?

Named second team all District at LB. This district is talent laden this year so this is an honor. Boardman plays at a high level of Division1 in NEO.

Boardman is a DII school and was 2-8 this past season, 1-9 the season before, and 4-6 the year before that. Not sure your definition of "High" level, but this is not the same Boardman that old times are used to seeing.

Recruiting has definitely not stayed the same. It has changed several times, both changes when changing coordinators, and changes under the same one. Under Germano, they tended to recruit more players like Croutch, players with few offers, but which they thought had real potential. In 2010-2011 they had new recruiting coordinators, and seemed to play it "safe" by shifting more towards the more mainstream high 2/low 3-star recruits that were rated by the recruiting services. In 2013-2014 they seemed to shift back to more of the under the radar players, players that they think can play, but which have few offers and aren't in the recruiting services. Thus, I see three distinct stages that recruiting has gone through:

2005-9 Mostly under the radar players, few 3-star players, few with other offers
2010-12 More 3-star players, more players with other offers, more players covered by recruiting services
2013-15 Some 3-star players with multiple offers (e.g. Howell, Hagen, Fair) combined with some of the under-the-radar guys (e.g. Hale, Croutch, Maxwell)

So far it seems to be working. Last year's 3-star guys, such as Lowery, McCray, and Walker seem to be very good players, while there is some serious talent in under-the-radar recruits like Preuhs, Brunis, Nelson, and Ouellette. It's the same from 2013, where 3-star guys like Quallen, Morgan, and Alexander have potential, and under the radar guys like Mangen, Cope, Basham, Aloese, Poling and Porter have looked very good.

Note that to figure out which years a recruiting class has the most effect on, you need to look out 3-4 years, to when they are upperclassmen. Thus the 2005-2009 recruits had the most effect from 2008-2012. The 2010-2012 recruits primarily affect 2013-2016. The 2013-2015 recruits will primarily affect 2016-2019.

It seems to me that the under the radar recruits from 2005-2009 worked out better than the more widely recruited players from 2010-2012. Thus I'm happy to see a slight shift back in that direction, along with even better 3-star recruits.

Boardman was D1 this year and played in the Federal League with Canton McKinley, etc. They are dropping to D2 next year--they left the Federal League this year but played the schedule as they contracted to do, hence Evan won't receive all-league recognition. Tough knock, but he's a tough kid.

You folks are getting a young man that hates to lose and will give everything he has to win. His dad was an all-conference lineman at BW and his grandfather played some football at Notre Dame. He has been the best player in the Boardman system for years, and had every chance to jump ship and attend Mooney with his cousins, but didn't want to be a quitter just because times were tough at Boardman.

The listed times and weight numbers are legit--I have the video to prove it. No, I'm not a stalker, I'm his uncle. Now--where do I go to get the best OU gear?!

Gear: https://cbsohiou.3dcartstores.com/Football-Related_c_86-1...

UA Gear: https://cbsohiou.3dcartstores.com/Under-Armour-Brand_c_93...