NCAA Recruiting Scoop

We’re kind of getting tired of singing head coach Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes’ praises on the recruiting trail. Then again, if we weren’t singing their praises all the time, it would just be someone else.

J.B. Shugarts is a 6-foot-7, 299 pound offensive tackle from Klein, Texas (Klein High School) that runs the 40 in 5.12 seconds, can put up 25 repetitions on the bench press, possesses a 26 inch vertical leap, and ran the shuttle in 4.61 seconds. In other words, he’s awful big and pretty athletic for someone his size. Not to mention, he has great feet, long arms, and is as tough as they come.

Now imagine what this 80th ranked overall 2008 prospect might have been able to accomplish had he been able to concentrate on only one position in high school. That’s right: Shugarts also played a little tight end for Klein, which is probably why he’s considered the third best athlete on the offensive line in the 2008 class. Beyond that, here are a couple of other numbers.

Shugarts is considered the 10th best tackle in the nation and 11th best prospect from the state of Texas. There, now we’ve said it all. Well, not quite.

You see, J.B. Shugarts has already verbally committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes next season. He chose them over the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies, Virginia Tech Hokies, Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, and LSU Tigers.

Not bad company to keep, now is it? Maybe the Florida Gators beat the Ohio State Buckeyes last season in the BCS National Championship Game, but they couldn’t out duel them when it came to J.B. Shugarts.

That could mean something in a few years.