OHIO Football
Ohio recruits bring optimism to 2008 team
By Britton Dove, Staff Writer
February 8, 2008 | 3 p.m.
The Bobcats signed a total of 20 players (16 freshmen and four junior college transfers) at 12 different positions (three safeties and three offensive linemen lead the class). According to Rivals.com, Ohio’s recruiting class was ranked 104 in a recruiting class of 150 but jumped to 80th by the end of Wednesday afternoon with the addition of nine more athletes than expected.
“[We added] a few more junior college players than I normally recruit,” coach Frank Solich said. “But it played out very well for us on that end of it in terms of filling some needs and also being able to identify some guys that we feel can come in and contribute right away in the program or at least very early."
One of the junior college transfers is 6-foot quarterback Franshaw “Boo” Jackson. Jackson transferred from El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., along with 5-foot-7-inch safety Hilton Dawson III, after a transfer deal with the Memphis Tigers fell through.
Dawson signed with Ohio on Dec. 10, and Jackson quickly followed with his intent on Dec. 17, just two days before the Dec. 19 junior-college-transfer signing date came to a close. Both student athletes signed just three days after their visit to Athens.
With the addition of Jackson to the team, the Bobcats now have a roster with three potential starting quarterbacks in Theo Scott, Josh Febus and Jackson. According to Solich, Scott and Febus have had problems with injuries and he felt that there was a need at the position.
“We do not, at this point in time, have an established quarterback,” Solich said. “We do not have a player that has stepped forward and just taken over the position. With that in mind, we have identified what we feel is an excellent player in Boo in the West Coast and decided to go ahead and go with him."
According to Rivals.com, Ohio recruited four players with three-star ratings, and the rest have two-star ratings. Although this is one of the best classes Ohio has recruited in the past few years, according to Rivals.com, recruiting coordinator and tight end coach Pete Germano tries not to read into those superficial statistics.
“I don’t read all that [Rivals.com and other ranking Web sites],” Germano said. “I don’t believe in all of that. We think it’s a solid class and can be comparable to the previous three. The old saying is, ‘You really don’t know until two years down the road how good your class is.' There are some star players there that we are proud to get."
Top recruits (in alphabetical order):
Bakari Bussey – Wide Receiver (6’1”, 187 lbs.)
Bussey is a 6-foot-1-inch wide receiver form Lakota West High School. The 187-pound senior grabbed 27 passes for 408 total yards and six touchdowns and was named First Team All-Conference to top off a great final year of high school.
Franshaw “Boo” Jackson – Quarterback (6’0”, 197 lbs.)
Jackson is a junior college transfer from El Camino College in California. Jackson will be a junior at Ohio and is described as a pro-style quarterback who can escape the pocket if needed. Jackson also has a very strong arm and a nice touch on his deep passes. In 2007 he threw for 2,385 passing yards for 18 total touchdowns and also rushed for three touchdowns, solidifying his spot as El Camino’s Most Valuable Player in 2007.
Tremayne Scott – Defensive End (6’3”, 227 lbs.)
The 227-pound defensive end built a great resume in his high school career. Scott recorded 103 tackles, 14 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss his senior year of high school. Scott helped his Trinity Catholic High School team win a state championship his sophomore year, a state championship runner-up his junior year and a trip to the state playoffs as a senior.
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