The Zook Factor: Battleground Ohio

We all know what kind of job Ron Zook has done thus far at Illinois. He has recruited very well, and last season took the Fighting Illini all the way to Pasadena. However, one of the more interesting off-field stories involving the Zooker is the way he has changed recruiting in the state of Ohio.

Ohio football recruiting has always been dominated by Ohio State. For the most part, this is still the case. However, this season the Buckeyes have been forced to change their recruiting style. In the past, Ohio State has been able to pick and choose the best prospects in the state and offer them whenever they wanted. This has changed slightly in the 2009 class.

One of the peripheral benefits of Illinois' upset victory over Ohio State was the credibility that it gave Zook in the homes of potential Ohio recruits. Now, as opposed to talking up the potential of the Illinois program, Zook can point to last year's surprising result. Therefore, Illinois has made a concerted effort to make Ohio State work in Ohio this recruiting season.

The player that probably most represents the "new" Ohio is Melvin Fellows. Early in the recruiting season Fellows made a commitment to Illinois, who offered him well before Ohio State. Needless to say, the Buckeye staff was taken aback by this, and when they took a closer look at Fellows' film they put the full court press on him. Recently Fellows changed his commitment to Ohio State, and his story may be an interesting one to follow up until Signing Day. While Fellows may end up at Ohio State regardless, the Buckeyes were forced to move early on him, and perhaps spend more time and resources than they usually would on a prospect.

Some media sources have cited the Illini as offering "over 100" players, many of which are in Ohio. While this number seems high, and very likely is overblown, the aggressive recruiting strategy has forced Ohio State to make evaluation decisions earlier than they would like.

What does this mean for on the field results? It remains to be seen. Ohio State will have a tremendous recruiting class as usual. Where this effect may be seen will be in class attrition. If some of the players Ohio State has brought in do not end up working out, it may be because they were not properly evaluated by the Buckeyes. In addition, it may be tougher for in state prospects who blow up in their senior year to commit to Ohio State if Illinois or Michigan have been recruiting them hard for months.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the future. I suspect that it will, as the Zooker has helped create a new recruiting game in the Big Ten. The battles for the top prospects in the Midwest will be hotly contested for the years to come.