Tressel makes SW Florida visit

[Don Toro]

It was hard to compete against UM and Florida in Immokalee now OSU is in the mix too...

Tressel makes SW Florida visit

The coach of top-ranked Ohio State was in Immokalee to meet with the Indians' prized recruit, senior linebacker Brian Rolle

By Jason A. Dixon (Contact)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

IMMOKALEE  Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel found himself in a familiar position Tuesday  in Southwest Florida on a recruiting visit.

It has become a priority of his to seek out some of the top prospects in the state and bring them back to Columbus.

From 1983-85, when Tressel served as an assistant at Ohio State, he successfully fulfilled his mission. Southwest Florida remained fertile recruiting ground for Tressel during his 15-year head coaching tenure at Youngstown State in Ohio.

After he wanders into a classroom at Immokalee High School, Tressel waits to meet with football coach John Weber and senior linebacker Brian Rolle. And then he begins to speak of the truism of truisms that have stuck with him since 1983.

"We feel as if we're going to get the majority of our players from Ohio, and then Florida might be the next highest state for us to recruit," Tressel said. "When I left to go be the head coach at Youngstown State, I always had at least 10 guys on my team from Florida and all over various places.

"In fact, I got to know Coach (Bill) Kramer (at Naples High) real well, because he sent me a bunch of guys from American High School over in Miami a long time ago. Currently, we have good kids on our team from Florida."

Tressel, now in his sixth season as the head coach at Ohio State, has sent a number of Florida players through his program during that span.

The Buckeyes have three players from Florida listed on their 2006 roster.

No. 1 Ohio State will play No. 2 Florida in the 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship game on Jan. 8 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Tressel could talk in general terms of recruiting, but not specifically about Rolle. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from commenting on recruits until they have signed a letter-of-intent.

National Signing Day for football recruits is Feb. 7.

Weber, who just completed his ninth season as the head coach at Immokalee, said Rolle is one of the most heavily recruited players he's had in 30 years of coaching.

Weber said John Church, a player he coached while at Cypress Lake, went on to play defensive end at Florida.

Church was also being recruited by Florida State and Michigan.

"He was one of the most highly recruited kids coming out of Lee County at that time," Weber said. "It was a lot like this process here and it was a very exciting time. I was a little bit younger then, and I got a little bit more excited about those guys coming in."

Rolle, 5-foot-11 and 215 pounds, is also being recruited by Wisconsin, Florida and LSU. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is scheduled to fly in today and meet with Rolle. Bielema has already received a verbal commitment from Immokalee senior cornerback Aaron Henry.

Weber said Florida coach Urban Meyer is scheduled to visit Rolle on Thursday. Rolle said he is planning to take his last official visit to Florida on Jan. 12.

This past season, Rolle led Immokalee with 125 tackles and also rushed for 902 yards and 17 touchdowns.

He is listed No. 27 on Rivals.com's top outside linebackers in the country and No. 65 in the Florida Top 100 Prospect Rankings.

Weber said the recruiting process hasn't changed much over the years.

"They cut the number of visits that coaches can come, which I think they are happy about," he said, "because they were on the road all the time. I think the process is starting to wear on some of the players now.

"I know Aaron and Brian's cell phones ring constantly and I'm sure there's going to be several kids around who make commitments this week just because they're tired of the process, too."

 

Weber said he doesn't think it's difficult for schools up north like Ohio State to recruit players from the South. He said that college coaches are realistic, and expect to only get one or two out-of-state players.

Tressel said it hasn't been a tough process trying to recruit players from the South to play at Ohio State.

He feels like Ohio, Florida, California, Texas and Georgia are some of the most heavily recruited states in the country.

"Kids are interested in opportunities," Tressel said, "and they're interested in academics and an opportunity to play. A lot of people who haven't experienced something else really are open to going to us and having a chance to see another part of the world.

"They know that if they're lucky enough to go to the NFL, they won't get to choose what part of the country they go to; they're going to be assigned there. It's not ironic that Ohio State and Florida are meeting in the championship, because we come from a couple of the greatest states for recruiting."