Sometimes there are guys who are great football players, but don't appear to have a natural position. These are the guys that may not fit into any prototype, but are simply too productive to not have them on the field. In an era of spread offenses gone wild, guys that project as classic fullbacks fall into this situation often. That said, good coaches find ways to get their best players on the field. Even Dana Holgorson adapted his offense in order to get Bryant Ward on the field and that process led to the inverted wishbone formation that seems to be catching on.
Against that backdrop, let's talk about one of my favorite signees in the class of 2012, Dominic Ramacher. In the purest sense, this guy is a football player. You could conceivably line him up at any position on the field and get some production out of him due to his size, athleticism, work ethic, and instincts. If you watch games throughout his high school career, you find that's exactly what was done with him at that level. At times they needed him as an in-line blocker, ball carrier, receiver, linebacker, lead blocker, etc. and he did his job well in all of those different roles.
By now most of you know that the young man has great measurables. Most recruiting services rate him as an athlete, but project him to TE or LB. At OSU the hope is that he can develop into a multi threat h-back, combining some power back, fullback, tight end, and slot receiver responsibilities.
When you watch his film, the thing that initially jumps out at you is the effort that he plays with. This shows up everywhere, but is really noticeable in blocking situations on the edge. He was one of the best guys I saw on film as far as effectively blocking guys on the second level of the defense. He has the speed to get to the edge and the agility to change direction and make the block at the point of attack. Once he engages blocks, his relentless effort is on display in sustaining them.
As a runner, Dominic has surprising burst for a guy his size. He runs with great power and pad level, always falling forward and finishing runs. Although he doesn't look for contact, he runs through it consistently, getting lots of yards after contact. He demonstrates good patience and quickness in getting to and through holes. He will never be mistaken for a scat-back, but he has really loose hips and can make guys miss in space and then accelerate away from them.
He is a sure handed receiver that isn't afraid of contact. Whether he catches the ball short or in the intermediate area of the field, he is a threat for a big play as smaller DBs struggle to bring him down one on one. He is able to use his speed to exploit linebackers down the seam to bring a vertical threat as well. His high school offense gave him opportunities to learn some skills working underneath against zone coverages that should carryover well to the next level.
This year Denton Guyer moved him to defense and again he showed up. He anchored them at MLB and showed very good ball awareness and play recognition. He filled the inside holes well and generally made the tackle. He wrapped up well and at times was very physical in getting guys to the ground. You can tell he lacked some experience on that side of the ball with flat pursuit angles when plays flowed outside, but when plays were in the middle of the field he was always in the middle of the action. He showed enough on that side of the ball to warrant an opportunity to play defense in college (All District; 100+ tackles; 4 interceptions). Regardless of which side of the ball he winds up on, the defensive experience will probably translate into immediate special teams time.
If it were up to me, I would recruit as many Dominic Ramacher types of football players as I could find. He will be an impact player during his career at OSU, because he gives the coaches so many different ways that they can use him and be successful. Although he has good measurables to play LB or possibly DE one day, he has a unique skill set that could make an All conference calibur player on offense.
He will not be forced into action this year, so the possibility exists that he could be redshirted (which wouldn't be a bad thing for him). Still, it's going to be difficult to not at least play him on return units with his ability to block on the run. If that proves to be the case, he should find his way to every special teams unit and possibly get some spot offensive duty. Down the road, the sky is the limit for him. It's hard to find a quality comparison to a recent OSU player.
Against that backdrop, let's talk about one of my favorite signees in the class of 2012, Dominic Ramacher. In the purest sense, this guy is a football player. You could conceivably line him up at any position on the field and get some production out of him due to his size, athleticism, work ethic, and instincts. If you watch games throughout his high school career, you find that's exactly what was done with him at that level. At times they needed him as an in-line blocker, ball carrier, receiver, linebacker, lead blocker, etc. and he did his job well in all of those different roles.
By now most of you know that the young man has great measurables. Most recruiting services rate him as an athlete, but project him to TE or LB. At OSU the hope is that he can develop into a multi threat h-back, combining some power back, fullback, tight end, and slot receiver responsibilities.
When you watch his film, the thing that initially jumps out at you is the effort that he plays with. This shows up everywhere, but is really noticeable in blocking situations on the edge. He was one of the best guys I saw on film as far as effectively blocking guys on the second level of the defense. He has the speed to get to the edge and the agility to change direction and make the block at the point of attack. Once he engages blocks, his relentless effort is on display in sustaining them.
As a runner, Dominic has surprising burst for a guy his size. He runs with great power and pad level, always falling forward and finishing runs. Although he doesn't look for contact, he runs through it consistently, getting lots of yards after contact. He demonstrates good patience and quickness in getting to and through holes. He will never be mistaken for a scat-back, but he has really loose hips and can make guys miss in space and then accelerate away from them.
He is a sure handed receiver that isn't afraid of contact. Whether he catches the ball short or in the intermediate area of the field, he is a threat for a big play as smaller DBs struggle to bring him down one on one. He is able to use his speed to exploit linebackers down the seam to bring a vertical threat as well. His high school offense gave him opportunities to learn some skills working underneath against zone coverages that should carryover well to the next level.
This year Denton Guyer moved him to defense and again he showed up. He anchored them at MLB and showed very good ball awareness and play recognition. He filled the inside holes well and generally made the tackle. He wrapped up well and at times was very physical in getting guys to the ground. You can tell he lacked some experience on that side of the ball with flat pursuit angles when plays flowed outside, but when plays were in the middle of the field he was always in the middle of the action. He showed enough on that side of the ball to warrant an opportunity to play defense in college (All District; 100+ tackles; 4 interceptions). Regardless of which side of the ball he winds up on, the defensive experience will probably translate into immediate special teams time.
If it were up to me, I would recruit as many Dominic Ramacher types of football players as I could find. He will be an impact player during his career at OSU, because he gives the coaches so many different ways that they can use him and be successful. Although he has good measurables to play LB or possibly DE one day, he has a unique skill set that could make an All conference calibur player on offense.
He will not be forced into action this year, so the possibility exists that he could be redshirted (which wouldn't be a bad thing for him). Still, it's going to be difficult to not at least play him on return units with his ability to block on the run. If that proves to be the case, he should find his way to every special teams unit and possibly get some spot offensive duty. Down the road, the sky is the limit for him. It's hard to find a quality comparison to a recent OSU player.
