Why is this news?: Jim Tressel confident he can succeed at Youngstown State, players' star ratings might not mean everything

"In the [coaching] world I lived in for all those years, you had 10 coaches making a decision about who to recruit and a game plan."

- Jim Tressel via Karen Farkas, Northeast Ohio Media Group

Jim Tressel has had plenty of success wherever he's gone in his career, and is looking to do the same in his term at Youngstown State - as the university's president. After coaching Youngstown State and then Ohio State, Tressel made the move back to his old stomping grounds to help progress the university and reach new levels.

Karen Farkas of the Northeast Ohio Media Group had a chance to talk to Tressel about his goals and issues as a president. He has some typical Tressel-like answers that Ohio State fans might be familiar with, but also provides some insight into his new role and some of the challenges he faces.

"Keep that in mind when fortunes seem to rise and fall with each announcement on Wednesday. What matters is not how many stars a player has attached to his name when he signs, but whether he becomes one after he arrives on campus."

- Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

With National Signing Day on Wednesday, it makes sense that some of the content of today's WITN includes some recruiting articles. Bill Rabinowitz spent some time dissecting some of the previous recruiting classes that Ohio State has had, and made a note that many times in recruiting, the recruiting rankings and stars don't matter as much as the product on the field.

Rabinowitz looks specifically at coach Meyer's classes from 2012 and 2013. He brings up several key names such as Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington, Michael Thomas, Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, and J.T. Barrett. He makes some very good points and I suggest you take a look for yourself at the piece.

"Three-star recruits typically don't generate a lot of hype on signing day, but that's where the bulk of the Big Ten's top performers checked in out of high school."

- Brian Bennett, ESPN

Along the same lines of the Rabinowitz piece, Brian Bennett broke down the recruiting classes of the Big Ten and noticed that three-star recruits were often times the most important players not only on their respective teams, but for the conference as well. Many of the first-team All-Big Ten players were actually three stars when being recruited to these schools.

A surprising note was the fact that no five-star recruits were listed on the All-Big Ten team. Often times, five-star recruits are viewed as can't-miss prospects or sure-fire successes at the next levels of football. In reality, that may not always be the case. It's not as if this is new information, but to see these studies be confirmed over and over again is certainly interesting.

"If Russell keeps finding those extra notches -- in his past two games against Indiana and Maryland, he poured in 40 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists on 15-of-27 shooting -- the Buckeyes have an outside chance at a top-16 seed."

- Eamon Brennan, ESPN

The bubble watch for the NCAA men's basketball tournament has already begun at ESPN, as they break down every conference to see which teams have all but secured themselves a spot in the tournament, and which ones still have work to do. The Big Ten, so far, only has one team that is looked at as already having their place in the tournament.

Maryland represents the Big Ten, while the teams on the bubble include Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan, and Purdue. Focusing on Ohio State, Brennan points out that the Buckeyes' so-so defense has been holding back the high potential the team shows in spurts. There's also the fact that Ohio State lost to their only two noteworthy opponents (Louisville and North Carolina). It's clear Thad Matta's squad still has some work to do before they can be a contender for the NCAA tournament.

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