David Durham, LB Westlake to Ohio State?

[Shark4]

Scout is reporting this. Anyone know anything about him?

 

[LonghornSS]

Jordan Hicks, LB Lakota West to Texas?

Sorry, I have nothing of value to add to this thread...

 

[everybodygodeep]

I would take that swap.

 

[Steve Dallas]

Interesting though.

 

[pulque]

In reply to:

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[TxTower]

Sherm didn't offer.

 

[Shark4]

How does a Michigan fan wind up dropping a football recruit into the hands of Ohio State?

Pat O'Harra grew up in a Michigan family in Columbus, puffing out his chest during the Wolverines' domination of the Buckeyes through the John Cooper era. He actually graduated from Ohio State but never lost his love of the maize and blue.

"I was living high on the hog there for a while," O'Harra said. "Those were good times indeed."

A former teacher and middle school wrestling coach in the Columbus suburb of Grandview Heights, O'Harra is also a competitive water skier and left for the warmer climates of Texas nine years ago.

"I got out just in time, since Jim Tressel has made my life miserable," O'Harra said.

O'Harra helped start a wrestling program at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, and in late January the coach brought his team to a high school wrestling event near Columbus. One of his wrestlers is David Durham, who O'Harra said missed a junior day for football recruits at an SEC school to take part in Westlake's first out-of-state wrestling trip.

So while the Westlake team went to an Ohio State wrestling match and met with OSU coach Tom Ryan, O'Harra felt bad for Durham and also made a call to OSU linebackers coach Luke Fickell, a former high school state champion wrestler.

"Before that David wasn't on their radar and Ohio State wasn't on his radar," O'Harra said.

Durham sent some highlights of himself to Fickell before the trip. He spoke with Fickell that weekend. Then Durham and his father returned for another visit last weekend, and on Monday, Durham committed to Ohio State.

"I was talking to my brother last night and he said my stepfather probably rolled over in his grave," O'Harra said by phone this morning. "All my friends in Ohio sent me about 100 emails about helping out Ohio State football.

"David just felt the family atmosphere there, and he fell right into. Even as a Michigan man, everything I ever heard about Jim Tressel is that he's pretty classy, so I said that to David even before we went up there. And that atmosphere really is what put him over the edge."

Both Fickell and OSU defensive line coach Jim Heacock speak often about the benefits of recruiting football players with wrestling backgrounds, liking the body control and balance and effective use of their hands they bring from the wrestling mat to the football field.

"Wrestling is such a new sport in Texas, I'm trying to get the high school football coaches to see the value of it and they're starting to come around," O'Harra said.

O'Harra doesn't have any wrestling connections that could help him get his team into tournaments in Michigan, but he realizes he probably owes Wolverines' coach Rich Rodriguez a player now.

For now, he's happy for Durham. And worried about the future of the OSU-Michigan rivalry.

"We talked about it and I told him that I hope he does well but Ohio State's offense struggles and Michigan wins," O'Harra said. "Blood is still thicker than water."

 

[BigWill]