Baron Browning, one of Kennedale?s most celebrated football player and who not only received All-American notice but 5 star ratings, is finding out that getting signed by one of the nation?s storied football programs is just a beginning. {{more: Read More …}}
Getting there is a tremendous step that few actually every get a chance to take. But once there, high school athletes find themselves surrounded by some of the elite players in college ball who are not the least interested in your press clippings or video highlights. They all have those back home. It is all about what you can do now.
Then there are the sport writers who love to vex and confound. And, this brings up the recent article by Cleveland.com that covers the Ohio State Buckeyes.The article is actually one of a series that ranks the top 50 players on the Buckeyes 2017 roster. It starts at #50 and with Browning. (Note: there are currently 98 players listed on the Ohio State roster.)
While acknowledging that Browning was ranked by some as the #11 player in the country when he was signed and the 3rd best in the Ohio State recruiting class. They even call the 6?4, 230lbs linebacker a ?supreme talent?.
So why the 50th rank?
Here is what cleveland.com. had to say.
Browning, a member of the 2017 recruiting class, was not on our list last year. [Browning] arrived on campus with the most fanfare for a linebacker since Raekwon McMillan in 2014. Browning was the No. 11 player in the country in 2017, and rated slightly ahead of McMillan as a high school prospect. That made for immediate high expectations when Browning enrolled early last January, but a shoulder injury cut his spring practice short really before it got started.
You may think Browning deserves to be ranked higher on this list, and perhaps even more so when you see the other linebackers and true freshmen we have ahead of him.
Browning, on paper, is the third-best player in Ohio State’s 2017 recruiting class, yet we have him at No. 50? Yes. A couple things went into the decision.
It’s not meant to be a knock on Browning’s talent. Watch his high school highlight tape (where he plays at all three levels of the defense) and you can see that he’s a supreme talent. That talent is what got him on the list in the first place. It’s not easy to find a spot for freshmen on these lists. Last year we ranked six. We’ll have fewer than that this year.
Browning is No. 50 because we’re looking at him as pure luxury for Ohio State right now. He’s starting his career at middle linebacker, looking like the heir apparent to Chris Worley after this season. But we’re high on Worley, maybe more than most, so we don’t think the No. 2 player behind a solid starter creates the sense of urgency that might get a player at another position ranked higher on this list.
It’s also not totally clear where Browning will fit in the linebacker pecking order given his injury in the spring.
So here’s what we expect from Browning this fall: He’ll be a major part of special teams, perhaps even a star there. It’s always hard to figure out which freshmen will play. If Browning is healthy, he’ll play. If he ends up really pushing Worley, and has a role similar to what McMillan had in 2014 alongside Curtis Grant, then Browning deserves to be higher on this list.
All said, Browning is still going to have to earn his place on this team, as it should be.
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