Marcus Hartman from BuckeyeSports.com recently interviewed Cincinnati St. Xavier H.S. Coach Steve Specht about the impact Brady Hoke is having on a daily basis in Ohio high schools. Here is what Specht had to say:
“I don’t think Ohio State’s football program is going to suffer. They’re going to continue to get the pick of the litter. I think a bigger issue for Ohio State is what Brady Hoke is doing now. He’s really hammering southwest Ohio. I think he’s really hammering Ohio in and of itself and doing a really good job of recruiting it. I don’t know if his approach would change if Jim Tressel was there or not, but there’s a renewed interest in Ohio football from Michigan’s perspective because of Brady Hoke’s history with Ohio football players. You’re seeing a lot of kids looking harder at Michigan because Michigan spends more time here. Now that they’re back, they’ve been down here a lot. You see a lot of southwestern Ohio kids that have already committed to Michigan, really quality players, and I think there’s going to be a renewed interest that Michigan lost over the past couple years since they brought in Rodriguez. They didn’t recruit us as hard as they had in the past. I think recruiting is more about being able to develop relationships and sell your product. Obviously, if you’re an Ohio guy, it makes it easier because you’ve been here and understand the kids a little better, but good recruiters just understand kids. They know what kids are interested in and can sell their program based on what they know kids like and dislike.”
Specht coaches at a high school that has had several Division 1 football players in the past few years. ‘11 BC Commit Sean Duggan was recruited by Rich Rodriguez and we even knocked out a profile on him which shows the Specht has first-hand knowledge in the difference Hoke has made in such a short amount of time in Ann Arbor:
| Year | Rivals Caliber | Player | College |
| 2011 |     |
LB – Steve Daniels | Boston College |
| 2011 | |
LB – Sean Duggan | Boston College |
| 2010 | |
OL – Matt James | Notre Dame |
| 2010 | |
QB – Luke Massa | Notre Dame |
| 2009 | |
DE – Pat Muldoon | Wisconsin |
| 2009 | |
LB – Luke Kuechly | Boston College |
| 2008 | |
RB – Darius Ashley | Louisville |
| 2008 | |
LB – Fred Craig | Stanford |
