Jeff Tanner of Moeller High School in Cincinnati is a good enough offensive tackle to have received scholarship offers from Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Indiana and many of the Mid-American Conference schools.
His coach, John Rodenberg, said he'll be that much better when he arrives at Wake Forest next summer. Tanner committed to the Deacons this week.
"The one thing he's got is every day in practice, he's going against a kid who's going to sign with Michigan, and the other (defensive tackle) is only a junior who already has been offered by N.C. State," Rodenberg said.
The senior is Marcus Rush, the junior is Jesse Hayes.
"Marcus hasn't committed to Michigan," Rodenberg said. "He's either going to commit to Michigan, Virginia or Michigan State. Jesse will probably get offers from every school in the country by next year.
"So practice-wise, that's who Jeff sees every day."
Rodenberg, starting his second season as Moeller's head coach, saw enough from Tanner last season to expect him to hold his own in practices and games. He said more and more colleges were starting to show serious interest in Tanner.
"Wake has a real good football player," Rodenberg said. "The kid's outstanding.
"He's a kid who's very, very physical, and his work ethic is unbelievable. His dad played at Eastern Kentucky, so his dad's got a great understanding of what to expect. The kid's a pretty good one.
"I'll give you a comment from some of the Moeller coaches. I wasn't there, but they said (Tanner) is the best lineman to come out of Moeller since Michael Munoz, who played at Tennessee. His feet are great."
Tanner is 6-4, 277 pounds, but according to Rodenberg, has the frame to grow to about 320 pounds.
"I could see him maybe moving to guard at Wake Forest," Rodenberg said. "I think he could certainly play tackle.
"It'll be interesting to see what he does."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
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