Chuck McKeever
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Alabama looks to turn the Tide, flip Ohio State defensive back commit
Chuck McKeever via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Crimson Tide are coming for a Buckeye commit.
There's been no shortage of news on the Ohio State recruiting front since National Signing Day, barely a week ago. The Buckeye coaching staff has been hitting the trail hard trying to secure commitments from some of 2017 and 2018's top prospects, and there's little doubt that the last two seasons are a major selling point for potential future members of the Scarlet and Gray.
It's fitting, then, that the Alabama Crimson Tide -- the only program that can boast a résumé of Ohio State's caliber over the past two years -- are right in the mix, trying to take away one of the Buckeyes' most prized commitments for next season.
'Bama offers Shaun Wade
On Thursday, 247Sports broke the news that Nick Saban and the Tide had floated an offer to 2017 defensive back Shaun Wade. Wade, a 5-star corner out of Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, has been committed to Ohio State since January 12, 2015, which you may remember as the day the Buckeyes won their first national championship since the early Tressel days. A week and a half earlier, Ohio State had beaten Alabama for the right to play Oregon, and so Wade's decision came right on the heels of two of the biggest wins in program history.
#Alabama offers #OhioState 2017 commit DB @shaunwade2017 https://t.co/TzEznc9KZj @TimWatts_BOL @HankSouth247 pic.twitter.com/CXxKDaBWyT
— Alex Gleitman (@alexgleitman) February 12, 2016
Wade rates out as the No. 2 CB in the class of '17, and the 12th-best player overall. He stands 6'2 and weighs in at 185 lbs., making him the kind of player that will have new defensive backs coach Greg Schiano salivating. The Buckeyes will need guys of Wade's caliber in the future, too: the combined loss of Eli Apple, Tyvis Powell, and Vonn Bell in the secondary will be somewhat mitigated by guys like Gareon Conley and the DBs of the 2016 class, but Urban Meyer plays the long game, and Wade could be a crucial building block for Ohio State's secondary in the years to come.
Still, it won't come easy. Since committing to play his college ball in Columbus, Wade has taken a bunch of visits to schools like Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, UCF, and of course the Tide. The Gators, USC, Stanford, and everybody's favorite Florida State Seminoles have all sent offers Wade's way in the interim, hoping to pull him away from what's now firmly one of the best recruiting conferences in college football.
Despite all that, Wade's still considered to be a firm Ohio State commit until we hear otherwise. It'll take some work for the Buckeyes to keep him locked down, but just ask Jay-Z: you can put out a cool-looking product, but that doesn't mean everyone will want to make a Tidal switch.
Continue reading...
Chuck McKeever via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Crimson Tide are coming for a Buckeye commit.
There's been no shortage of news on the Ohio State recruiting front since National Signing Day, barely a week ago. The Buckeye coaching staff has been hitting the trail hard trying to secure commitments from some of 2017 and 2018's top prospects, and there's little doubt that the last two seasons are a major selling point for potential future members of the Scarlet and Gray.
It's fitting, then, that the Alabama Crimson Tide -- the only program that can boast a résumé of Ohio State's caliber over the past two years -- are right in the mix, trying to take away one of the Buckeyes' most prized commitments for next season.
'Bama offers Shaun Wade
On Thursday, 247Sports broke the news that Nick Saban and the Tide had floated an offer to 2017 defensive back Shaun Wade. Wade, a 5-star corner out of Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, has been committed to Ohio State since January 12, 2015, which you may remember as the day the Buckeyes won their first national championship since the early Tressel days. A week and a half earlier, Ohio State had beaten Alabama for the right to play Oregon, and so Wade's decision came right on the heels of two of the biggest wins in program history.
#Alabama offers #OhioState 2017 commit DB @shaunwade2017 https://t.co/TzEznc9KZj @TimWatts_BOL @HankSouth247 pic.twitter.com/CXxKDaBWyT
— Alex Gleitman (@alexgleitman) February 12, 2016
Wade rates out as the No. 2 CB in the class of '17, and the 12th-best player overall. He stands 6'2 and weighs in at 185 lbs., making him the kind of player that will have new defensive backs coach Greg Schiano salivating. The Buckeyes will need guys of Wade's caliber in the future, too: the combined loss of Eli Apple, Tyvis Powell, and Vonn Bell in the secondary will be somewhat mitigated by guys like Gareon Conley and the DBs of the 2016 class, but Urban Meyer plays the long game, and Wade could be a crucial building block for Ohio State's secondary in the years to come.
Still, it won't come easy. Since committing to play his college ball in Columbus, Wade has taken a bunch of visits to schools like Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, UCF, and of course the Tide. The Gators, USC, Stanford, and everybody's favorite Florida State Seminoles have all sent offers Wade's way in the interim, hoping to pull him away from what's now firmly one of the best recruiting conferences in college football.
Despite all that, Wade's still considered to be a firm Ohio State commit until we hear otherwise. It'll take some work for the Buckeyes to keep him locked down, but just ask Jay-Z: you can put out a cool-looking product, but that doesn't mean everyone will want to make a Tidal switch.
Continue reading...