-
Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
- Thread starter Smudger
- Start date
Officially no visits for the class of 2021. There’s going to be so many transfers next season.
Upvote
0
I think there’s going to be a mass exodus of frosh who signed with a school without ever being able to visit said school. Likewise, the coaches aren’t going to be able to get solid evaluations on seniors they were never able to see/evaluate in person.
Upvote
0
DaBuckeyes
Hall of Fame
Really unfair to the kids in that class. You're telling me there's no safe way for them to visit a school?
Upvote
0
Kids have been visiting. Just no officials. Which means they can't get a real look at the facilities and can't interact with the coaches and players.
Upvote
0
DaBuckeyes
Hall of Fame
Yes but that means they have to pay for it and aren't seeing the places they would spend a majority of their time. It does no harm to visit facilities if proper protocols are in place.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Jaylen Johnson (2021 commit) and C.J. Hicks (2022 commit) are good friends and will soon enough each be Buckeyes. But for now, it looks like they're going back and forth as peer recruiters.
Hicks is Captain Buckeye, after all, and Johnson told us a couple weeks ago that he's "the best recruiter in the state of Ohio.”
The guess here is that Egbuka might be the player Johnson is talking about and three-star Arizona receiver Kyion Grayes is who Hicks is talking about, but that's just guess work at this moment.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Denver Harris is a new addition to the board, and the five-star Texan is in the same elite cornerback tier as Jackson and Johnson. A few months back, I had been told pretty definitively that Texas was the team to beat. But then Tom Herman did his thing and it's now looking like the Horns could be running third at best. Harris has taken note of the Ewers and Burton commitments, and that certainly doesn't hurt.
My thought right now is that Ohio State has the upper hand over LSU, but this could be a lengthy national battle with teams like Alabama also being heavily involved. Maybe Texas hires Urban Meyer and all of the in-state superstars decide to stay home?
We're still of the belief that Damari Alston is the staff's top choice at tailback with Nicholas Singleton not far behind. The Atlanta four-star is the nation's No. 27 back, but I have a feeling that will change given that he's being chased by just about everyone in the country (besides the in-state Bulldogs—yet). Alston has indicated that his best relationship is with Tony Alford, but this won't be an easy pull from Florida and the rest of the Southeast.
Linebacker has already been addressed in a big way as Al Washington has three superstars committed in C.J. Hicks, Dasan McCullough, and Marysville's Gabe Powers. There is some positional versatility among the group, so adding another does make sense.
Virginia's Shawn Murphy has gotten close with several of the Buckeye commits, and he's the best guess right now to finish off the linebacker class. Making his board debut at No. 11, he's more of a thumper in the mold of a Raekwon McMillan as opposed to the more athletic Hicks/Jerome Baker types. Washington's room will be losing a lot of talent over the next year, and his reload is already nearing its completion.
Just sayin': Some interesting tidbits and/or speculation in above article.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
NEXT COMMITMENT, FLIP CANDIDATES?
This question was posed to the Real Pod Wednesdays forum, and I thought I would address it here.
When looking at the 2021 class, there are four main players Ohio State really seems to be looking at to fill out the rest of the class, and all four are names you have heard a billion times: Defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, offensive tackle Tristan Leigh and outside linebacker Raesjon Davis.
With Tuimoloau, we're not going to find out anything about his decision until February, as he's willing to push his decision all the way until National Signing Day, or perhaps even further than that. And he's probably the best player in the country. He can afford to wait as long as he wants.
With Ohio State now having to wait out Egbuka's upcoming Oklahoma visit, it's possible Egbuka will feel comfortable by the early signing period (Dec. 16-18) to pull the trigger on a decision. It would make sense if he does, given that he's been to Washington more times than he can count, has visited Columbus twice and will have finally checked out Norman by the time that week arrives. I think Egbuka is the Buckeyes' best shot among those four when talking about the next player to fall. Tuimoloau might wind up being their best overall chance at a major commitment of that group.
But recruiting momentum is a real thing, and we so often see a player commit to the school he most recently visited. That scenario is in play with Egbuka if his Oklahoma visit leaves a strong enough impression on him. Ohio State still sits in the pole position, but now that a Norman visit is happening the lead could wind up slipping. If it does, it'll be interesting to see if the Buckeyes make a run at Wisconsin receiver commit and in-state 2021 prospect Markus Allen.
As for Leigh, in reading the tea leaves it still looks as if Ohio State is not in a great position there.
Davis is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch, as Ryan Day and Al Washington continue to make a strong connection in his recruitment and the Buckeyes are not out of the race there. He has visited Columbus twice, but getting his parents to visit with him was a big factor for him. Not sure if he'd feel comfortable flipping to Ohio State, but we can't rule it out.
As for the next domino to fall in the 2022 class, that's something we've been addressing in recent Hurry-Ups, as I believe Ohio State is in a terrific position to land both receiver Armani Winfield and get a flip from Arizona receiver commit Kyion Grayes. It could be a matter of time before both wind up in the class, and I feel the best about Grayes at this point.
MORE RANKINGS MOVEMENT
On Tuesday, we hit on some of the latest Ohio State commits who were featured in the latest Rivals recruiting rankings, and even though the Buckeyes have a pair of five-stars on that list, the most interesting (if that's the right word to use) ranking came in at No. 79 overall as TreVeyon Henderson continues to be underrated.
Henderson had a thought to share about that ranking.
Henderson wasn't the only 2021 Buckeye prospect to move up or down that list, as we failed to mention some additional commits who had some movement in the new rankings. Ohio State tied LSU and Clemson for the second-most commits in the top 250 with 14, with both schools trailing Alabama's 16:
- QB Kyle McCord, down six spots to No. 30 overall
- CB Jakailin Johnson, down nine spots to No. 44 overall
- RB Evan Pryor, down 10 spots to No. 71 overall
- RB TreVeyon Henderson, down 10 spots to No. 79 overall
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr., up 36 spots to No. 84 overall
- OL Ben Christman, down 12 spots to No. 88 overall
- DT Mike Hall, down 12 spots to No. 89 overall
- CB Jordan Hancock, up nine spots to No. 108 overall
- LB Reid Carrico, down 24 spots to No. 126 overall
- WR Jayden Ballard, down 36 spots to No. 141 overall
- CB Denzel Burke, down five spots to No. 146 overall
- CB Andre Turrentine, down seven spots to No. 190 overall
In the composite rankings, there were no major movements except for Harrison, who moved back into the top 100 at No. 91 overall.
McCord was not ranked as a five-star prospect on Rivals, though the composite five-star prospect was one of a handful of recruits who just missed the mark of gaining that fifth star:
QB Kyle McCord — McCord has improved in many areas and was debated briefly but we don’t see the consistency when it comes to accuracy that we need to make him a five-star.
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
First and foremost, a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you, Buckeye Nation. Ohio State’s staff and players have been hard at work preparing for the college football playoff semifinal up until yesterday with full practices. Though they will not be back on the field until Sunday, the team is staying on campus and won’t be at home for the holidays.
A bittersweet aspect of playing in the postseason, a win versus Clemson would make all of their sacrifices away from friends and family seem worth it. In addition, a national title game berth would be the gift everyone may remember the most in this crazy 2020 season that has had no shortage of twists and turns.
It’s been incredible to watch Ryan Day and his crew recruit at the highest level, and thanks to their continued success, Ohio State’s on-field success will continue at a pace you have to be more than content with. As always, it’s a great time to be a Buckeye.
Predicting who could be next to commit to Ohio State
With it being Christmas and all, it’s only fitting to talk about gifts. One of the greatest gifts the Buckeyes can receive are commitments from their top targets, who are almost always ranked as the top players in the country at their given positions. In regards to who could be next to commit to Ohio State, it’s the 2022 class that will most likely add to their incredible haul. Sure, 2021 has a couple more targets to wrap up, but February is probably the safest bet for the timeframe when the Buckeyes could add to their second-ranked class in the current cycle.
Upvote
0