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2024 tOSU Recruiting Discussion

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pnuts34 said:
That helps a ton! Also, Hartline knew he wanted to be a coach while still playing, its ben on record that Hartline would visit local HSs when he played for the Dolphins. So it shouldn’t be a surprise why he gets so much love from that region. I even think he gave some of the So FL Express 7 on 7 teams tickets to Dolphins Games when he was in Miami. That’s paying off now. It also helped, that Hartline’s predecessor was also a big time recruiter in FL. As much as we want to laugh at ZS, he was a heck of a recruiter and developer of WRs, and at times I miss his rotations going 6 deep, so guys stayed fresh.
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I think you have Hartline pitch in on recruiting wherever he can, he is our best recruiter regardless of what position he coaches (also bear in mind he is our OC now, so he should be expected to help recruit the entire offense) and as you said he has connections. He might already be doing that, but I would definitely want him helping Frye on these OOS OL recruits. Not uncommon at all to have a coach recruit a player where he won't be their position coach, there are a lot of other factors that influences who should be lead (relationship with the recruit and their family, ties to the state or HS program, etc. as you mentioned).

That said, one thing is for sure...we cannot keep missing every OOS OL recruit and get to our ultimate goal. Yeah we have had a slew of 5* and high 4* recruits at QB, RB, WR and TE. But if there are holes on the OL, you can't cover them up against an elite opponent. Last year we had a great OL and this year they are coming along imo to a realistic level that can get the job done. Problem is at least Fryar and Jones are gone after this year, and they are arguably the best two we have. Jackson is having a down season but he could also depart, leaving us with Hinzman and Simmons (neither being particularly inspiring so far) and a whole lot of giant question marks.

I'm not going to list every OL we missed on in the last few cycles, but the number is big and it will likely bite us either this year or next. This year our defense is helping mask some offensive woes and we could very well get by, but next year I think will be the one where concerns on OL recruiting come to fruition. I certainly hope not, but that's my honest take. Getting Seaton would be a big answer, but probably not much help next year.
 
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RB07OSU said:
I think you have Hartline pitch in on recruiting wherever he can, he is our best recruiter regardless of what position he coaches (also bear in mind he is our OC now, so he should be expected to help recruit the entire offense) and as you said he has connections. He might already be doing that, but I would definitely want him helping Frye on these OOS OL recruits. Not uncommon at all to have a coach recruit a player where he won't be their position coach, there are a lot of other factors that influences who should be lead (relationship with the recruit and their family, ties to the state or HS program, etc. as you mentioned).

That said, one thing is for sure...we cannot keep missing every OOS OL recruit and get to our ultimate goal. Yeah we have had a slew of 5* and high 4* recruits at QB, RB, WR and TE. But if there are holes on the OL, you can't cover them up against an elite opponent. Last year we had a great OL and this year they are coming along imo to a realistic level that can get the job done. Problem is at least Fryar and Jones are gone after this year, and they are arguably the best two we have. Jackson is having a down season but he could also depart, leaving us with Hinzman and Simmons (neither being particularly inspiring so far) and a whole lot of giant question marks.

I'm not going to list every OL we missed on in the last few cycles, but the number is big and it will likely bite us either this year or next. This year our defense is helping mask some offensive woes and we could very well get by, but next year I think will be the one where concerns on OL recruiting come to fruition. I certainly hope not, but that's my honest take. Getting Seaton would be a big answer, but probably not much help next year.
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I think the Portal will be the only way to combat those misses in recruiting on the OL. I know I'm beating a dead horse in constantly saying that, but the Portal eases those losses. Honest question, at this moment October 30, 2023, would you rather have Josh Simmons or JC Latham? Would you rather have the Cornelius who's at Oregon or Samson Okunla?
 
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pnuts34 said:
I think the Portal will be the only way to combat those misses in recruiting on the OL. I know I'm beating a dead horse in constantly saying that, but the Portal eases those losses. Honest question, at this moment October 30, 2023, would you rather have Josh Simmons or JC Latham? Would you rather have the Cornelius who's at Oregon or Samson Okunla?
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Latham over Simmons, Simmons has been pretty disappointing. And Cornelius over Okunla. If we become reliant on the portal to supplement our recruiting, the rub is we need to get better in the portal at OL then. Simmons and Cutler were not exactly homeruns, though both have time to improve and Simmons has looked overall better since the ND game. Now if we go back to landing guys like Jonah Jackson and Malcolm Pridgeon to plug into a spot, that would definitely work.
 
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pnuts34 said:
I think the Portal will be the only way to combat those misses in recruiting on the OL. I know I'm beating a dead horse in constantly saying that, but the Portal eases those losses. Honest question, at this moment October 30, 2023, would you rather have Josh Simmons or JC Latham? Would you rather have the Cornelius who's at Oregon or Samson Okunla?
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RB07OSU said:
Latham over Simmons, Simmons has been pretty disappointing. And Cornelius over Okunla. If we become reliant on the portal to supplement our recruiting, the rub is we need to get better in the portal at OL then. Simmons and Cutler were not exactly homeruns, though both have time to improve and Simmons has looked overall better since the ND game. Now if we go back to landing guys like Jonah Jackson and Malcolm Pridgeon to plug into a spot, that would definitely work.
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Its pretty clear they don't either know how to "Attack" the portal, wait to long, or get out bid with NIL money ....

correct me if I'm wrong but Jonah & Malcolm were guards correct? if you're a half decent RT/LT you're not going to grad transfer you're going to the NFL...
 
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AuTX Buckeye said:
Its pretty clear they don't either know how to "Attack" the portal, wait to long, or get out bid with NIL money ....

correct me if I'm wrong but Jonah & Malcolm were guards correct? if you're a half decent RT/LT you're not going to grad transfer you're going to the NFL...
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I think all of the above in your first sentence is true and pretty much what was going through my head. The portal for OL can be great, but I think we swing for the fences on some OOS OL that we miss on, then hit the portal after most of the top prospects are gone. To be fair, it is a new landscape in that arena and hopefully we just learn from it and do better.

Malcolm was an OT and a godsend 5* JUCO player (not a first rounder but played well here), but Jackson was a guard but we just really needed him while others developed. Honestly a center of Jackson's caliber would have been great for Hinzman to get another year under his belt after Wypler left. But I definitely agree that finding a top OT in the portal is a tough chore...the Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones' of the world are not transferring. Same goes for DE in general, I have a lot of trepidation depending on the portal for guys that are truly elite...it is not unheard of but some positions seem more ripe for the taking in the portal (QB, WR, DB come to mind), but I'm not so sure on OT and DE, or at least on a consistent basis.
 
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RB07OSU said:
Latham over Simmons, Simmons has been pretty disappointing. And Cornelius over Okunla. If we become reliant on the portal to supplement our recruiting, the rub is we need to get better in the portal at OL then. Simmons and Cutler were not exactly homeruns, though both have time to improve and Simmons has looked overall better since the ND game. Now if we go back to landing guys like Jonah Jackson and Malcolm Pridgeon to plug into a spot, that would definitely work.
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Idk if I agree with your assesment of Simmons. He’s been OSU’s best OL in pass protection all season and it’s not really close. And the pass game has been the main strength of the offense. Latham has gotten abused all season, even against
OOC teams. He isnt ready for D1 football so soon, but Simmons is.
OSU is batting .500 on their portal transfers. They took too long to utilize the Portal, and I think the collectives underestimated the bidding wars for transfers. Hopefully they’re not caught with their pants down again, but something tells me they won’t be. OSU’s collectives seem to be a year late in adapting. I would like transfers on the level of Jackson and Pridgeon as well, if not better. The Portal opens on Dec 4, I’m hoping kids are getting contacted as we start to get real names by mid November. So far the only OL of quality would be the OL from MSU, but it doesn’t look like he’s even considering OSU.
I don’t think OSU needs to rely on the Portal until Frye can show more results to recruits. Win the Game, win the B1G, win an NC. Win even 2 of the 3 and you’ll see OL talent start to swing OSU’s way. But the collectives will also be a MAJOR factor in every recruiting equation. But if Frye can lock down top Midwest OL, and land 1-2 top OOS OL, then OSU can have a top 5-10 OL consistently
 
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AuTX Buckeye said:
Its pretty clear they don't either know how to "Attack" the portal, wait to long, or get out bid with NIL money ....

correct me if I'm wrong but Jonah & Malcolm were guards correct? if you're a half decent RT/LT you're not going to grad transfer you're going to the NFL...
Click to expand...
RB07OSU said:
I think all of the above in your first sentence is true and pretty much what was going through my head. The portal for OL can be great, but I think we swing for the fences on some OOS OL that we miss on, then hit the portal after most of the top prospects are gone. To be fair, it is a new landscape in that arena and hopefully we just learn from it and do better.

Malcolm was an OT and a godsend 5* JUCO player (not a first rounder but played well here), but Jackson was a guard but we just really needed him while others developed. Honestly a center of Jackson's caliber would have been great for Hinzman to get another year under his belt after Wypler left. But I definitely agree that finding a top OT in the portal is a tough chore...the Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones' of the world are not transferring. Same goes for DE in general, I have a lot of trepidation depending on the portal for guys that are truly elite...it is not unheard of but some positions seem more ripe for the taking in the portal (QB, WR, DB come to mind), but I'm not so sure on OT and DE, or at least on a consistent basis.
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https://n.rivals.com/news/midseason-check-up-which-transfer-offensive-linemen-have-impressed-

Give me Cooper, Cornelius or Kight this year, and this OL is much stronger. Simmons or Fryar as strong backups to 1 of these 3 would be a very good OL. And guys with similar talent at smaller schools will hit the Portal yet again this year. We just have no clue of those names yet
 
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pnuts34 said:
Idk if I agree with your assesment of Simmons. He’s been OSU’s best OL in pass protection all season and it’s not really close. And the pass game has been the main strength of the offense. Latham has gotten abused all season, even against
OOC teams. He isnt ready for D1 football so soon, but Simmons is.
OSU is batting .500 on their portal transfers. They took too long to utilize the Portal, and I think the collectives underestimated the bidding wars for transfers. Hopefully they’re not caught with their pants down again, but something tells me they won’t be. OSU’s collectives seem to be a year late in adapting. I would like transfers on the level of Jackson and Pridgeon as well, if not better. The Portal opens on Dec 4, I’m hoping kids are getting contacted as we start to get real names by mid November. So far the only OL of quality would be the OL from MSU, but it doesn’t look like he’s even considering OSU.
I don’t think OSU needs to rely on the Portal until Frye can show more results to recruits. Win the Game, win the B1G, win an NC. Win even 2 of the 3 and you’ll see OL talent start to swing OSU’s way. But the collectives will also be a MAJOR factor in every recruiting equation. But if Frye can lock down top Midwest OL, and land 1-2 top OOS OL, then OSU can have a top 5-10 OL consistently
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I just looked at Simmons on PFF and his pass pro grade has improved a lot lately. Still a lot of costly penalties with him, but seems like his blocking is improving as the year has gone along. Latham I hadn't really tracked since we missed on him as a recruit, surprised he is not doing well. I just am of the opinion we need one guy like Latham per class or darn near it to have talent and longevity at the position, rather than a 1-2 year fix.

To your point on the overall OL recruiting, I would consider the '24 class approach so far to be smart on paper. You get Ian Moore (a very good Midwest OL) along with 2-3 more Ohio OL if we have a good class in the state, then swing for the fences on an OOS elite OT. But if those swings turn into too many misses, it becomes a problem. I do hope we have adapted on the portal OL though in every aspect from NIL to timeliness...given that that only possible target at OT is Seaton and even there I am not optimistic, we need to be hitting the portal the second we are able to in preparation. We really need 5 in this class regardless and need a portal pickup even if we land Seaton, so hopefully that effort is already in the works.
 
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pnuts34 said:
https://n.rivals.com/news/midseason-check-up-which-transfer-offensive-linemen-have-impressed-

Give me Cooper, Cornelius or Kight this year, and this OL is much stronger. Simmons or Fryar as strong backups to 1 of these 3 would be a very good OL. And guys with similar talent at smaller schools will hit the Portal yet again this year. We just have no clue of those names yet
Click to expand...

I’m not sure who else out there will be in the market for portal OL, but Colorado has openly stated they’ll be bringing in OL. So they definitely need to attack early.
 
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Don't blame the kid. If one recalls their Dante, it was said, "it's better to be first in hell than second in heaven". NFL is gonna find players wherever they play. Maybe if we switch out NFL scouts for the CIA, we'd get better info on world events about to happen? Go Bucks. PS, never say never on a flip.
 
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calibuck said:
Don't blame the kid. If one recalls their Dante, it was said, "it's better to be first in hell than second in heaven". NFL is gonna find players wherever they play. Maybe if we switch out NFL scouts for the CIA, we'd get better info on world events about to happen? Go Bucks. PS, never say never on a flip.
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It was Milton, not Dante: "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."
 
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