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Rivals100 DT Christen Miller locks in official to Ohio State
I’ve stated on a previous Skull Session that I likely won’t be talking about Christen Miller anymore unless something drastically changes in his recruitment.
I continued to feel this way despite Miller’s decision to unveil a top four back on July 27. If you recall, his four finalists that he named were Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and USC.
From what I gathered, it was likely that Miller did this in an attempt to build up some momentum prior to making his final decision. All of the FutureCasts indicate, including one I submitted, that USC will be the choice as he visited the school twice this year and one of his best friends, Mykel Williams, is committed there.
But, after what I heard today, this may not be as set in stone as I originally thought.
I reached out to Miller today to see what’s been the latest between Ohio State and him. Interestingly enough, the newly minted Rivals100 DT told me that he will indeed be in attendance for the program’s home opener against Oregon on Sept. 11 for an official visit.
This is a very interesting development as Miller took a five-day unofficial to Columbus in early June, but the feeling was that he may not return as he was likely going to commit to USC in the summer. With that now being uncertain, however, this trip could potentially give Ohio State more of a legitimate shot at landing Miller.
It’s too early to speculate on that front as my sources in Columbus told me that the staff is not 100 percent certain about whether or not the visit will materialize. One source said they are expecting the visit as of now, but that it’s “not official” just yet.
After speaking with another source, I got a little bit more info on Miller and recent developments with him. What I heard was that Miller has been reciprocating interest with the Buckeyes over the past few weeks, and that the program does not feel he is all Trojan.
What I’ve also gathered is that Miller is a prospect who very much goes with the ebbs and flows of the recruiting process, and shows a lot of interest to the schools he’s considering. Ohio State is continuing to pursue him, but they understand that anything can change at any given moment with Miller.
With there still being a lot of uncertainty with defensive tackle recruiting (Chris McClellan dropping a top six instead of committing, Hero Kanu waiting until January to announce…), this is positive news if Miller does officially visit next month.
I’m supposed to speak with him tomorrow, so be on the lookout for an update on Miller to begin the week.
Buckeyes to get Caden Curry back on campus next month
I was also able to confirm that another big-time defensive lineman will be officially visiting Ohio State the weekend of their home opener: Caden Curry.
This was confirmed through a source in Columbus, so that’s another excellent addition for the Buckeyes. If you recall, Miller, as well as Rivals100 targets Earnest Greene and Marvin Jones Jr., are also expected to take their officials that weekend.
I find Curry visiting this weekend, as well as Miller, to be interesting as both of them have Oregon in their top schools list. Miller’s top four was mentioned above, with Curry’s finalists being Alabama, Clemson, Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon.
This allows each of them to see two of their final schools battle it out, giving them an in-person opportunity to evaluate both teams at the same time and whether they can see themselves fitting in their defenses.
Switching back to Curry, I continue to hear nothing but good things about the Buckeyes’ pursuit of the Indiana-based d-linemen. The top-40 overall senior remains high on Larry Johnson’s development of players in the trenches, Curry living just a few hours from the school benefits OSU from a geographic perspective, and the Buckeyes have done a solid job recruiting him from the very beginning.
Also, the feeling from the other colleges he’s considering is that Ohio State is the leader for his services and while Alabama does feel like they have a shot, I’ve been told that they recognize it will be an uphill battle to land him.
I’m not going to go out on a limb and say that Curry will commit after this visit, but I wouldn’t rule it out if the Buckeyes knock it out of the park. I’m hearing it’s more likely, however, that he takes all of his officials and stretches his recruitment out until it’s close to the Early Signing Period.
2024 prospect nets an offer from Tony Alford, taking a deeper look at RB recruiting
This past Friday saw high school football prospects from all across the country step foot on the gridiron for their first games of the year.
Along with assisting their schools on the field, strong performances could potentially lead to a verbal offer, which is what happened with 2024 prospect Stacy Gage.
Gage, a sophomore out of IMG Academy, landed an offer from Ohio State less than 24 hours after scoring two touchdowns in his team’s 35-15 victory over American Heritage on Friday. He also chipped in with over 150 total yards on seven touches.
I actually had the opportunity to speak with Gage about his reaction to the offer and his thoughts on the Buckeyes.
Gage told me that he was happy to receive an offer from Ohio State, with Tony Alford not surprisingly being the one who offered him. Alford said he “plays like an animal,” and that out of all the 2024 running backs he’s evaluated, Gage is the one who he believes could be a college RB right now.
The Tampa native also told me that he’s intrigued by the Buckeyes because of their development of running backs and how those players match his running style. Gage also had the following to say when discussing his overall thoughts on the program.
“Well, when someone says Buckeyes, I just think of a big school that great players come through,” Gage said. “They succeed at the next level, which I can see myself doing.”
I’ll have a full update on Gage tomorrow morning, but I will also share my thoughts on how Ohio State’s 2023 and 2024 running back situation could play out.
So, with Dallan Hayden being their only RB in this class, the Buckeyes could likely take one player at the position in the following cycle. We’re being told that it’s not set in stone what they’ll do as the staff will be waiting to see what goes on with the current players on their roster.
Master Teague will have the option to enter the NFL Draft after this season, as well as Marcus Crowley in the following draft. With Steele Chambers moving over to linebacker, there could be a scenario in a couple of years where, not counting the 2023 signee(s), only four scholarship running backs will be on the roster.
That’s not even factoring in the possibility of there being a transfer.
We know that Richard Young is the top uncommitted 2023 target on the board, with Justice Haynes behind him. The primary focus is on Young, but it will be interesting to see if they’ll go for another RB if he joins the fold, which could potentially affect his commitment. If not, then it is almost a guarantee they’ll take two in the following class.
There are certainly some questions when it comes to the future of RB recruiting and how many they’ll take per class, but the topic is worth bringing up as Gage is the first running back they’ve offered in the 2024 cycle.
Brandon Inniss commits to Oklahoma, moving on to other wide receiver options
Although five-star wideout Brandon Inniss had been trending to Oklahoma over the past few weeks, I always had just a tiny bit of hesitation as I think it would be foolish to count out Brian Hartline for any top-end pass catcher.
Well, earlier today, the fourth-ranked junior prospect in the nation committed to the Sooners. This continues an impressive stretch for Lincoln Riley and his staff as they hold commitments from five of the top 55 overall players in the 2023 class.
This is as good of a start as you can get, but Ohio State is looking to establish some momentum themselves in the coming weeks.
This past Thursday, they began the process of building up their 2023 class as Rivals250 tight end Ty Lockwood committed to the program. Derrick LeBlanc was initially my pick to be the first commit, but Lockwood is a solid addition considering their need for a player at his position and how he may encourage other out-of-state players to join the fold.
No other junior targets, that I am aware of, are supposed to commit this month or the next, but we know for sure of one prospect who will be making his decision after that: Carnell Tate.
On Tuesday, the eighth-ranked wideout on Rivals.com revealed that he’ll be wrapping up his recruitment on Oct. 8. As things stand right now, the FutureCasts (88 percent for Ohio State) indicate his landing spot will be Columbus.
The Buckeyes do feel confident in this one, but I’ve heard that Notre Dame also feels good about where they stand with Tate. Tate, who is originally from Chicago (Illinois), visited both schools multiple times in June, so I do believe that despite him having a top 10 intact, this one is coming down to either Notre Dame or Ohio State.
You’ll notice that even with the swarm of predictions that came in favor of Ohio State in June, I decided not to FutureCast him, and won’t do so for the time being. This is being described to me as too close to call, and it would not surprise me if another visit to either school puts them over the top.
Also, looking past Tate, the Buckeyes have several other wide receiver options in the 2023 class, with those being Braylon James, Jalen Hale, Johntay Cook and Zachariah Branch. Cook and Hale are a couple of players to pay attention to, especially if they visit this fall, but I am in the mindset that Branch and James are the likelier options at this time.
Branch’s recruitment could definitely be tied to his brother’s, Zion; if Ohio State wins out for the elder Branch, then that essentially puts them in the driver’s seat for Zachariah. As for James, he last told me a few weeks ago that the Buckeyes are his leader and, with Caleb Burton assisting here, I feel good about the program’s chances with the Rivals100 prospect.
A wide receiver class of Braylon James, Carnell Tate and Zachariah Branch would be an incredible haul following the group Hartline and Co. put together this year, and this is a very realistic option based on how their recruitments are trending.
How top targets performed this week
With high school football beginning for some prospects, I wanted to focus in on how some top 2022 and 2023 Ohio State targets did this week. I could not find statistics for each of them, but check out what I gathered below.
Caden Curry: According to MaxPreps, Curry recorded four total tackles (two tackles for loss) on Friday. Curry and his Center Grove teammates won 38-14 against Warren Central.
CJ Hicks: The Buckeyes five-star LB commit and his Archbishop Alter teammates came up short 7-16 in their season opener, but he was very productive despite the loss. Hicks recorded 12 total tackles on defense and finished with 44 yards rushing as well.
Zachariah and Zion Branch: I did not find statistics for the highly sought-after brothers, but Bishop Gorman did end up winning 42-21 against St. Louis on Friday.
Jaheim Singletary: From what I saw on social media, the former Ohio State commit had a pass breakup, as well as a deep reception this week. The five-star also blocked a 37-yard field goal that was returned to the house by his teammate, with Riverside beating Bartram Trail in a 25-7 preseason win.
Justice Haynes: Haynes battled through what looked like an ankle injury to finish with a couple of touchdowns in Roswell’s 45-26 victory over South Forsyth on Friday.
Sonny Styles: Arguably Ohio State’s top 2023 target was somewhat limited in his production as Massillon Washington could not get things going through the air. Styles and his Pickerington Central teammates did end up winning 26-7 to start the season.
Carnell Tate, Joenel Aguero, Malik Bryant and Stacy Gage: The powerhouse IMG Academy Ascenders beat American Heritage 35-15 to open the season. Tate scored a 30-yard touchdown and had a punt return touchdown called back, while Gage had about 150 yards combined on seven touches and a pair of touchdowns.
Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.
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