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O-Line update
It is looking very much like it will be three Wednesday Signing Day decisions, or at least announcements, from the Buckeyes' remaining class of 2019 targets, all of which are offensive linemen. Three-star tackle Dawand Jones is set to go at around 6:30 PM eastern time, four-star tackle/guard Enokk Vimahi is set to go around 12:30 PM eastern time and we don't yet know what is going to happen with Doug Nester but if I had to guess right now, I would say he quietly sends in his LOI in the morning, but we'll see.
Yes, there are definitely legs to the Virginia Tech stuff that is out there right now with Nester which is a major surprise to me, a major surprise to Ohio State, and perhaps the majorest (that's probably not a word) of surprises to Penn State. My Penn State contacts are quite simply the most shocked about this development out of all of the people I've talked to about this over the weekend so take that for whatever it's worth.
It's a situation where nobody was telling me they thought he would go to Virginia Tech to a situation where now everybody seems to think that would be the pick if he could sign right this instant.
I don't expect Ohio State or Penn State to give up and we see wild changes of heart, especially with kids as torn and confused as Doug seems to be over the past several weeks, around this time of year. Last year Javonte Jean-Baptiste called Nebraska and committed to them on the morning of Signing Day and then went back on that and signed with Ohio State, so crazy stuff can happen in the next 48 hours. But it's looking bleak for Ohio State right now and it's making you wonder if Doug is just looking for a way out at this point since Penn State has been the hot school there for about two months and now Virginia Tech is surging.
No real update at this pont on Jones so take that as you will. I've had Ohio State as the pick for Jones for a few weeks now and I don't have a reason to change it. Now again, I've heard that Penn State is making a good late push and that his visit there last week went well, but nothing to the point that I would change my pick at this time.
If there's some positive buzz right now, it's probably around Vimahi. Ohio State, according to several sources, believes they are very much in it right now and really believes they have Enokk thinking very long and hard about coming to Columbus. There is also a lot of "stuff" with USC right now. I think geography is going to be tough to beat here and despite a lot of the turmoil, there is a pretty strong comfort level there with the school and some of the guys on the team. But Ohio State is still plugging away here and I don't think that would be happening if it was a sure thing that he was going elsewhere. They'll battle to the bitter end for a kid like Nester who lives two hours away and has been committed for 18 months even if reality says it's over, they aren't using those types of resources on the kid from Hawaii that's only been a real option for a month so it's telling that they are still going to work here.
The gun-to-my head picks right now are Nester to VT, Jones to OSU, Vimahi to USC but OSU with a little momentum on that one.
You guys have my best picks right now and I'm sure I'll either double down on them or update them once more before Wednesday morning. I honestly think all three of these situations could go in just about any direction on Wednesday. That's not a cop out, it's just kind of the reality of the situation and not that uncommon for guys who decide this late. While there is the occassional outlier, most kids who wait this long to decide are either indecisive by nature or just genuinely torn between a couple of schools, and thus unpredictable, so it's really just the reality of recruiting kids who wait until the last day to make a decision.
Junior Day thoughts
Taking away the huge commitment of 2021 defensive end Jack Saywer (a little more on him below), I felt there were two pretty big takeaways from Saturday's underclassmen event at Ohio State.
First and foremost, I felt the Buckeyes did a very good job with another local star, 2021 Pickerington Central wide receiver/defensive back Lorenzo Styles Jr. There is no question that Notre Dame is off to a great start with both the player and his family and Ohio State was playing a bit of catch up both in terms of offering Styles and in getting him on campus.
Things started to change in the fall with a pair of game day visits, but I felt Ohio State made a significant move on Saturday with Styles and his mother. While everyone is going to point to Styles' father and his playing days at Ohio State, make no mistake about it, Mama Bear is going to have her input on this situation.
The coaching staff made the two feel very welcomed and important on Saturday and I think the academic side of things with the business school went over very well with both. Mom is the hammer when it comes to academics and this was a hit with both her and Zo and the one-on-one meeting with Day also meant a lot.
I've said from a very early point that I'll take Ohio State and Notre Dame and you can have The Field on this one and I think Ohio State did very well for itself on Saturday to shore up some areas where I think Notre Dame got off to a better start.
My other big thing at this point was getting the St. Joe's Prep guys on campus, specifically the two offered prospects in 2021 quarterback Kyle McCord and 2021 wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. These guys are already big-time players as sophomores, leading one of Pennsylvania's top high school programs to a state title in December and while I don't buy the package deal thing, I do think there is the potential for these two to influence each other when the time comes.
Ohio State nailed it with both guys. I wrote up Harrison on Saturday evening and will have McCord posted here today but this was a really good start with these two. I don't know how concerned the Buckeyes are about the 2021 quarterback situation at this point, I am sure they would like to get out and see a lot of guys throw in the spring and then have as many options come in for camp in June as possible, but if McCord is a guy you might want, you have to start that foundation now. Penn State appears to be a big factor with McCord who has visited several times already.
They really seem to be crushing it right now with Harrison Jr. who just gushes about his interactions with Brian Hartline every time I speak to him. This has moved pretty quickly in just a short period of time and I think it's premature to put Harrison on any type of real commitment watch or anything like that, but Ohio State has established itself as a very serious threat here and so long as the push continues, I don't see that changing.
This is kind of a non-update but I know I'm going to be asked about it so I might as well provide the non-update. Nothing really new or profound to add about Paris Johnson Jr. I talked to the family over the weekend and all of the right things were said in terms of feeling good about getting back up there and talking to the coaches and everything but I still think the situation is in the same boat as it was pre-visit.
Now again, that's not the worst thing in the world for Ohio State. I am not down on Ohio State's chances with Paris. Again, I think Paris wants to go to Ohio State and will need a good reason not to where as some times in these situations (Nester?) a kid is looking for a way out. I don't sense that with Paris, I think he's basically in but just covering his bases in the mean time.
More on Sawyer
Obviously great news for Ohio State on Sunday afternoon with the commitment of Ohio's top class of 2021 prospect, Pickerington North defensive end Jack Sawyer. Sawyer was always felt to be a guy who would decide fairly early in the process, but even his parents felt things would at least go through this coming summer before perhaps sitting down and deciding before the season kicked off.
Well Jack didn't want to wait anymore. Penn State was probably the runner-up but Michigan was another program that was very much involved. Jack's favorite coach and best relationship was Larry Johnson but he also really likes Greg Mattison and Al Washington. When he watched those guys go from perhaps one of his top three choices to the school he was leaning towards, it just sort of set off the light bulb with him that Ohio State was going to be where he was most comfortable.
He has also very quickly grown to really like Ryan Day, so while Larry Johnson gets the goal here yet again, a nice primary assist from Day who went to work on Jack very quickly once he was named head coach and really impressed Jack and his family.
Another reason for the early commitment? Sawyer wants to hit the ground running at Ohio State. He wants to be as ready as he can be to play as a freshman and so he wants to really immerse himself in the culture and what the Buckeyes want him to be doing between now and the time he arrives on campus. He's a hyper-motivated kid, one of the more self-motivated guys I think I've covered and is very much a big picture guy already. Mature beyond his years.
Geography and personality will also dictate that Jack will be a leader in the class. He's right down the road so he can come to all of the recruiting events and help with hosting the big name out-of-state guys and he has the personality to be a difference maker in that role. One ironic thing is that he is pretty tight with Lorenzo Styles Jr. who plays at the crosstown rival program so that will be a little bit funny the next two years as he recruits Zo.
