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Welcome back for another edition of “A-Deck” at BuckeyeGrove.com, presented by Infinit Nutrition, where I’ll bring you thoughts, what I’m hearing, inside scoop, tidbits, and more for Ohio State recruiting and team coverage, every Wednesday.
Last week’s A-Deck gave details on a new FutureCast for Ohio State and a receiver that may be flying under the radar for 2021.
This week I focus on the “defensive back dominoes”, and what Denzel Burke’s commitment to Ohio State means for the rest of the cycle in 2021 at the position.
DEFENSIVE BACK DOMINOES
When Scottsdale (Az.) Saguaro 2021 defensive back Denzel Burke pledged to Ohio State over the weekend there were many questions from fans, with the two biggest being Why was Burke allowed to commit if he hasn’t visited but Jaylin Davies isn’t? and With Burke in, what does it mean for Davies, Derrick Davis, and other defensive backs in 2021?. I have the answers for you to both of those questions below.
WHY WAS BURKE ALLOWED TO COMMIT WITHOUT VISITING?
Before we jump into the why it’s important to understand Ohio State’s philosophy in recruiting this class, at least when it comes to how they’re looking at defensive back. From what I have gathered in talking to a few people inside the WHAC, there is an emphasis being put on getting the best players in America who are great athletes and provide great versatility. If you look at the commitment list, you’ll see some highly ranked players that check off boxes one and two, but also box three, as the 2021 class, especially at defensive back, is full of versatility.
Second, the staff has started to look more closely at remaining targets with the recent news that the dead period would be extended through June 30. With it being a real chance that no visits are able to happen this summer (As Marc has said repeatedly, September is looking like the earliest for that), the staff had to take a harder look at their board and make some decisions.
Looking at Burke, he certainly has tremendous versatility, having played a lot of receiver in high school so far, and also providing ability to play corner or safety in the backfield. When it comes to the visit part of the equation, a big differentiator for Burke versus Davies right now is that Burke has met Ryan Day in person before and Davies has not. While you’d still love the kid to visit campus with his parents and all that jazz, being in the situation they’re in, I think the staff felt comfortable that Day has at least been able to size Burke up and see him in person.
With all that in mind, plus the simple fact that they think Burke is a really good player with great character, it led to the Buckeyes giving him the green light to join #FirstClass21.
HOW DOES BURKE IMPACT THE REST OF THE CLASS?
There was a rumor going around before Burke committed that Ohio State would only take one more defensive back in 2021. So, with Burke in, the Buckeyes are done, right? Well, not quite.
From what I am told, while Burke being in certainly tightens the numbers a bit overall and definitely in the secondary, it does not close this off to other players like Davies, Davis, and others who may come into the picture.
Sources tell me that both Davies and Davis will continue to be recruited as they have been, and that nothing has changed on the ends of either prospect when it comes to their interest in Ohio State, even after Burke announced his decision.
The plan for Davies is still to make a visit to campus whenever he’s able to. I feel really good about the Buckeyes being number one on his list, and think if that visit happens that he will join the class. I see this one pretty cut and dried in the sense that if OSU brings Davies to campus it’s looking good for him to be a Buckeye—and if for some reason a visit continually gets delayed, etc., that’s obviously not a good sign.
With Davis I think he’s still a little bit off from a decision and would like to make another round of visits. I still see Penn State as the main threat here with Clemson, Pitt, and LSU also lurking around. Tough to say which way this one goes as right now as I could see him with either the Buckeyes or Nittany Lions. I think he has the luxury of waiting until he is able to make some visits, though, so we may not get an answer until October-ish.
Long story short here, I wouldn’t get too caught up in the numbers. Ohio State is focused on putting together the best class in the country, and they will continue to figure things out as we inch closer to December and February.
