Weekend Thoughts
Had a chance to see basically three games over the weekend as a weather delay on Thursday actually benefited me for the first time that I can remember. On Thursday, I was at the Reynoldsburg/Olentangy game for a good chunk of the first half before a lightning delay stopped the game.
I then drove across town to Dublin Jerome to watch the second half of their tilt against Olentangy Orange and big-time 2019 DE/TE Zach Harrison. After that was over, the delay at the first game was just ending so I was able to pick up almost right where I left off back at Olentangy.
Each game featured a class of 2019 prospect that I think will get a close look from Ohio State. I wrote about Reynoldsburg product Dezmon Cooper this winter when he participated in the Best of the Midwest combine in Indianapolis. Cooper worked out primarily at defensive end that day and should excellent quickness and strength for a young prospect that day.
But the question was going to be, can he find a position? At about 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, I needed to see if he was going to grow into a defensive end or if he would be able to settle in at linebacker. He is playing linebacker this year for Reynoldsburg and is looking like he could be a pretty good MIKE prospect. He can definitely get North/South and fill gaps and he showed excellent athleticism and coordination on a pick six.
There are absolutely zero position concerns with Harrison out of Olentangy Orange, however. Zach is every last bit of 6-foot-5, and probably pushing 220-225 pounds right now. He looks EXACTLY how you want a young defensive end prospect to look. I mentioned a couple of days ago that he has showed some of the same traits that Jonathon Cooper showed me as a young prospect in terms of his motor and just the type of great kid and hard worker that he is off the field. But Coop was never 6-foot-5, so Harrison having ideal size makes him perhaps even more intriguing, though a bit more raw, at the same stage.
Harrison scored his team's only touchdown on offense and recorded a couple of sacks on defense. But again, I am looking at other things at this point out of a prospect like Harrison because the physical tools are obvious. He was playing his tail off every snap, sometimes getting double teamed, often times getting held, and he was still fighting through it and disrupting the Jerome offense. The scary thing is, he has been mostly a tight end to this point and I'm not sure he really has a clue what he's even doing on defense yet, it's all just athleticism and effort for him on defense right now.
He can also play tight end, but when I compare him to someone like Trenton Gillison, Gillison is a more natural route runner and pass catcher. Zach's willingness to be physical and his long arms and motor make him better suited for defensive end long term, in my opinion.
This might be bold after just a couple of games of his sophomore season, but I would be really surprised if Ohio State didn't offer Harrison eventually. It's hard for me to believe he won't be among the top handful of prospects in Ohio in his class and the way the roster is setup, 2019 looks like a year they may need to load up at DE.
So that brings to me to Friday night's Dublin Coffman/Fairfield contest featuring 2018 Fairfield offensive tackle Jack Carman, who is as big of a priority as any junior prospect in the nation for the Buckeyes.
The strides Carman has made from sophomore to junior season are enormous. He's 30-pounds (maybe more) heavier and he just has a much better feel for what he's doing out there, keeping his hands inside, maintaining inside leverage, and just a better overall grasph of his team's offense.
I am not one for hyperbole. I did not think I would see an offensive line performance this year that would stack up to what Wyatt Davis showed me two weeks ago in Cincinnati. Carman's performance on Friday absolutely did.
To put it bluntly, Fairfield coaches should burn that tape because it would be hard to not convict Jack on multiple assault and battery charges if it ever fell into the hands of law enforcement. He was hurting guys out there. He was pancaking guys, hitting them when they were on the ground and hitting them again if they tried to get up, just played like a man possessed.
And Coffman has a pretty good front four. They have a very good defensive end in Ben Frye who is committed to Duke. Coffman moved Frye around and when he wasn't lined up in front of Carman, he was extremely disruptive. I had him down for multiple TFL's, a sack, and a forced fumble. But when he went up against Carman, it wasn't even close. He couldn't get a push, Jack was just anchoring and standing him up.
Two other prospects of note in Friday's game, 2018 Fairfield defensive end Malik Vann and 2020 Coffman RB/WR Mike Drennen. I expected a little more out of Vann to be honest. He absolutely looks like the part and he can really move at his size, but he had a very quiet evening. He did make a tremendous play out in space, coming down the line of scrimmage and blowing up a wide receiver screen late in the third quarter, but I expected a little more production. Definitely a good prospect though in terms of the physical attributes.
Drennen is going to be a good one. Only got a couple of touches at slot receiver on Friday, but had scored three touchdowns in the first two games. Coffman hasn't played a freshman on varsity that I can remember and I've known that staff well for about 10 years. Drennen is probably a running back, but to get him on the field they are playing him in the slot as they have two senior RB's returning from last season's playoff team. He showed good hands and a little more wiggle than I was expecting, definitely a guy Ohio State will be watching moving forward.
Texas WR connects with Smith
Some new offers are starting to go out, especially in the 2018 and 2019 classes which shouldn't be surprising as junior and sophomore game film is beginning to make its way onto HUDL onto the computer screens of the Buckeye coaches and support staff.
One of the latest to go out was to Cuero (Texas) class of 2019 wide receiver Jordan Whittingham. Cuero is Southeast of San Antonio and is not in an area of the country that the Buckeyes have recruited heavily over the years, though it's not TOO far South of La Grange where J.K. Dobbins resides.
The interesting thing to me about this offer is that it was given to Whittingham by Zach Smith. Smith hasn't done a lot of work in Texas over the years so with it being his position, that would definitely mean the Buckeyes are serious about this prospect. Whittingham was pumped about the news.
"It definitely was one of the most exciting moments I've ever had," Whittingham told me over the weekend. "I like their offense a lot and the way they do things," he added. "They get you to where you want to be."
Ohio State has a long time to get Whittingham on campus so there is no immediate rush on that front, but the importance of the unofficial visit with underclassmen in terms of that translating into commitments, can't be understated.
Whittingham says he is hoping to make up to Columbus at some point this fall for a game and listed Houston as another possible visit destination this fall.
Bomb threats in Southwest Ohio
Crazy times we live in when high school football games are now the targets of bomb threats. The Moeller vs. Mason game was postponed from Friday night until earlier today due to a threat made apparently in a call to Mason High School where the game was supposed to be played. The threat came in not long before kickoff so the entire stadium had to be evacuated, as players had to be pulled out of the locker room and escorted to safety.
The two teams instead played this afternoon at 2:30 PM, where Moeller squeaked out a 17-14 victory. 2018 Ohio State defensive line target Aeneas Hawkins was among those impacted by the threat.
"It was a weird experience," Hawkins told me today. "I'm just glad everyone stayed safe."
Hawkins, playing strong side end for the Crusaders, recorded five tackles-for-loss in the game as he continues to produce at a high level this fall. Even opposing coaches are taking notice of Hawkins and the way his talent and effort are impacting games.
"Their coach came up to me after the game and told me they were game-planning against me all day," he said.
There was also a bomb threat a few hours later on Friday night at Colerain High School, around 10 PM according to local media.
Had a chance to see basically three games over the weekend as a weather delay on Thursday actually benefited me for the first time that I can remember. On Thursday, I was at the Reynoldsburg/Olentangy game for a good chunk of the first half before a lightning delay stopped the game.
I then drove across town to Dublin Jerome to watch the second half of their tilt against Olentangy Orange and big-time 2019 DE/TE Zach Harrison. After that was over, the delay at the first game was just ending so I was able to pick up almost right where I left off back at Olentangy.
Each game featured a class of 2019 prospect that I think will get a close look from Ohio State. I wrote about Reynoldsburg product Dezmon Cooper this winter when he participated in the Best of the Midwest combine in Indianapolis. Cooper worked out primarily at defensive end that day and should excellent quickness and strength for a young prospect that day.
But the question was going to be, can he find a position? At about 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, I needed to see if he was going to grow into a defensive end or if he would be able to settle in at linebacker. He is playing linebacker this year for Reynoldsburg and is looking like he could be a pretty good MIKE prospect. He can definitely get North/South and fill gaps and he showed excellent athleticism and coordination on a pick six.
There are absolutely zero position concerns with Harrison out of Olentangy Orange, however. Zach is every last bit of 6-foot-5, and probably pushing 220-225 pounds right now. He looks EXACTLY how you want a young defensive end prospect to look. I mentioned a couple of days ago that he has showed some of the same traits that Jonathon Cooper showed me as a young prospect in terms of his motor and just the type of great kid and hard worker that he is off the field. But Coop was never 6-foot-5, so Harrison having ideal size makes him perhaps even more intriguing, though a bit more raw, at the same stage.
Harrison scored his team's only touchdown on offense and recorded a couple of sacks on defense. But again, I am looking at other things at this point out of a prospect like Harrison because the physical tools are obvious. He was playing his tail off every snap, sometimes getting double teamed, often times getting held, and he was still fighting through it and disrupting the Jerome offense. The scary thing is, he has been mostly a tight end to this point and I'm not sure he really has a clue what he's even doing on defense yet, it's all just athleticism and effort for him on defense right now.
He can also play tight end, but when I compare him to someone like Trenton Gillison, Gillison is a more natural route runner and pass catcher. Zach's willingness to be physical and his long arms and motor make him better suited for defensive end long term, in my opinion.
This might be bold after just a couple of games of his sophomore season, but I would be really surprised if Ohio State didn't offer Harrison eventually. It's hard for me to believe he won't be among the top handful of prospects in Ohio in his class and the way the roster is setup, 2019 looks like a year they may need to load up at DE.
So that brings to me to Friday night's Dublin Coffman/Fairfield contest featuring 2018 Fairfield offensive tackle Jack Carman, who is as big of a priority as any junior prospect in the nation for the Buckeyes.
The strides Carman has made from sophomore to junior season are enormous. He's 30-pounds (maybe more) heavier and he just has a much better feel for what he's doing out there, keeping his hands inside, maintaining inside leverage, and just a better overall grasph of his team's offense.
I am not one for hyperbole. I did not think I would see an offensive line performance this year that would stack up to what Wyatt Davis showed me two weeks ago in Cincinnati. Carman's performance on Friday absolutely did.
To put it bluntly, Fairfield coaches should burn that tape because it would be hard to not convict Jack on multiple assault and battery charges if it ever fell into the hands of law enforcement. He was hurting guys out there. He was pancaking guys, hitting them when they were on the ground and hitting them again if they tried to get up, just played like a man possessed.
And Coffman has a pretty good front four. They have a very good defensive end in Ben Frye who is committed to Duke. Coffman moved Frye around and when he wasn't lined up in front of Carman, he was extremely disruptive. I had him down for multiple TFL's, a sack, and a forced fumble. But when he went up against Carman, it wasn't even close. He couldn't get a push, Jack was just anchoring and standing him up.
Two other prospects of note in Friday's game, 2018 Fairfield defensive end Malik Vann and 2020 Coffman RB/WR Mike Drennen. I expected a little more out of Vann to be honest. He absolutely looks like the part and he can really move at his size, but he had a very quiet evening. He did make a tremendous play out in space, coming down the line of scrimmage and blowing up a wide receiver screen late in the third quarter, but I expected a little more production. Definitely a good prospect though in terms of the physical attributes.
Drennen is going to be a good one. Only got a couple of touches at slot receiver on Friday, but had scored three touchdowns in the first two games. Coffman hasn't played a freshman on varsity that I can remember and I've known that staff well for about 10 years. Drennen is probably a running back, but to get him on the field they are playing him in the slot as they have two senior RB's returning from last season's playoff team. He showed good hands and a little more wiggle than I was expecting, definitely a guy Ohio State will be watching moving forward.
Texas WR connects with Smith
Some new offers are starting to go out, especially in the 2018 and 2019 classes which shouldn't be surprising as junior and sophomore game film is beginning to make its way onto HUDL onto the computer screens of the Buckeye coaches and support staff.
One of the latest to go out was to Cuero (Texas) class of 2019 wide receiver Jordan Whittingham. Cuero is Southeast of San Antonio and is not in an area of the country that the Buckeyes have recruited heavily over the years, though it's not TOO far South of La Grange where J.K. Dobbins resides.
The interesting thing to me about this offer is that it was given to Whittingham by Zach Smith. Smith hasn't done a lot of work in Texas over the years so with it being his position, that would definitely mean the Buckeyes are serious about this prospect. Whittingham was pumped about the news.
"It definitely was one of the most exciting moments I've ever had," Whittingham told me over the weekend. "I like their offense a lot and the way they do things," he added. "They get you to where you want to be."
Ohio State has a long time to get Whittingham on campus so there is no immediate rush on that front, but the importance of the unofficial visit with underclassmen in terms of that translating into commitments, can't be understated.
Whittingham says he is hoping to make up to Columbus at some point this fall for a game and listed Houston as another possible visit destination this fall.
Bomb threats in Southwest Ohio
Crazy times we live in when high school football games are now the targets of bomb threats. The Moeller vs. Mason game was postponed from Friday night until earlier today due to a threat made apparently in a call to Mason High School where the game was supposed to be played. The threat came in not long before kickoff so the entire stadium had to be evacuated, as players had to be pulled out of the locker room and escorted to safety.
The two teams instead played this afternoon at 2:30 PM, where Moeller squeaked out a 17-14 victory. 2018 Ohio State defensive line target Aeneas Hawkins was among those impacted by the threat.
"It was a weird experience," Hawkins told me today. "I'm just glad everyone stayed safe."
Hawkins, playing strong side end for the Crusaders, recorded five tackles-for-loss in the game as he continues to produce at a high level this fall. Even opposing coaches are taking notice of Hawkins and the way his talent and effort are impacting games.
"Their coach came up to me after the game and told me they were game-planning against me all day," he said.
There was also a bomb threat a few hours later on Friday night at Colerain High School, around 10 PM according to local media.
