Big visit for Gray
Ohio State dipped into talent rich Central Gwinnett High School in suburban Atlanta just a few years ago, signing linebacker Trey Johnson. Unfortunately a chronic knee condition prevented Johnson from realizing his potential on the football field but the Buckeyes are taking another look at a Central Gwinnett star in class of 2017 offensive tackle Tony Gray.
Gray had a monster spring/summer on the camp circuit and now holds about 20 scholarship offers, including one from the Buckeyes. All of the usual suspects from the SEC are involved early as well so this will undoubtedly be a slug fest between now and when Tony has to sign in about 18 months.
The Buckeyes will have a chance to make an early impression on Gray in about two weeks as he visits on August 22nd. Gray will be coming up to Ohio to visit family in Cleveland and will be working in his first trip to Ohio State at that point. I spoke with a source close to Gray this weekend and asked if they felt Ohio State could be a legitimate player for the Rivals100 prospect.
"Absolutely," they said. "Family in Cleveland will be big for (Ohio State)."
The Buckeyes already have two very highly rated offensive line commits for the 2017 class in Josh Myers and Jake Moretti but will undoubtedly add at least one more in the class. We've heard in the past, back before Gray blew up this summer, that an Ohio State offer would be definitely be a meaningful one for him so it will be very interesting to see how things go later this month.
As we've said a million times on here, the unofficial visit critical to pulling these highly sought after prospects from the South, without the early unofficial visit chances really dwindle so a good first impression could solidify Ohio State as a contender for yet another one of the nation's top juniors.
Should we be taking Lawrence more seriously?
Speaking of pulling highly rated prospects from the South, Louisiana product Rashard Lawrence released his top five over the weekend and it included Ohio State, along with Alabama, LSU, UCLA, and Washington.
It has been assumed by most, including myself, that Lawrence would stay in the South (likely LSU but possibly Alabama). But should we be taking Rashard a bit more seriously?
He continues to say great things about Ohio State, about his relationship with Larry Johnson and he continues to list them on his short list of schools. He has also done something that we always harp on with these southern kids, he has made an unofficial visit.
Talking to him in person in Baltimore at the Rivals Challenge, he was very emphatic about his interest in Ohio State and about how much he liked Larry Johnson, my interview with him down there was one of the more surprising things I took from the event. Yet, admittedly, so far I just haven't been able to buy that they can pull him out of Lousiana, a state that has been absolutely dominated by LSU and Bama over the years.
I'm still rolling with the LSU pick on Rashard but with an official visit likely, perhaps that is one that shouldn't just be completely written off. There is always that late surprise in the process and perhaps Lawrence could be a contender for that surprise in 2016. This one passes the smell test much better than Rashan Gary or Dexter Lawrence in my opinion.
Hill takes a visit
I have said several times in the past that until Ohio State commit George Hill takes a visit anywhere other than Ohio State, that there shouldn't be much of a question about where things stand with the Buckeyes.
Well that time has now come as this past week Hill did in fact make a visit to Pittsburgh where the Panthers offered him.
I feel for George a bit in this situation. He's definitely a private dude. He doesn't like to do interviews and he doesn't much care for anything that has to do with the recruiting process but yet has routinely found himself in the rumor mill despite not taking any visits to a school other than Ohio State since being the first to pledge in the 2016 class.
Coming off an OSU visit for Friday Night Lights and then visiting another program, however, certainly raises some questions about his possible future in this class. The fact that the visit was to Pitt and not the long rumored top contender Michigan State is a bit interesting as well but now that there is some actual evidence to support the idea that George's spot in the class isn't iron clad, we'll have to start monitoring this situation even more closely.
The OSU visit for Friday Night Lights should have given us a strong indicator on where things stood with Hill and perhaps it did, just not in the way we expected?
All Rivals100 DB's?
Ohio State already has three Rivals100 defensive backs committed in the 2017 class with Shaun Wade, Marcus Williamson, and most recently Isaiah Pryor. That haul alone would be one of the best in the country, if not the best. (In my best Stephen A. Smith voice) HOWEVER, the Buckeyes are almost certainly going to add at least two more defensive backs in the class and possibly three more given the versatility some of these guys possess.
Now the final Rivals rankings are certainly going to look different from the ones that we see today but the top targets to fill those respective spots all currently find themselves within the top 100, just like the three commits, so this could go from a great haul, to a legendary one if the dominoes fall into place.
Going to take a quick look at some of the biggest names in that Rivals100 that the Buckeyes are targeting right now.....
Lamont Wade (No. 5 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "My interest level is high in OSU, and if everything continues to go well, they'll definitely be in my top 5 when that day comes. I like the great tradition of the program, the fan support, national championship contenders and I'd get a good education there."
My thoughts: I think Lamont saying that Ohio State will definitely be in his top five was a bit conservative. I have the Buckeyes holding a slight edge currently over the likes of Penn State, WVU, and Pitt. If you forced me to pick right now, I'd have Wade ending up as part of the 2017 class. The family is very high on the school and the coaching staff and Lamont is visiting as often as the in-state guys are so there is a great deal of familiarity forming already. This will probably go at least until the spring or summer of next year so I don't see this one ending anytime soon but really like where the Buckeyes stand today.
Darnay Holmes (No. 11 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "The Ohio State visit was definitely one that left an impact on me. It definitely moved (Ohio State) up on my list. It's still an alphabetical list but they definitely moved up probably in the top three. Knowing that Urban Meyer and coach (Kerry) Coombs want me to go there definitely left a big impact on me and my family."
My thoughts: I was blown away by Holmes at Friday Night Lights and he and Lamont Wade are absolutely the two best cover corners that I have seen in the 2017 class so far. I have mentioned in the past that I feel that Southern California kids are the hardest group of prospects in the country to pull out of their region, they are typically diehard West Coast guys and almost always end up in the Pac-12.
Still, Holmes has already visited multiple times and will probably make another visit or two before officials roll around so Ohio State is getting nearly unprecedented access to a West Coast prospect in this recruitment. Ultimately I think Stanford might be too tough to beat here but I look for OSU to stay in this race for the long haul.
Jeffrey Okudah (No. 17 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "I like their tradition and defensive back development as well as the education they provide. My interest level is high and genuine."
My thoughts: Jeff might be the best safety prospect in the nation (Deangelo Gibbs is very good too). He is exactly what the Ohio State coaching staff wants in a safety. He has the size and length to both hold up in run support and make those passing lanes smaller for opposing quarterbacks but you can also use him in man-to-man coverage and not worry about getting burnt.
Okudah's offer list is pretty much every relevant program in college football and he's not a kid that is hell bent on staying close to home so this will be one of the most competitive recruiting battles in the entire nation for 2017. It's the kind of battle that you take 'The Field' against any single team, but I think Ohio State has as good of a chance as anyone at this point in the process.
Devon Hunter (No. 26 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "Ohio State is a program I dreamed to played for since I was little. I have high interest and the football program is like heaven to me."
My thoughts: Hunter is a unique case within this group. He has not been offered yet by Ohio State, though I have had folks close to the program tell me they expect that to change at some point. Hunter also is the type of kid who is prone to falling in love with certain programs either after visits or having good discussions with coaches. Devon has always spoken very highly of OSU in our talks but I tend to think he ends up somewhere in the South, either at one of the two in-state programs or Florida State.
Richard LeCounte (No. 64 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "It's a really good school up there. Everybody around the program is about football. Also, the academic system they have up there is very special. It's special to get into Columbus and have the atmosphere and have so many fans come out to watch you play. It's a very good football team. I love the coaching staff, too."
My thoughts: We all know the stir that was caused at Friday Night Lights with other prospects saying that Richard committed to the coaching staff, something he later denied doing. Regardless of what you believe happend at the camp, Ohio State is operating from a position of strength in this recruitment with Georgia as the top competition right now, something I don't think will change for the duration of this process.
The success Raekwon McMillan has had so far at Ohio State and all of the good things that he has told LeCounte about his first year and a half on campus have made an impression and the tenacity with which the coaching staff has recruited LeCounte has not been lost on him either. Ohio State is the team to beat here but there are 18 months until he has to sign so I don't expect Georgia to go down without a fight.
You guys will perhaps notice one missing player that many might have expected on this list in Pittsburgh (Pa.) Seton La Salle safety Paris Ford (the No. 33 overall player in the Rivals100).
I've been waiting for one of these big name defensive backs to begin cooling a little bit on the idea of going to Ohio State. At some point, one or more of these guys are going to look around at what is coming in and what is still out there, and possibly find a better opportunity somewhere else. Right now, it seems Ford is the guy that is backing off the most from his initial interest in the Buckeyes.
Things could always change here, especially if Damar Hamlin would jump on board and eventually Lamont Wade and you'd have two other Pittsburgh area guys working him, but right now I feel that the momentum is heading in the other direction here.
Ohio State dipped into talent rich Central Gwinnett High School in suburban Atlanta just a few years ago, signing linebacker Trey Johnson. Unfortunately a chronic knee condition prevented Johnson from realizing his potential on the football field but the Buckeyes are taking another look at a Central Gwinnett star in class of 2017 offensive tackle Tony Gray.
Gray had a monster spring/summer on the camp circuit and now holds about 20 scholarship offers, including one from the Buckeyes. All of the usual suspects from the SEC are involved early as well so this will undoubtedly be a slug fest between now and when Tony has to sign in about 18 months.
The Buckeyes will have a chance to make an early impression on Gray in about two weeks as he visits on August 22nd. Gray will be coming up to Ohio to visit family in Cleveland and will be working in his first trip to Ohio State at that point. I spoke with a source close to Gray this weekend and asked if they felt Ohio State could be a legitimate player for the Rivals100 prospect.
"Absolutely," they said. "Family in Cleveland will be big for (Ohio State)."
The Buckeyes already have two very highly rated offensive line commits for the 2017 class in Josh Myers and Jake Moretti but will undoubtedly add at least one more in the class. We've heard in the past, back before Gray blew up this summer, that an Ohio State offer would be definitely be a meaningful one for him so it will be very interesting to see how things go later this month.
As we've said a million times on here, the unofficial visit critical to pulling these highly sought after prospects from the South, without the early unofficial visit chances really dwindle so a good first impression could solidify Ohio State as a contender for yet another one of the nation's top juniors.
Should we be taking Lawrence more seriously?
Speaking of pulling highly rated prospects from the South, Louisiana product Rashard Lawrence released his top five over the weekend and it included Ohio State, along with Alabama, LSU, UCLA, and Washington.
It has been assumed by most, including myself, that Lawrence would stay in the South (likely LSU but possibly Alabama). But should we be taking Rashard a bit more seriously?
He continues to say great things about Ohio State, about his relationship with Larry Johnson and he continues to list them on his short list of schools. He has also done something that we always harp on with these southern kids, he has made an unofficial visit.
Talking to him in person in Baltimore at the Rivals Challenge, he was very emphatic about his interest in Ohio State and about how much he liked Larry Johnson, my interview with him down there was one of the more surprising things I took from the event. Yet, admittedly, so far I just haven't been able to buy that they can pull him out of Lousiana, a state that has been absolutely dominated by LSU and Bama over the years.
I'm still rolling with the LSU pick on Rashard but with an official visit likely, perhaps that is one that shouldn't just be completely written off. There is always that late surprise in the process and perhaps Lawrence could be a contender for that surprise in 2016. This one passes the smell test much better than Rashan Gary or Dexter Lawrence in my opinion.
Hill takes a visit
I have said several times in the past that until Ohio State commit George Hill takes a visit anywhere other than Ohio State, that there shouldn't be much of a question about where things stand with the Buckeyes.
Well that time has now come as this past week Hill did in fact make a visit to Pittsburgh where the Panthers offered him.
I feel for George a bit in this situation. He's definitely a private dude. He doesn't like to do interviews and he doesn't much care for anything that has to do with the recruiting process but yet has routinely found himself in the rumor mill despite not taking any visits to a school other than Ohio State since being the first to pledge in the 2016 class.
Coming off an OSU visit for Friday Night Lights and then visiting another program, however, certainly raises some questions about his possible future in this class. The fact that the visit was to Pitt and not the long rumored top contender Michigan State is a bit interesting as well but now that there is some actual evidence to support the idea that George's spot in the class isn't iron clad, we'll have to start monitoring this situation even more closely.
The OSU visit for Friday Night Lights should have given us a strong indicator on where things stood with Hill and perhaps it did, just not in the way we expected?
All Rivals100 DB's?
Ohio State already has three Rivals100 defensive backs committed in the 2017 class with Shaun Wade, Marcus Williamson, and most recently Isaiah Pryor. That haul alone would be one of the best in the country, if not the best. (In my best Stephen A. Smith voice) HOWEVER, the Buckeyes are almost certainly going to add at least two more defensive backs in the class and possibly three more given the versatility some of these guys possess.
Now the final Rivals rankings are certainly going to look different from the ones that we see today but the top targets to fill those respective spots all currently find themselves within the top 100, just like the three commits, so this could go from a great haul, to a legendary one if the dominoes fall into place.
Going to take a quick look at some of the biggest names in that Rivals100 that the Buckeyes are targeting right now.....
Lamont Wade (No. 5 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "My interest level is high in OSU, and if everything continues to go well, they'll definitely be in my top 5 when that day comes. I like the great tradition of the program, the fan support, national championship contenders and I'd get a good education there."
My thoughts: I think Lamont saying that Ohio State will definitely be in his top five was a bit conservative. I have the Buckeyes holding a slight edge currently over the likes of Penn State, WVU, and Pitt. If you forced me to pick right now, I'd have Wade ending up as part of the 2017 class. The family is very high on the school and the coaching staff and Lamont is visiting as often as the in-state guys are so there is a great deal of familiarity forming already. This will probably go at least until the spring or summer of next year so I don't see this one ending anytime soon but really like where the Buckeyes stand today.
Darnay Holmes (No. 11 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "The Ohio State visit was definitely one that left an impact on me. It definitely moved (Ohio State) up on my list. It's still an alphabetical list but they definitely moved up probably in the top three. Knowing that Urban Meyer and coach (Kerry) Coombs want me to go there definitely left a big impact on me and my family."
My thoughts: I was blown away by Holmes at Friday Night Lights and he and Lamont Wade are absolutely the two best cover corners that I have seen in the 2017 class so far. I have mentioned in the past that I feel that Southern California kids are the hardest group of prospects in the country to pull out of their region, they are typically diehard West Coast guys and almost always end up in the Pac-12.
Still, Holmes has already visited multiple times and will probably make another visit or two before officials roll around so Ohio State is getting nearly unprecedented access to a West Coast prospect in this recruitment. Ultimately I think Stanford might be too tough to beat here but I look for OSU to stay in this race for the long haul.
Jeffrey Okudah (No. 17 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "I like their tradition and defensive back development as well as the education they provide. My interest level is high and genuine."
My thoughts: Jeff might be the best safety prospect in the nation (Deangelo Gibbs is very good too). He is exactly what the Ohio State coaching staff wants in a safety. He has the size and length to both hold up in run support and make those passing lanes smaller for opposing quarterbacks but you can also use him in man-to-man coverage and not worry about getting burnt.
Okudah's offer list is pretty much every relevant program in college football and he's not a kid that is hell bent on staying close to home so this will be one of the most competitive recruiting battles in the entire nation for 2017. It's the kind of battle that you take 'The Field' against any single team, but I think Ohio State has as good of a chance as anyone at this point in the process.
Devon Hunter (No. 26 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "Ohio State is a program I dreamed to played for since I was little. I have high interest and the football program is like heaven to me."
My thoughts: Hunter is a unique case within this group. He has not been offered yet by Ohio State, though I have had folks close to the program tell me they expect that to change at some point. Hunter also is the type of kid who is prone to falling in love with certain programs either after visits or having good discussions with coaches. Devon has always spoken very highly of OSU in our talks but I tend to think he ends up somewhere in the South, either at one of the two in-state programs or Florida State.
Richard LeCounte (No. 64 in Rivals100)
In his own words: "It's a really good school up there. Everybody around the program is about football. Also, the academic system they have up there is very special. It's special to get into Columbus and have the atmosphere and have so many fans come out to watch you play. It's a very good football team. I love the coaching staff, too."
My thoughts: We all know the stir that was caused at Friday Night Lights with other prospects saying that Richard committed to the coaching staff, something he later denied doing. Regardless of what you believe happend at the camp, Ohio State is operating from a position of strength in this recruitment with Georgia as the top competition right now, something I don't think will change for the duration of this process.
The success Raekwon McMillan has had so far at Ohio State and all of the good things that he has told LeCounte about his first year and a half on campus have made an impression and the tenacity with which the coaching staff has recruited LeCounte has not been lost on him either. Ohio State is the team to beat here but there are 18 months until he has to sign so I don't expect Georgia to go down without a fight.
You guys will perhaps notice one missing player that many might have expected on this list in Pittsburgh (Pa.) Seton La Salle safety Paris Ford (the No. 33 overall player in the Rivals100).
I've been waiting for one of these big name defensive backs to begin cooling a little bit on the idea of going to Ohio State. At some point, one or more of these guys are going to look around at what is coming in and what is still out there, and possibly find a better opportunity somewhere else. Right now, it seems Ford is the guy that is backing off the most from his initial interest in the Buckeyes.
Things could always change here, especially if Damar Hamlin would jump on board and eventually Lamont Wade and you'd have two other Pittsburgh area guys working him, but right now I feel that the momentum is heading in the other direction here.
