Laying the foundation
I probably give this speech every year, but I find it to be relevant once again this time around. The upcoming Friday Night Lights camp will be an important one for the 2017 class, but the biggest impact will likely come in the 2018 class where the foundation is being laid with several big-time prospects that the Buckeyes hope to land in that cycle.
The relationships with the 2017 guys are established and, for the most part, the Buckeyes know where they stand with these guys. An extra July visit will certainly help things, but the targets are the targets for the most part and interest between the two parties shouldn't change significantly based on the camp.
The 2018 class, however, offers several different variables. Opinions are still being formed by the prospects on the schools that are recruiting them and boards are still very fluid on the end of the coaching staff so this will be an excellent evaluation tool for the young prospects that do work out.
If things hold up, many of the priority in-state targets are going to be on hand. Jaelen Gill is going, Jack Carman told me this weekend he is likely going to be there. Blue Smith and Chris Oats have said they are going and Dallas Gant will be there as well. This is the early group that the staff has put the most effort on (as well as a couple of unoffered guys like Xavier Henderson and Trenton Gillison who are also both expected) and having them all together on campus will definitely be a good thing and something to watch closely this weekend to see if anyone decides to jump on board. I think Smith and Gill are probably the two furthest away from a decision at this point.
The out-of-state crew is always a little tricky when it comes to this event. A lot of those visits end up falling through. Having Jaiden Woodbey and Asante Samuel Jr. and Al Blades Jr. all on campus would be tremendous but I think all three are up in the air at this point. Woodbey is the guy they sit the best with right now and if he shows up on Friday, it would not totally surprise me to see him make a commitment. That is one kid where the first time he visits Ohio State could be enough to seal the deal for the Buckeyes.
Others like QB Emory Jones and NYC area prospects OL/DL Matthew Jones and TE Jeremy Ruckert are expected as well. All three are worth watching, especially Emory, because they are all very high on OSU coming into the trip.
I would be a bit surprised if this weekend didn't result in the Buckeyes landing a commitment or two in the 2018 class. It could take a few days or even a week or two to materialize based on how things want to be announced by the prospect/family but I don't think it will be much longer until the 2018 class gets kicked off.
Again, not saying this weekend isn't important for 2017. It's always important to have guys like Grimes, Riep, Young, Wade, etc. on campus. But those relationships are well established and the Buckeyes' spot in the pecking order for those prospects is pretty well established too. Friday can make a real difference with the 2018's, especially if the out-of-state guys show up. This camp, in the past, really got the ball rolling for guys like Grimes, Cam Akers, Darnay Holmes, Binjimen Victor, Jonathon Cooper, and many others.
Wade in Vegas
Have been asked a few times about Shaun Wade possibly coming to Friday Night Lights. He will be in Las Vegas for an AAU tournament this week. I'm not a big fan of updates that don't really provide any true update, but I know the questions about him are going to persist.
To channel my inner Denny Green, this recruitment is what we thought it was. He's going to continue to take visits, expect him to make all five this fall. This will not be over soon. This will drag into the winter.
As I see it today, Alabama is the only real threat to flip him. Florida probably lurking in a distant third and schools like Notre Dame, Georgia, Michigan, and many many others will keep trying, but this is very much an Ohio State/Alabama battle right now.
As I've said many times, his constant communication with the Ohio State coaching staff is encouraging. When guys are definitely leaning towards flipping, they will most times cut off the coaching staff. This is how we knew Carlton Davis was going to flip to Auburn a couple of years back. He completely stopped communicating with the OSU coaches.
Wade, on the other hand, continues to speak regularly with the coaches and made two more unofficial visits this summer. I think the Alabama threat is legitimate, I'm not sugarcoating anything here or saying that there isn't anything to worry about, but as long as the communication between Wade and the Buckeyes remains the way it has, there is reason for optimism that OSU can keep him in the fold.
Everything still on for Riep
Traded a few texts with four-star defensive back Amir Riep this evening. Nothing earth shattering, but he still plans to be at Ohio State on Friday and he still plans to announce a college decision on Saturday the 23rd.
If those things go through as planned, it is just awfully hard for me to believe the pick won't be Ohio State on the 23rd. If you subscribe to the watch what they do, not what they say theory, this just seems to all be pointing to the Buckeyes.
Big event at Bama
As Ohio State and Alabama trade punches in the 2017 class, reminiscent of a Tyson/Holyfied fight, it will be Bama that has the first big event of the week before the Buckeyes host Friday Night Lights.
Much like the Buckeyes later in the week, the Crimson Tide will see many top targets in 2017 and 2018 on campus over the next couple of days, many of those prospects were already in Tuscaloosa today, including Rivals100 wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey.
The dividends are already paying off with defensive tackle Akial Byers committing to the Crimson Tide this evening. Byers was one of just a few defensive tackle prospects that the Buckeyes were left keeping tabs on.
In 2018, defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles landed in Tuscaloosa this evening and will get a good look at things tonight and tomorrow. Will have more on Radley-Hiles this week, but he made his unofficial visit to Ohio State a couple of days ago, a week earlier than anticipated. It was his second visit of the process so far to OSU and I'm told Greg Schiano made a good impression.
Radley-Hiles' recruitment is going to be a national one, but Ohio State is expected to be a contender.
Cleveland Heights four-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris is also checking out Alabama. Harris will be at Friday Night Lights later as well, but this week really marks the first major movement on the Harris front in some time. He has not been particularly active in terms of making visits this summer and Alabama is the one school that has seemingly been a threat to steer Harris away from Ohio State.
It will be interesting to see how things are handled with Harris if Lindsey and Grimes both announce for the Buckeyes next month as I expect them to. I don't think it would cost Harris his spot, but it may put Ohio State in a position where they go to him and ask for a decision. They haven't done that yet and have been pretty low pressure with him throughout the process, but landing two wide receiver commitments in a three-day span could change the course there.
I probably give this speech every year, but I find it to be relevant once again this time around. The upcoming Friday Night Lights camp will be an important one for the 2017 class, but the biggest impact will likely come in the 2018 class where the foundation is being laid with several big-time prospects that the Buckeyes hope to land in that cycle.
The relationships with the 2017 guys are established and, for the most part, the Buckeyes know where they stand with these guys. An extra July visit will certainly help things, but the targets are the targets for the most part and interest between the two parties shouldn't change significantly based on the camp.
The 2018 class, however, offers several different variables. Opinions are still being formed by the prospects on the schools that are recruiting them and boards are still very fluid on the end of the coaching staff so this will be an excellent evaluation tool for the young prospects that do work out.
If things hold up, many of the priority in-state targets are going to be on hand. Jaelen Gill is going, Jack Carman told me this weekend he is likely going to be there. Blue Smith and Chris Oats have said they are going and Dallas Gant will be there as well. This is the early group that the staff has put the most effort on (as well as a couple of unoffered guys like Xavier Henderson and Trenton Gillison who are also both expected) and having them all together on campus will definitely be a good thing and something to watch closely this weekend to see if anyone decides to jump on board. I think Smith and Gill are probably the two furthest away from a decision at this point.
The out-of-state crew is always a little tricky when it comes to this event. A lot of those visits end up falling through. Having Jaiden Woodbey and Asante Samuel Jr. and Al Blades Jr. all on campus would be tremendous but I think all three are up in the air at this point. Woodbey is the guy they sit the best with right now and if he shows up on Friday, it would not totally surprise me to see him make a commitment. That is one kid where the first time he visits Ohio State could be enough to seal the deal for the Buckeyes.
Others like QB Emory Jones and NYC area prospects OL/DL Matthew Jones and TE Jeremy Ruckert are expected as well. All three are worth watching, especially Emory, because they are all very high on OSU coming into the trip.
I would be a bit surprised if this weekend didn't result in the Buckeyes landing a commitment or two in the 2018 class. It could take a few days or even a week or two to materialize based on how things want to be announced by the prospect/family but I don't think it will be much longer until the 2018 class gets kicked off.
Again, not saying this weekend isn't important for 2017. It's always important to have guys like Grimes, Riep, Young, Wade, etc. on campus. But those relationships are well established and the Buckeyes' spot in the pecking order for those prospects is pretty well established too. Friday can make a real difference with the 2018's, especially if the out-of-state guys show up. This camp, in the past, really got the ball rolling for guys like Grimes, Cam Akers, Darnay Holmes, Binjimen Victor, Jonathon Cooper, and many others.
Wade in Vegas
Have been asked a few times about Shaun Wade possibly coming to Friday Night Lights. He will be in Las Vegas for an AAU tournament this week. I'm not a big fan of updates that don't really provide any true update, but I know the questions about him are going to persist.
To channel my inner Denny Green, this recruitment is what we thought it was. He's going to continue to take visits, expect him to make all five this fall. This will not be over soon. This will drag into the winter.
As I see it today, Alabama is the only real threat to flip him. Florida probably lurking in a distant third and schools like Notre Dame, Georgia, Michigan, and many many others will keep trying, but this is very much an Ohio State/Alabama battle right now.
As I've said many times, his constant communication with the Ohio State coaching staff is encouraging. When guys are definitely leaning towards flipping, they will most times cut off the coaching staff. This is how we knew Carlton Davis was going to flip to Auburn a couple of years back. He completely stopped communicating with the OSU coaches.
Wade, on the other hand, continues to speak regularly with the coaches and made two more unofficial visits this summer. I think the Alabama threat is legitimate, I'm not sugarcoating anything here or saying that there isn't anything to worry about, but as long as the communication between Wade and the Buckeyes remains the way it has, there is reason for optimism that OSU can keep him in the fold.
Everything still on for Riep
Traded a few texts with four-star defensive back Amir Riep this evening. Nothing earth shattering, but he still plans to be at Ohio State on Friday and he still plans to announce a college decision on Saturday the 23rd.
If those things go through as planned, it is just awfully hard for me to believe the pick won't be Ohio State on the 23rd. If you subscribe to the watch what they do, not what they say theory, this just seems to all be pointing to the Buckeyes.
Big event at Bama
As Ohio State and Alabama trade punches in the 2017 class, reminiscent of a Tyson/Holyfied fight, it will be Bama that has the first big event of the week before the Buckeyes host Friday Night Lights.
Much like the Buckeyes later in the week, the Crimson Tide will see many top targets in 2017 and 2018 on campus over the next couple of days, many of those prospects were already in Tuscaloosa today, including Rivals100 wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey.
The dividends are already paying off with defensive tackle Akial Byers committing to the Crimson Tide this evening. Byers was one of just a few defensive tackle prospects that the Buckeyes were left keeping tabs on.
In 2018, defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles landed in Tuscaloosa this evening and will get a good look at things tonight and tomorrow. Will have more on Radley-Hiles this week, but he made his unofficial visit to Ohio State a couple of days ago, a week earlier than anticipated. It was his second visit of the process so far to OSU and I'm told Greg Schiano made a good impression.
Radley-Hiles' recruitment is going to be a national one, but Ohio State is expected to be a contender.
Cleveland Heights four-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris is also checking out Alabama. Harris will be at Friday Night Lights later as well, but this week really marks the first major movement on the Harris front in some time. He has not been particularly active in terms of making visits this summer and Alabama is the one school that has seemingly been a threat to steer Harris away from Ohio State.
It will be interesting to see how things are handled with Harris if Lindsey and Grimes both announce for the Buckeyes next month as I expect them to. I don't think it would cost Harris his spot, but it may put Ohio State in a position where they go to him and ask for a decision. They haven't done that yet and have been pretty low pressure with him throughout the process, but landing two wide receiver commitments in a three-day span could change the course there.
