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Latham Watch
I am sensing a lot of angst right now from the Ohio State fan base on top offensive line target J.C. Latham. At one point it looked like the Rivals100 tackle would make a spring decision, but the shutdown of recruiting visits has made that very unlikely, and I'm not all that certain he was going to decide before mid-June anyway.
Yes, Alabama is making a strong push for Latham, joining OSU and LSU as top contenders for a kid who is, in my opinion, a five-star talent. Alabama is really selling Latham on the fact that they do not currently have any offensive linemen committed in the class and that they have a pretty appealing depth chart moving forward than what you might expect out of a perennial top five program.
Alabama is also very much in the mix for Texas five-star Tommy Brockermeyer so that could potentially be something to pay attention to down the road, but there is no indication that Brockermeyer is particularly close to a decision and obviously Alabama would love to land both of those guys so it's not a thing where they'd drop one if the other one commits to them. Brockermeyer is also getting a lot of local pressure to stay in-state with Texas, where his father played, so that one is far from a layup for Nick Saban's program.
But I think things are being overstated right now in terms of OSU slipping with Latham. I don't get the sense that that is really the case. It has been a months long internal debate in the Latham family about timing of a decision (even before the COVID situation). I get the sense that the family would prefer that if J.C. committed somewhere that he would not then take official visits later on which has led to several conversations about simply waiting and taking all five visits before coming to a decision.
Latham is, after all, being recruited by almost every top program in college football. He plays a premium position and he has the leverage here as schools aren't going to move on while he waits and sorts through things.
So with that in mind, I tend to think the waiting game is going to be played a little bit longer. Trying to time when these kids will decide is almost a pointless excercise, especially in this climate of uncertainty, but it just feels like this one is going to drag out a bit longer than maybe initially expected.
I still have Ohio State as the leader here, though. He and his family have great relationships with the coaches. While maybe not as active in communicating with all of the OSU commits, there are definitely guys that he talks to and trusts that are already committed and there is definitely a belief that Ohio State would develop him well. The Midwest connections with both parents living in the region don't hurt things either.
So while I think you'll continue to hear "buzz" about Alabama and others challenging OSU here, I still feel the Buckeyes hold decent sized lead and will be tough to beat moving forward, regardless of timeline. This is not a situation where anyone is pressuring J.C. to not go to Ohio State, it's just more a matter of figuring out what is best in terms of timing of a decision and waiting to make visits or not.
If I felt there was reason for major concern here, I'd be getting out in front of it, but I just think some of this is being overblown right now.
Spindler releases top 5
While a lot of the O-Line talk right now surrounds Latham and Jager Burton, Rocco Spindler is still a player that Ohio State would love to land. The Rivals100 prospect from Michigan cut his list to five a few days ago as he is down to Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and LSU.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, it has probably been more than a year since they have had any real traction with the four-star prospect. At this point, the best hope for Ohio State is that Spindler will wait to decide until he is able to make a round of official visits. That seems unlikely, but not impossible, as of today.
I have a FutureCast in for Notre Dame for Spindler and think the Buckeyes trail the Fighting Irish and Michigan for sure and may even trail Penn State at the moment, so there is a lot of ground to make up here.
Brown transferring
New Orleans area cornerback Jyaire Brown became the first member of Ohio State's 2022 recruiting class this spring, an unlikely area to produce an early pledge for the Buckeyes. But the Cincinnati native won't be playing his upcoming junior season at Warren Easton High School. The four-star prospect announced recently that he will be transferring before the upcoming season.
Now where Brown will land next is anyone's guess at this point. I'm told that the most likely scenario right now is that he'll stay somewhere in Louisiana but I wouldn't totally rule out a place like IMG Academy.
Ultimately I don't see this having a huge impact on Ohio State unless he pulls a surprise and pops up somewhere in Ohio, which seems unlikely at this point. The SEC schools aren't going to stop recruiting Brown with 18 months to go until he can sign anything. So whether that is another school in the New Orleans area or IMG, the LSU's and Alabama's of the world aren't going to be too concerned about where he lands and having that impact their strategy of whether or not to stay on him.
Ohio State secured his verbal commitment based on his family ties to the Cincinnati area and growing up an Ohio State fan, so those things don't change based on where he attends high school for his final two years. The Buckeyes know he's going to be a hot commodity and being located where he is located is going to give Southern schools the hope that they can use that geography against the Buckeyes over the next year and a half.
Kerry Coombs has a long history of being right in the middle of recruitments just like this (Shaun Wade as probably the most glaring example) and having the patience and relentlessness needed to let these types of situations play out and to keep grinding away as though the prospect is uncommitted.
This staff knows you have to recruit all the way to the finish line and will do that with Brown regardless of where he pops up next.
