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Powell watches the Buckeyes
Ohio State was allowed to leave tickets for recruits to Saturday night's game against TCU since the game was considered a neutral site game. Those recruits were not, however, allowed to communicate with the Buckeye staff during the festivities so there were pros and cons to the recruiting rules for Saturday's setup in Jerry World.
There have only been a few recruits confirmed so far that actually attended, including class of 2020 running back E.J. Smith, son of NFL hall of famer and Emmitt Smith, and 2020 Rivals100 defensive back R.J. Mickens, but the most interesting recruit in the stands was Odessa (Texas) Permian athlete Peyton Powell.
At one point early in the summer it looked like Ohio State was closing in on a commitment from Powell, who is being recruited as a safety by the Buckeyes. But then Oklahoma offered, where his cousin Sterling Shepard recently starred. Then Urban Meyer was put on paid administrative leave and Powell's mid-August decision was pushed back.
I'll have quotes from Powell in a story later on Monday, but from talking to him on Sunday evening, he is still weighing whether or not to make his college decision on September 26th, his birthday. So I'm not sure this visit did a lot to change things for the Buckeyes who I'm told have still been recruiting him very hard over the past six weeks despite the distractions and despite Oklahoma's momentum.
I think the the most concerning thing on Ohio State's end is that the assumption, mine included, is that Powell is likely going to commit to Oklahoma and that the Oklahoma visit hasn't even been taken yet. Powell delayed that visit, but told me on Sunday that he's still looking to get that set before his decision and that he is also considering a trip to Texas.
If both of those visits happen, he won't be able to take them AND decide by his birthday but he made it sound like deciding by his birthday was still a bit up in the air. But if he pops up at Oklahoma this coming weekend as the Sooners host Army, I think that is going to be pretty telling and we could see something coming out of that visit.
More on Fleming
I watched one of Ohio State's top class of 2020 wide receiver targets, perhaps its very top wide receiver target, on Friday night in Catawissa (Pa.) Southern Columbia standout Julian Fleming. I have to admit that I was a little bit skeptical of Fleming because while he plays at a very successful small school program in Central Pennsylvania, he's not playing great competition week in and week out.
But he was tremendous on Friday and showed me a lot of things that would translate up the ladder against tougher competition. He has tremendous fluidity and burst and he competes at an extremely high level. He is definitely a dude and someone who deserves his high ranking.
Ohio State has done a really strong job recruiting Fleming so far who told me that he will definitely visit again for the Michigan game as the Buckeyes try to get him back on campus even earlier than that for a separate game at some point, likely in October. His unofficial visit over the summer was definitely successful and you can tell just by talking to him for a few minutes that he really likes Brian Hartline.
He's also getting the full court press from commits like Lejond Cavazos and Jack Miller.
All of that being said, I think this would ultimately be one of Urban Meyer's most impressive recruiting feats since coming to Columbus if he could somehow pull off Fleming. Kids from that part of Pennsylvania just go to Penn State, especially when Penn State is competitive as they are right now.
James Franklin was at Fleming's game on Friday night and then Julian made the short trip over to State College for PSU's game against Kent State on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions have definitely been able to use geography to their advantage in this one and Franklin and company haven't taken it for granted that Fleming is just up the road a bit, they have recruited him extremely hard.
So this is going to be a very tough pull. I think Ohio State has done a great job here early on but there is no question that the deck is stacked against them going into this recruitment with circumstances far beyond their control.
I already have a future cast in for Penn State for Fleming, but we'll see how this plays out especially if Ohio State can actually get him on campus for two games this fall. Just getting him back for the Michigan would be helpful though and I know that Urban Meyer has historically been able to pull off some major recruiting upsets and isn't going to let the geography of Southern Columbia High School deter him from taking a swing at a guy that he and his staff feel is a real difference maker.
Big visitor on Saturday
When Urban Meyer returns to the sidelines on Saturday, the Buckeyes will have at least one pretty big important visitor. Five-star Damascus (Md.) defensive lineman Bryan Bresee will be on campus this weekend as the Buckeyes host Tulane.
Bresee, the nation's No. 4 overall prospect in the 2020 class has been to Ohio State multiple times, but it has been a while. His last visit to campus came in October. In the mean time, several visits to other schools have been taken, including a couple to Penn State who is probably the team to beat at this point for Bresee.
But the Buckeyes will get him back on campus for a fourth time on Saturday and the timing is very good with it being a while since Bryan was in Columbus and with Urban Meyer back roaming the sidelines.
"I'm just looking forward to seeing everybody again," Bresee told me on Sunday.
This is a recruitment that should still have plenty of time left in it but the Buckeyes will have a chance to regain some momentum here this weekend.
