Ashley pumping the brakes?
Ohio State already has a commitment from one of the two five-star offensive tackles in the early Rivals100 for 2017 in Miamisburg (Ohio) product Josh Myers. The Buckeyes are also going after the other one in Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips product Calvin Ashley.
Ashley checks in at 6-foot-8, 311-pounds and is as physically impressive of an offensive tackle prospect as you will ever see. Recently there was some talk, which in fairness originated from Calvin himself, that the five-star prospect might be looking to make a commitment soon. We were at the school today and spent some time talking to him both on and off camera and he seems to have backed down from that stance of making an early pledge and is now saying he'll wait until his senior year.
Ohio State is a school that has caught Ashley's attention early in the process and obviously the longer that one plays out, the better for the Buckeyes as they hope to get him up to campus at some point both for an unofficial visit and an official visit. Ashley hasn't seen a ton of schools to this point so that is part of the reason for why he is beginning to back off the early commitment talk.
Right now I'd have to give the edge to the in-state schools along with Auburn as they are places that are more easily accessible for him and that he has some familiarity with but he seems very intrigued by Urban Meyer and the success that Ohio State is having right now so if they can get him up for a visit they could factor into the equation before it's all said and done.
Ohio State has the luxury right now of coming off a few impressive O-line classes in a row (including what they have put together in 2016) and with Myers already in the fold for 2017, they can really chase some of these national guys over the next 18 months and Ashley will almost certainly be a guy they recruit as hard as they possibly can.
Tony Alford is on the case right now with Ashley and we're told he is expected to stop by the school at some point next week to check on one of the nation's truly elite prospects.
We'll have Kevin's video interview with Ashley posted for you guys in the morning. After spending some time with him today he's about as impressive a kid as he is a football prospect. Really enjoyed our time with him.
Wednesday Notebook
Ohio State offered class of 2018 Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside linebacker Teradja Mitchell on Wednesday. This is the same high school that recently produced former five-star safety Quin Blanding and Mitchell is expected to be a pretty big-time prospect. I checked in with Rod Johnson of our VaPreps.com site who is the authority for high school football in the Virginia Beach area.
"He was already a big name in the Virginia Beach area when he was still in Middle School," he told me. "At 6-foot-2, 215-pounds he clearly had the size to play at the varsity level (as a freshman) but he augmented that with an absolute fearlessness for physical play. He is long, rangy, and he can run."
As expected, Ohio State assistants Kerry Coombs and Luke Fickell were both at Liberty County High School in Georgia today to check on 2017 Rivals100 DB Richard LeCounte. LeCounte remains among the most high priority targets for the Buckeyes regardless of class. Coaches from Georgia, South Carolina, and Georgia Southern were also by the school today. Before hitting Liberty County, Coombs stopped by Valdosta High to check on 2015 signee Josh Norwood. Also hearing Coombs will be on the prowl in the Atlanta area on Thursday.
Also as expected, Ohio State QB's coach Tim Beck was at Bartram Trail High School outside of Jacksonville (Fla.) today to watch super 2018 quarterback Joey Gatewood practice. We had a video interview with Joey yesterday and also talked about him in-depth in last night's Skull Session.
Alabama offered Ohio State CB commit Kareem Felder today. It's getting tougher and tougher to separate the legitimate recruiting battles between Saban and Meyer from these two just messing with each other at every possible opportunity on the recruiting trail but the offer was put out today so we'll see how hard Alabama really tries with Felder.
More rumblings from the road
You guys have read above about Ashley (again that video will go up tomorrow morning) but we also stopped in at Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola High School on Wednesday afternoon, home of three-star defensive back Carlos Becker.
Becker is a guy that the Ohio State staff is taking a close look at and he is expected to be on campus on June 16th for one of the Buckeyes' one-day elite camps where he'll be working out for the staff. Right now I'm told he's not as high on the board as a few of the other major targets like Wayne Davis and Damar Hamlin but at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds he is an intriguing prospect with his size and ability to cover so he'll get a close look at that point if he makes the trip.
Becker's video interview will also run tomorrow morning so be on the look out for that.
Did hear something interesting today on LeCounte. We know that Ohio State is very much in the mix there but that there is plenty of competition from the Southern schools. I did have someone who knows Richard pretty well weigh in on that.
"I think his heart is at Ohio State," they said. "I don't know what he's going to do or if he will end up staying closer to home but talking to him I definitely think Ohio State is where his heart is at because of Raekwon (McMillan) and just the relationship he has with the coaches."
Interesting.
Another interesting bit of information we picked up today revolved around 2017 four-star WR Emmanuel Greene. If you'll remember back about two months ago, Greene was scheduled to visit Ohio State for the spring game and I put him on commitment watch at that point.
Greene was obviously not able to make it but I'm told it is likely that he will be on campus this summer, possibly for Friday Night Lights, and once again I'm hearing if he makes it to Columbus that he could give the Buckeyes his pledge before he leaves.
A few other schools like Florida and Miami (Fla.) have probably closed the gap recently, using their location to their advantage, but OSU is still very much his top school, per someone that knows him well.
The same source on Greene also had some insight on future five-star DB Tyreke Johnson out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian who we profiled yesterday. They threw out Florida State as the team to beat early on which makes sense as his older brother De'Andre did sign with the Noles back in February as a quarterback prospect.
Speaking of 2017 wide receivers from Florida, despite the recent infusion of new offers, I continue to hear very positive things about five-star Trevon Grimes and Ohio State to the point where I think whenever the Buckeyes can get him back on campus (expected to be over the summer), I think that could be THE visit where we see it become official.
Southern Swing Day Four
Three more schools in the books on Wednesday and we've moved on to our next destination. We feel these next two days could very well be our biggest two of the trip so stay tuned.
Our Thursday destination is.......
Ohio State already has a commitment from one of the two five-star offensive tackles in the early Rivals100 for 2017 in Miamisburg (Ohio) product Josh Myers. The Buckeyes are also going after the other one in Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips product Calvin Ashley.
Ashley checks in at 6-foot-8, 311-pounds and is as physically impressive of an offensive tackle prospect as you will ever see. Recently there was some talk, which in fairness originated from Calvin himself, that the five-star prospect might be looking to make a commitment soon. We were at the school today and spent some time talking to him both on and off camera and he seems to have backed down from that stance of making an early pledge and is now saying he'll wait until his senior year.
Ohio State is a school that has caught Ashley's attention early in the process and obviously the longer that one plays out, the better for the Buckeyes as they hope to get him up to campus at some point both for an unofficial visit and an official visit. Ashley hasn't seen a ton of schools to this point so that is part of the reason for why he is beginning to back off the early commitment talk.
Right now I'd have to give the edge to the in-state schools along with Auburn as they are places that are more easily accessible for him and that he has some familiarity with but he seems very intrigued by Urban Meyer and the success that Ohio State is having right now so if they can get him up for a visit they could factor into the equation before it's all said and done.
Ohio State has the luxury right now of coming off a few impressive O-line classes in a row (including what they have put together in 2016) and with Myers already in the fold for 2017, they can really chase some of these national guys over the next 18 months and Ashley will almost certainly be a guy they recruit as hard as they possibly can.
Tony Alford is on the case right now with Ashley and we're told he is expected to stop by the school at some point next week to check on one of the nation's truly elite prospects.
We'll have Kevin's video interview with Ashley posted for you guys in the morning. After spending some time with him today he's about as impressive a kid as he is a football prospect. Really enjoyed our time with him.
Wednesday Notebook
Ohio State offered class of 2018 Virginia Beach (Va.) Bayside linebacker Teradja Mitchell on Wednesday. This is the same high school that recently produced former five-star safety Quin Blanding and Mitchell is expected to be a pretty big-time prospect. I checked in with Rod Johnson of our VaPreps.com site who is the authority for high school football in the Virginia Beach area.
"He was already a big name in the Virginia Beach area when he was still in Middle School," he told me. "At 6-foot-2, 215-pounds he clearly had the size to play at the varsity level (as a freshman) but he augmented that with an absolute fearlessness for physical play. He is long, rangy, and he can run."
As expected, Ohio State assistants Kerry Coombs and Luke Fickell were both at Liberty County High School in Georgia today to check on 2017 Rivals100 DB Richard LeCounte. LeCounte remains among the most high priority targets for the Buckeyes regardless of class. Coaches from Georgia, South Carolina, and Georgia Southern were also by the school today. Before hitting Liberty County, Coombs stopped by Valdosta High to check on 2015 signee Josh Norwood. Also hearing Coombs will be on the prowl in the Atlanta area on Thursday.
Also as expected, Ohio State QB's coach Tim Beck was at Bartram Trail High School outside of Jacksonville (Fla.) today to watch super 2018 quarterback Joey Gatewood practice. We had a video interview with Joey yesterday and also talked about him in-depth in last night's Skull Session.
Alabama offered Ohio State CB commit Kareem Felder today. It's getting tougher and tougher to separate the legitimate recruiting battles between Saban and Meyer from these two just messing with each other at every possible opportunity on the recruiting trail but the offer was put out today so we'll see how hard Alabama really tries with Felder.
More rumblings from the road
You guys have read above about Ashley (again that video will go up tomorrow morning) but we also stopped in at Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola High School on Wednesday afternoon, home of three-star defensive back Carlos Becker.
Becker is a guy that the Ohio State staff is taking a close look at and he is expected to be on campus on June 16th for one of the Buckeyes' one-day elite camps where he'll be working out for the staff. Right now I'm told he's not as high on the board as a few of the other major targets like Wayne Davis and Damar Hamlin but at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds he is an intriguing prospect with his size and ability to cover so he'll get a close look at that point if he makes the trip.
Becker's video interview will also run tomorrow morning so be on the look out for that.
Did hear something interesting today on LeCounte. We know that Ohio State is very much in the mix there but that there is plenty of competition from the Southern schools. I did have someone who knows Richard pretty well weigh in on that.
"I think his heart is at Ohio State," they said. "I don't know what he's going to do or if he will end up staying closer to home but talking to him I definitely think Ohio State is where his heart is at because of Raekwon (McMillan) and just the relationship he has with the coaches."
Interesting.
Another interesting bit of information we picked up today revolved around 2017 four-star WR Emmanuel Greene. If you'll remember back about two months ago, Greene was scheduled to visit Ohio State for the spring game and I put him on commitment watch at that point.
Greene was obviously not able to make it but I'm told it is likely that he will be on campus this summer, possibly for Friday Night Lights, and once again I'm hearing if he makes it to Columbus that he could give the Buckeyes his pledge before he leaves.
A few other schools like Florida and Miami (Fla.) have probably closed the gap recently, using their location to their advantage, but OSU is still very much his top school, per someone that knows him well.
The same source on Greene also had some insight on future five-star DB Tyreke Johnson out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian who we profiled yesterday. They threw out Florida State as the team to beat early on which makes sense as his older brother De'Andre did sign with the Noles back in February as a quarterback prospect.
Speaking of 2017 wide receivers from Florida, despite the recent infusion of new offers, I continue to hear very positive things about five-star Trevon Grimes and Ohio State to the point where I think whenever the Buckeyes can get him back on campus (expected to be over the summer), I think that could be THE visit where we see it become official.
Southern Swing Day Four
Three more schools in the books on Wednesday and we've moved on to our next destination. We feel these next two days could very well be our biggest two of the trip so stay tuned.
Our Thursday destination is.......
