So I promised yesterday evening that I would elaborate a bit on Hall's recent visit to Ohio State and some things happening that rubbed some people the wrong way.
The visit kind of started off on the wrong foot. Ohio State had planned a thorough presentation on academics which was to take place on Thursday. Hall was a no-show, arriving on campus a day late, just a few minutes before Friday Night Lights got going.
So that stuff happens sometimes, visits don't always follow the initial schedule and it's a long drive from Maryland, no big deal.
Following Friday Night Lights, I had multiple commits tell me they just didn't get a great vibe from Terrell during the camp. There was a feeling, among several of them, that there wasn't much of an effort made to really bond with his future teammates.
So up to this point we've covered why I was starting to feel skeptical about the strength of Hall's commitment and why I decided to write in Sunday's Skull Session that concern levels should probably be on the rise. Between the above and the information I posted yesterday evening about the details of the recent Alabama visit being downplayed by the Hall camp (OSU was also not told in advance about the visit) that is why I felt things were starting to trend away. But now there's more.
Then Saturday happened.
Doing this job, I always think I've heard it all. But sure enough, I haven't. OSU and the Hall camp rescheduled some of the academic stuff for Saturday, some of the staff were supposed to be off but came in to make sure this part of the visit was fit in before Hall went home.
Per two of the commits, Hall showed up at the Woody Hayes facility on Saturday wearing some team gear, however the shade of red was a little bit off.
He had an Alabama shirt on.
When I was first told this, I actually didn't believe it. But I've had this verified by several people at this point and there is no reason for two commits to lie about this. Apparently the mood in the WHAC at the time was more of surprise/shock followed by, 'we have to get this kid to change his shirt before someone like Urban Meyer or, maybe even worse, one of the current players sees this and flips out'.
I can't say in my time covering this stuff that I've ever heard of a committed prospect taking an unofficial visit to the school he's committed to and showing up at the facility wearing team gear from the school that has been trying to flip him over the past several months. That is absolutely a new one. The chapters to my eventual tell-all book just keep piling up.
Now all of this being said. Ohio State ABSOLUTELY wanted Hall in this class. His scholarship was not pulled, and despite everything that happened on the visit, there was still a major push on Saturday to try and keep him in the fold and prevent this from happening. But all of the events that transpired last weekend meant that deep down the OSU staff had at least somewhat of an idea that this was coming or was at least a very real possibility.
This is also why I don't think you'll see Ohio State put forth a serious pursuit of Hall moving forward. I think it's a near certainty that he's going to Alabama.
The visit kind of started off on the wrong foot. Ohio State had planned a thorough presentation on academics which was to take place on Thursday. Hall was a no-show, arriving on campus a day late, just a few minutes before Friday Night Lights got going.
So that stuff happens sometimes, visits don't always follow the initial schedule and it's a long drive from Maryland, no big deal.
Following Friday Night Lights, I had multiple commits tell me they just didn't get a great vibe from Terrell during the camp. There was a feeling, among several of them, that there wasn't much of an effort made to really bond with his future teammates.
So up to this point we've covered why I was starting to feel skeptical about the strength of Hall's commitment and why I decided to write in Sunday's Skull Session that concern levels should probably be on the rise. Between the above and the information I posted yesterday evening about the details of the recent Alabama visit being downplayed by the Hall camp (OSU was also not told in advance about the visit) that is why I felt things were starting to trend away. But now there's more.
Then Saturday happened.
Doing this job, I always think I've heard it all. But sure enough, I haven't. OSU and the Hall camp rescheduled some of the academic stuff for Saturday, some of the staff were supposed to be off but came in to make sure this part of the visit was fit in before Hall went home.
Per two of the commits, Hall showed up at the Woody Hayes facility on Saturday wearing some team gear, however the shade of red was a little bit off.
He had an Alabama shirt on.
When I was first told this, I actually didn't believe it. But I've had this verified by several people at this point and there is no reason for two commits to lie about this. Apparently the mood in the WHAC at the time was more of surprise/shock followed by, 'we have to get this kid to change his shirt before someone like Urban Meyer or, maybe even worse, one of the current players sees this and flips out'.
I can't say in my time covering this stuff that I've ever heard of a committed prospect taking an unofficial visit to the school he's committed to and showing up at the facility wearing team gear from the school that has been trying to flip him over the past several months. That is absolutely a new one. The chapters to my eventual tell-all book just keep piling up.
Now all of this being said. Ohio State ABSOLUTELY wanted Hall in this class. His scholarship was not pulled, and despite everything that happened on the visit, there was still a major push on Saturday to try and keep him in the fold and prevent this from happening. But all of the events that transpired last weekend meant that deep down the OSU staff had at least somewhat of an idea that this was coming or was at least a very real possibility.
This is also why I don't think you'll see Ohio State put forth a serious pursuit of Hall moving forward. I think it's a near certainty that he's going to Alabama.
