I have put in a somewhat surprising FutureCast, based on where I think this one stood as recently as about a week ago, for four-star Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro cornerback Denzel Burke.
The Rivals250 product has been one of the two biggest focal points for the staff recently at the cornerback position along with Jaylin Davies out of California.
As recently as a week ago, sources close to the program indicated that both prospects would need to visit Ohio State at some point in order to help the staff get more comfortable and to try and make a decision as spots at corner are dwindling in this class with probably only one more guaranteed spot left.
The recent thought was also that Burke was more likely to stay on the West Coast, even if he followed through on a visit and that Davies was the guy that Ohio State had a better chance with.
Now both of those items seem to have changed in the past few days, with Burke perhaps being more open to the thought of playing in Columbus than what was previously expected.
Additionally, I'm told that the NCAA allowing players back on campus in June but still no visits has created a situation where the coaching staff is now more willing to take a chance on a guy like Burke before getting the visit as there is growing uncertainty on when visits may even be allowed again. With cornerback being a huge need in this class, there has been a lot of risk assessment taking place in terms of continuing to wait for the NCAA to allow visits and so it is looking like the Buckeyes are going to push forward on Burke and would be willing to take him without a visit taking place first.
What this means for Davies isn't clear yet but it wouldn't seem to be great for him if Burke decides to pull the trigger in the near future. Much like how Ohio State wanted to wait for visits, Burke was also hoping to make a round of visits with a top five of the Buckeyes, USC, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. But also like OSU, it is sounding like Burke may be more flexible on that and could be looking to push things up given the uncertainty on visits.
The Rivals250 product has been one of the two biggest focal points for the staff recently at the cornerback position along with Jaylin Davies out of California.
As recently as a week ago, sources close to the program indicated that both prospects would need to visit Ohio State at some point in order to help the staff get more comfortable and to try and make a decision as spots at corner are dwindling in this class with probably only one more guaranteed spot left.
The recent thought was also that Burke was more likely to stay on the West Coast, even if he followed through on a visit and that Davies was the guy that Ohio State had a better chance with.
Now both of those items seem to have changed in the past few days, with Burke perhaps being more open to the thought of playing in Columbus than what was previously expected.
Additionally, I'm told that the NCAA allowing players back on campus in June but still no visits has created a situation where the coaching staff is now more willing to take a chance on a guy like Burke before getting the visit as there is growing uncertainty on when visits may even be allowed again. With cornerback being a huge need in this class, there has been a lot of risk assessment taking place in terms of continuing to wait for the NCAA to allow visits and so it is looking like the Buckeyes are going to push forward on Burke and would be willing to take him without a visit taking place first.
What this means for Davies isn't clear yet but it wouldn't seem to be great for him if Burke decides to pull the trigger in the near future. Much like how Ohio State wanted to wait for visits, Burke was also hoping to make a round of visits with a top five of the Buckeyes, USC, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. But also like OSU, it is sounding like Burke may be more flexible on that and could be looking to push things up given the uncertainty on visits.
