At this point in time, everybody knows IMG Academy. Love them or hate them, the “evil empire” of high school football has compiled the best collection of talent we’ve ever seen at that level. There are top players from around the country flocking to the athletic training academy in Brandenton (Fla.) and they all seem to be better off for their choice. Ohio State commits like Malik Barrow, Marcus Williamson, Isaiah Pryor, and Tyler Gerald have attended and played for the school.
Ohio State has no intentions on letting that IMG pipeline die off in any way. With Pryor and Williamson moving due to the Florida school for their senior seasons, the Buckeyes have maintained a constant presence at the powerhouse. I recently spoke with parents of three different recruits with kids playing for the Ascenders and none of them could stop raving about five-star defensive end and major 2017 target Josh Kaindoh, who Marc gave an update on in last weekend’s Skull Session.
“Kaindoh has looked absolutely amazing in workouts and drills lately. As soon as he is totally healed, look out for him. He is a star,” said one parent. “Even with all of the talent at that program, he still stands out.”
Kaindoh is rated as the number four player overall in the 2017 class, so it’s not exactly shocking to hear that the defensive end is widely regarded as a freak show. His incredible frame and athleticism are rare commodities, even among players at his level. His transformation physically has been a big part of that jump up the rankings.
We’ve kept tabs on Kaindoh since his sophomore season and he has grown leaps and bounds since then, adding height, weight, and significant muscle to his lengthy frame. Even since he competed and shined at the Rivals Five Star Challenge prior to his junior season, he has improved significantly. In terms of potential, the sky truly is the limit for Kaindoh. He hasn’t just developed physically though, his game has been sharpened by going against the top offensive linemen that IMG boasts.
“When you have players like Kaindoh, Manuel, Barrow, and Spence practicing in the trenches against guys like Gerald, Hainsey, and Ruiz every single day, it just makes everybody involved so much better. Iron really does sharpen iron and that’s the IMG difference,” said another IMG parent. “All of those guys will be better trained and more confident going into college football than most kids from other programs.”
That work hasn’t just been good for development for Kaindoh however, his experience in battling against these guys in practices and developing close bonds with his teammates may be affecting his recruitment in some ways.
“Kaindoh got really tight with Malik Barrow during last season. He absolutely loved playing on the same side with him and started to really look up to him as they were training,” said a third parent. “Malik’s relationship with Larry Johnson seems to be rubbing off on Kaindoh lately.”
While the Buckeyes will have to fend off challenges from schools like Florida State and Penn State, it would hardly be unprecedented for the Buckeyes to land a top defensive lineman from IMG Academy – and this one could prove to be an absolutely elite player.
Ohio State has no intentions on letting that IMG pipeline die off in any way. With Pryor and Williamson moving due to the Florida school for their senior seasons, the Buckeyes have maintained a constant presence at the powerhouse. I recently spoke with parents of three different recruits with kids playing for the Ascenders and none of them could stop raving about five-star defensive end and major 2017 target Josh Kaindoh, who Marc gave an update on in last weekend’s Skull Session.
“Kaindoh has looked absolutely amazing in workouts and drills lately. As soon as he is totally healed, look out for him. He is a star,” said one parent. “Even with all of the talent at that program, he still stands out.”
Kaindoh is rated as the number four player overall in the 2017 class, so it’s not exactly shocking to hear that the defensive end is widely regarded as a freak show. His incredible frame and athleticism are rare commodities, even among players at his level. His transformation physically has been a big part of that jump up the rankings.
We’ve kept tabs on Kaindoh since his sophomore season and he has grown leaps and bounds since then, adding height, weight, and significant muscle to his lengthy frame. Even since he competed and shined at the Rivals Five Star Challenge prior to his junior season, he has improved significantly. In terms of potential, the sky truly is the limit for Kaindoh. He hasn’t just developed physically though, his game has been sharpened by going against the top offensive linemen that IMG boasts.
“When you have players like Kaindoh, Manuel, Barrow, and Spence practicing in the trenches against guys like Gerald, Hainsey, and Ruiz every single day, it just makes everybody involved so much better. Iron really does sharpen iron and that’s the IMG difference,” said another IMG parent. “All of those guys will be better trained and more confident going into college football than most kids from other programs.”
That work hasn’t just been good for development for Kaindoh however, his experience in battling against these guys in practices and developing close bonds with his teammates may be affecting his recruitment in some ways.
“Kaindoh got really tight with Malik Barrow during last season. He absolutely loved playing on the same side with him and started to really look up to him as they were training,” said a third parent. “Malik’s relationship with Larry Johnson seems to be rubbing off on Kaindoh lately.”
While the Buckeyes will have to fend off challenges from schools like Florida State and Penn State, it would hardly be unprecedented for the Buckeyes to land a top defensive lineman from IMG Academy – and this one could prove to be an absolutely elite player.
