With two mid-week Skull Sessions this week, and today being a travel day, going to put tonight's write-up in a bit of a different format. I'm just going to post some notes, takeaways, intel from the two Ohio camps this weekend (The Opening and the Columbus Rivals Camp).
- Loved the battles between class of 2020 Oak Park (Mich.) offensive lineman Justin Rogers and five-star defensive end Zach Harrison at The Opening regional on Saturday. Those two took more than half a dozen reps against each other and genuinely enjoyed the challenge of trying to best the other. Rogers got the best of Harrison early. Zach is used to being able to just overwhelm people with his strength and athleticism but Rogers stayed in good positioned and he can really anchor already, very strong kid.
Zach came back towards the end in the best-on-best showcase and did a much better job of using his hands and was able to beat Justin on a couple of reps. Zach is still scratching the surface of his potential but he has come a long way in the past year in terms of developing different moves and just the basics of playing the position, dipping the inside shoulder, using his hands, etc. He is no longer just trying to run around or through guys, the technique has really improved.
- You can read Harrison's comments and recruiting plans in the front page story. I would say that in talking to Zach and different people over the past week or so that my confidence in the Ohio State pick has increased slightly, just a feel on my end. Still don't think it's a done deal by any means but feeling a little better about the OSU pick at this point.
Where it's getting a little cloudy for me is in determining whether Penn State is still the biggest threat or if it's Michigan. Zach really likes Penn State and has for a while. I think his best head coach relationship is without question James Franklin. But I asked Zach straight up about my read that Michigan is in a much better spot with him than six months ago and he acknowledged that without hesitation. So with Michigan still having the official visit left, I do think it is a legit three-horse race right now.
- As for Rogers, Ohio State is in great shape early on and he was actually back on campus today again for a quick visit. Justin has lost count of how many unofficial visits he has made to Ohio State but estimated it at more than half a dozen before today's trip. Ohio State and Georgia are out in front right now. I think he's going to be one of the very best offensive lineman in that 2020 class.
He is a very unique talent in that he doesn't fit the prototype of what an offensive tackle is supposed to look like, but he absolutely can play tackle. At about 6-foot-2, it's certainly possible he kicks inside to guard or center at the next level, but he has the ability to play tackle. He's like the offensive version of Aaron Donald in that he's not supposed to be able to dominate at the position he plays at his size but he sure as hell does.
- The other lineman that really stood out to me was four-star Purdue defensive end commit George Karlaftis. Ohio State offered Karlaftis but he committed early to Purdue. Now he's starting to talk about taking some official visits, potentially to places like Florida and Michigan. Since this came to light, Ohio State has not spoken with George but I'm told to not be surprised if the Buckeyes do reach out to Karlaftis at some point and kick the tires.
- Watched Ohio State offensive line commit Doug Nester today at the Columbus Rivals Camp. Nester did a good job in 1-on-1's and looks to have added some good weight this off-season. He did get bullied on one rep by Jowon Briggs, but Briggs was even a bit too strong for Justin Rogers at times on Sunday. Nester told me his biggest thing right now is gaining weight while keeping his quickness, that's his focus this off-season.
- Don't believe there has been a change of heart at this time from four-star quarterback Dwan Mathis who visited Ohio State today with a few of his teammates. For now Mathis remains a Michigan State commit. I talked to him a bit today and it was indicated to me beforehand that nothing would happen today in terms of a flip, but kids will often times say that no matter what. In this case, he appears to have followed through on that. Think it's still something interesting to keep an eye on but looks like there won't be any news there, at least in the short term. As I said earlier, I don't believe anything has changed in Grant Gunnell's mind so this whole situation looks like OSU covering its bases, but we'll see.
Southern Swing kicks off tomorrow morning!
- Loved the battles between class of 2020 Oak Park (Mich.) offensive lineman Justin Rogers and five-star defensive end Zach Harrison at The Opening regional on Saturday. Those two took more than half a dozen reps against each other and genuinely enjoyed the challenge of trying to best the other. Rogers got the best of Harrison early. Zach is used to being able to just overwhelm people with his strength and athleticism but Rogers stayed in good positioned and he can really anchor already, very strong kid.
Zach came back towards the end in the best-on-best showcase and did a much better job of using his hands and was able to beat Justin on a couple of reps. Zach is still scratching the surface of his potential but he has come a long way in the past year in terms of developing different moves and just the basics of playing the position, dipping the inside shoulder, using his hands, etc. He is no longer just trying to run around or through guys, the technique has really improved.
- You can read Harrison's comments and recruiting plans in the front page story. I would say that in talking to Zach and different people over the past week or so that my confidence in the Ohio State pick has increased slightly, just a feel on my end. Still don't think it's a done deal by any means but feeling a little better about the OSU pick at this point.
Where it's getting a little cloudy for me is in determining whether Penn State is still the biggest threat or if it's Michigan. Zach really likes Penn State and has for a while. I think his best head coach relationship is without question James Franklin. But I asked Zach straight up about my read that Michigan is in a much better spot with him than six months ago and he acknowledged that without hesitation. So with Michigan still having the official visit left, I do think it is a legit three-horse race right now.
- As for Rogers, Ohio State is in great shape early on and he was actually back on campus today again for a quick visit. Justin has lost count of how many unofficial visits he has made to Ohio State but estimated it at more than half a dozen before today's trip. Ohio State and Georgia are out in front right now. I think he's going to be one of the very best offensive lineman in that 2020 class.
He is a very unique talent in that he doesn't fit the prototype of what an offensive tackle is supposed to look like, but he absolutely can play tackle. At about 6-foot-2, it's certainly possible he kicks inside to guard or center at the next level, but he has the ability to play tackle. He's like the offensive version of Aaron Donald in that he's not supposed to be able to dominate at the position he plays at his size but he sure as hell does.
- The other lineman that really stood out to me was four-star Purdue defensive end commit George Karlaftis. Ohio State offered Karlaftis but he committed early to Purdue. Now he's starting to talk about taking some official visits, potentially to places like Florida and Michigan. Since this came to light, Ohio State has not spoken with George but I'm told to not be surprised if the Buckeyes do reach out to Karlaftis at some point and kick the tires.
- Watched Ohio State offensive line commit Doug Nester today at the Columbus Rivals Camp. Nester did a good job in 1-on-1's and looks to have added some good weight this off-season. He did get bullied on one rep by Jowon Briggs, but Briggs was even a bit too strong for Justin Rogers at times on Sunday. Nester told me his biggest thing right now is gaining weight while keeping his quickness, that's his focus this off-season.
- Don't believe there has been a change of heart at this time from four-star quarterback Dwan Mathis who visited Ohio State today with a few of his teammates. For now Mathis remains a Michigan State commit. I talked to him a bit today and it was indicated to me beforehand that nothing would happen today in terms of a flip, but kids will often times say that no matter what. In this case, he appears to have followed through on that. Think it's still something interesting to keep an eye on but looks like there won't be any news there, at least in the short term. As I said earlier, I don't believe anything has changed in Grant Gunnell's mind so this whole situation looks like OSU covering its bases, but we'll see.
Southern Swing kicks off tomorrow morning!
