Official visitors update
I always say that recruiting decisions aren't made based on the results of one game. The only thing I ever have questions about coming out of a loss like Saturday night's is how the players react with the official visitors afterwards. The scoreboard won't ruin an official visit for a recruit, but having a miserable host on Saturday night can sometimes cause issues (this happened after Virginia Tech a few years ago).
I haven't heard anything to this point that would lead me to believe that the official visits weren't successful this weekend. There are a couple of guys I still am digging on for more intel, but I will break down what I've gathered on each of them to this point.
Will start with five-star Houston (Texas) Lamar cornerback Anthony Cook. Anthony keeps a very low profile as you already know and he is a very serious kid in general, which means things are going to be much more measured and far less based on emotion than your typical teenager. But I spoke with a source close to Anthony today who had a positive update for the Buckeyes.
"Anthony loved his visit," they shared. "If I had to guess, Ohio State is first right now."
So the vibes continue to be pretty positive for Ohio State with the nation's No. 2 cornerback. But Ohio State isn't out of the woods yet. Cook, who is set to decide on October 30th, still has an official visit to make to Texas (his trip last weekend was an unofficial visit) and an official visit to make to LSU. But Ohio State, seemingly since the spring, has set the bar and it is on UT and LSU to exceed that, which so far, according to those I trust on this one, they have not.
The other five-star official visitor, Micah Parsons, once again enjoyed his time at Ohio State. Adam Friedman posted an in-depth interview with the big-time pass rusher which you can read right now on the front page. I checked in with some other sources to get a little more background on things and was told that Ohio State made a good impression on the parents, which in these official visit settings is often times nearly as important as how you do with the kid.
There is little question that Ohio State will be in Parsons' top four when that drops, presumably this week. What will be interesting to see is which schools round out that top four. Nebraska is one program that has some momentum there right now and looks to be getting an official visit after impressing Micah on an unofficial visit this summer. But I continue to be told to not rule out Penn State in this one and that the possibility of him ending up back in Happy Valley is real.
While I think this was a good visit on Parsons' end, I still have The Field for his services. I know that won't sit well here, especially after Adam's outstanding update on Micah, but I'm sticking with the information I trust the most here. Too many moving parts to have the Buckeyes on this one and too many important sources cautioning me on getting too high on the odds of Micah ultimately signing with OSU.
Parsons wasn't the only big-time defensive end on campus this weekend. Rivals250 product Jayson Oweh will wrap things up tomorrow morning so I hope to have some direct-from-source information by the end of the day tomorrow.
But in speaking with people who were on campus this weekend, Oweh just really seems to vibe with the coaching staff, specifically Larry Johnson. Terms like 'good culture fit' are often thrown around when I ask people about Oweh and Ohio State. Everything looks to be moving in the right direction there, however it would be silly to discount Penn State and there are 1 or 2 people in his camp that I've been told may prefer the Nittany Lions. Ultimately this will be Jayson's decision, however, and right now I feel like Ohio State holds a slight edge. With a decision not coming until the Under Armour game in January, there is still plenty of time here for this tug-of-war to play out.
The information on four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai continues to be positive as well. I don't *think* Tommy is going to pull the trigger yet. I know there has been a pull there to want to take the official visits as being a kid from Idaho, this is really a once in a lifetime deal for Tommy. But Ohio State has done a fantastic job here and could be on the verge of stealing this one.
Christian Tutt is another player I am hoping to catch up with tomorrow, but I am told the status quo hasn't changed here. Tutt is a cornerback prospect that Ohio State likes and should continue to recruit, but his fate is likely tied to Anthony Cook. Don't think there are any CB spots right now in this class unless you're Cook, Tyson Campbell or Pat Surtain. As those three situations evolve, so to will the cornerbacks board. Tutt has official visits coming up to Nebraska and Alabama and my guess right now is that Nebraska is the most likely destination as Tutt was kind of in a similar boat with Alabama as he is with Ohio State at last check.
Carson could still make official visit
One player who has sort of fallen out of the picture lately is Independence (MO) William Chrisman product Daniel Carson. The three-star class of 2018 defensive lineman is listed as a defensive end but Ohio State is looking at him as more of an interior option in the mold of Dre'Mont Jones. Carson kind of flared up during the spring as a prospect to keep an eye on but things were really quiet there over the summer.
While I think things would have to deteriorate pretty quickly with a few other defensive line targets, I am told to not be surprised if Carson makes an official visit to Ohio State at some point this fall. Things could change here if the timetable on guys like Togiai and Antwuan Jackson moves up or things start to slip with those guys or a couple of the defensive ends even, but Carson could fall into that Christian Tutt category of a guy they don't quite know if they want but need to keep up with just in case.
Again, an unlikely addition to the class, but the word this weekend is that it's absolutely possible to see him pop up as an official visitor this fall at some point. So don't completely cross him off the watch list just yet.
Moore makes surprise visit
Louisville (KY) Trinity wide receiver Rondale Moore made a surprise unofficial visit to Ohio State yesterday and did it as part of a group of players from the area. I'm told that while Moore's commitment to Texas may not be the most solid of commitments, that right now there is no major change on the Ohio State end of this thing.
The main focus at wide receiver is still Kamryn Babb and from there things could be full at the position. But if there is one position where you can always sneak a guy in late because of the sheer numbers at the position on the roster and the special teams usage of the position, it's wide receiver.
I think Moore continues to get a look, but I don't know that this is going to end up being a fit. Watch to see if an official visit gets setup, I think that will be a lot more telling than yesterday's trip. It's one thing to have a group of guys from Louisville come up, it would be another thing entirely to have Moore and his family up on an official visit.
I always say that recruiting decisions aren't made based on the results of one game. The only thing I ever have questions about coming out of a loss like Saturday night's is how the players react with the official visitors afterwards. The scoreboard won't ruin an official visit for a recruit, but having a miserable host on Saturday night can sometimes cause issues (this happened after Virginia Tech a few years ago).
I haven't heard anything to this point that would lead me to believe that the official visits weren't successful this weekend. There are a couple of guys I still am digging on for more intel, but I will break down what I've gathered on each of them to this point.
Will start with five-star Houston (Texas) Lamar cornerback Anthony Cook. Anthony keeps a very low profile as you already know and he is a very serious kid in general, which means things are going to be much more measured and far less based on emotion than your typical teenager. But I spoke with a source close to Anthony today who had a positive update for the Buckeyes.
"Anthony loved his visit," they shared. "If I had to guess, Ohio State is first right now."
So the vibes continue to be pretty positive for Ohio State with the nation's No. 2 cornerback. But Ohio State isn't out of the woods yet. Cook, who is set to decide on October 30th, still has an official visit to make to Texas (his trip last weekend was an unofficial visit) and an official visit to make to LSU. But Ohio State, seemingly since the spring, has set the bar and it is on UT and LSU to exceed that, which so far, according to those I trust on this one, they have not.
The other five-star official visitor, Micah Parsons, once again enjoyed his time at Ohio State. Adam Friedman posted an in-depth interview with the big-time pass rusher which you can read right now on the front page. I checked in with some other sources to get a little more background on things and was told that Ohio State made a good impression on the parents, which in these official visit settings is often times nearly as important as how you do with the kid.
There is little question that Ohio State will be in Parsons' top four when that drops, presumably this week. What will be interesting to see is which schools round out that top four. Nebraska is one program that has some momentum there right now and looks to be getting an official visit after impressing Micah on an unofficial visit this summer. But I continue to be told to not rule out Penn State in this one and that the possibility of him ending up back in Happy Valley is real.
While I think this was a good visit on Parsons' end, I still have The Field for his services. I know that won't sit well here, especially after Adam's outstanding update on Micah, but I'm sticking with the information I trust the most here. Too many moving parts to have the Buckeyes on this one and too many important sources cautioning me on getting too high on the odds of Micah ultimately signing with OSU.
Parsons wasn't the only big-time defensive end on campus this weekend. Rivals250 product Jayson Oweh will wrap things up tomorrow morning so I hope to have some direct-from-source information by the end of the day tomorrow.
But in speaking with people who were on campus this weekend, Oweh just really seems to vibe with the coaching staff, specifically Larry Johnson. Terms like 'good culture fit' are often thrown around when I ask people about Oweh and Ohio State. Everything looks to be moving in the right direction there, however it would be silly to discount Penn State and there are 1 or 2 people in his camp that I've been told may prefer the Nittany Lions. Ultimately this will be Jayson's decision, however, and right now I feel like Ohio State holds a slight edge. With a decision not coming until the Under Armour game in January, there is still plenty of time here for this tug-of-war to play out.
The information on four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai continues to be positive as well. I don't *think* Tommy is going to pull the trigger yet. I know there has been a pull there to want to take the official visits as being a kid from Idaho, this is really a once in a lifetime deal for Tommy. But Ohio State has done a fantastic job here and could be on the verge of stealing this one.
Christian Tutt is another player I am hoping to catch up with tomorrow, but I am told the status quo hasn't changed here. Tutt is a cornerback prospect that Ohio State likes and should continue to recruit, but his fate is likely tied to Anthony Cook. Don't think there are any CB spots right now in this class unless you're Cook, Tyson Campbell or Pat Surtain. As those three situations evolve, so to will the cornerbacks board. Tutt has official visits coming up to Nebraska and Alabama and my guess right now is that Nebraska is the most likely destination as Tutt was kind of in a similar boat with Alabama as he is with Ohio State at last check.
Carson could still make official visit
One player who has sort of fallen out of the picture lately is Independence (MO) William Chrisman product Daniel Carson. The three-star class of 2018 defensive lineman is listed as a defensive end but Ohio State is looking at him as more of an interior option in the mold of Dre'Mont Jones. Carson kind of flared up during the spring as a prospect to keep an eye on but things were really quiet there over the summer.
While I think things would have to deteriorate pretty quickly with a few other defensive line targets, I am told to not be surprised if Carson makes an official visit to Ohio State at some point this fall. Things could change here if the timetable on guys like Togiai and Antwuan Jackson moves up or things start to slip with those guys or a couple of the defensive ends even, but Carson could fall into that Christian Tutt category of a guy they don't quite know if they want but need to keep up with just in case.
Again, an unlikely addition to the class, but the word this weekend is that it's absolutely possible to see him pop up as an official visitor this fall at some point. So don't completely cross him off the watch list just yet.
Moore makes surprise visit
Louisville (KY) Trinity wide receiver Rondale Moore made a surprise unofficial visit to Ohio State yesterday and did it as part of a group of players from the area. I'm told that while Moore's commitment to Texas may not be the most solid of commitments, that right now there is no major change on the Ohio State end of this thing.
The main focus at wide receiver is still Kamryn Babb and from there things could be full at the position. But if there is one position where you can always sneak a guy in late because of the sheer numbers at the position on the roster and the special teams usage of the position, it's wide receiver.
I think Moore continues to get a look, but I don't know that this is going to end up being a fit. Watch to see if an official visit gets setup, I think that will be a lot more telling than yesterday's trip. It's one thing to have a group of guys from Louisville come up, it would be another thing entirely to have Moore and his family up on an official visit.
Last edited:
