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Carson MacRae’s Report
FutureCast in for Rivals100 WR Kaleb Brown
As of yesterday, I submitted a FutureCast for Kaleb Brown to join the Buckeyes. Before I dive too much into this, let’s take a look at where we stood a few weeks ago. In a previous Skull Session, I said that I believed if there was going to be a third wideout to join the class, I thought it would be CJ Williams, granted he takes a visit to Columbus.
The thought behind this was that Williams’ parents have been very supportive in trying to get their son to see all of his top schools to make the best decision possible. With that being said and there being no true bias from family members to stay home in California, I thought Brian Hartline would work his magic on Williams.
The Buckeyes have been looking to land a highly regarded prospect out of Mater Dei for years now, and Williams seemed to be the perfect target with his family being so open to his decision.
Williams, as reported by Rivals.com’s Mike Singer, canceled his June 11-13 visit to Columbus recently due to track obligations. Until Ohio State can get him on campus, Williams will be an almost impossible pull for the Buckeyes.
With Hartline seeing the writing on the wall in that recruitment, and Kojo Antwi still probably having Ohio State as his second or third school in the mix, Hartline seems to have turned to Chicago native Kaleb Brown.
I submitted my FutureCast for Brown last night following some information that I received by a source close to this recruitment, stating that Hartline has been in contact with Brown constantly as of late and that Brown has been pretty vocal to friends and family that if the Buckeyes want him, it’s going to be almost a “no brainer.”
Joseph heard from a source that Brown is indeed a take for Ohio State, so this is yet another indication that he could potentially be joining forces with them in the near future.
Brown is listed as an athlete by Rivals.com, but he is being seen by most in his recruitment as a slot receiver. This is on line with the way Ohio State views Brown and how they would use him if he were to join the Buckeyes.
On tape, Brown can be seen coming out of the backfield getting touches on the ground and in the air. But with a slightly lighter frame for a running back and his quick burst speed, Brown would fit the mold of an Ohio State slot very nicely.
I should also note that Michigan has been thought of as the heavy favorites to land Brown for quite some time. Brown does have a good rapport with the Wolverines staff, but he has seemed to lay back on them a little bit in the past few weeks. Biggest reason: Brian Hartline.
I think we could see something sooner rather than later on this one. Keep an eye out following that June visit.
Omarion Hampton would be on board with a two-RB class
Another interesting topic that has risen as of late is North Carolina running back target Omarion Hampton. Recently I had a chance to speak to a source close to Hampton who said that Tony Alford has been in constant contact with the Rivals250 running back.
Now, what is interesting about this is that there are a lot of possible candidates who have been seen as getting that one running spot in the class. Most notably Dallan Hayden, and I am still under the impression that Hayden will end a Buckeye.
On the other side of it, Hampton has started to look at his recruitment with Ohio State similar to the way Evan Pryor did. My source informed me that Hampton sees the benefit in having two backs supporting each other.
With that being said, I now truly think the possibility of having two running backs in this class is becoming very real. I think Hayden will be the first to join this class, but I would not be surprised to see Hampton join him. Joseph Hastings confirmed with a source in Columbus that Hampton would be open to being the second back in the class if he decided to join the Buckeyes.
This could be another great 1-2 punch with Hayden being more of an elusive and versatile runner, where Hampton is more likely to try and get outside and run through opposing defenders. Hampton has great speed at 6-foot, 220 pounds and is fairly shifty for his size, but not to the extent Hayden is.
Hampton has a little more of that Carlos Hyde style of running where Hayden looks a little closer to a JK Dobbins type of player. Ultimately, this recent movement could be a big bonus to an already loaded Ohio State class if they can pull off landing the tandem. I am not stating this will happen but the possibility of it is certainly there now.
Feeling good about OSU’s chances with Curry
Another player I recently FutureCasted to Ohio State was Caden Curry. Curry has always seemed to keep his recruitment pretty close to the vest. Not a lot gets out with him, but I did speak to a source who works on the front of another big program also in on Curry’s recruitment. He had mentioned to me that he thinks this one is “All Buckeyes”.
I was also made aware that this was not just his opinion after speaking to Curry but a few other people who have had the chance to speak to Curry, and they believe he will end a Buckeye also. This Futurecast, unlike the Kaleb Brown one, is a little bit more of a speculation based off of what I have heard and how comfortable I am with Ohio State to tie the bow on this recruitment.
Curry also has also stated he will more than likely not come to a decision until he has taken all of his official visits, so there should be no expectations of a commitment on the horizon. However, I do believe that once Curry has taken all of his officials, he will make a commitment shortly after. Alabama and Notre Dame are the ones to watch here from the outside but Ohio State is definitely in the driver’s seat.
Joseph Hastings’ Report
Buckeyes in the mix for another transfer linebacker target
After striking out on Henry To’oto’o earlier this month, Ryan Day’s staff is in play for yet another linebacker in the NCAA Transfer Portal: Palaie Gaoteote.
According to our own Kevin Noon, conversations are actively ongoing between Ohio State’s staff and Gaoteote. Noon also noted earlier this week that some smoke has been starting to develop, and that there is mutual interest here.
It’s important to clarify that this does not mean Gaoteote will wind up in Columbus; there may be some more urgency here, however, with To’oto’o now at Alabama.
This won’t necessarily need to be an in-depth recruiting process as Gaoteote is more than familiar with the Buckeyes program. He was considering the program before he committed to USC as a high school recruit, and even visited Columbus in October 2016. Also, it helps that he is a cousin of Ohio State interior defensive lineman Haskell Garrett, who he has been close to ever since they were kids.
Most have viewed Texas as the likely landing spot for Gaoteote, but the Buckeyes getting on board has seemed to stall this process, at the very least. This appears to be a neck-and-neck situation, but Kevin said that Gaoteote holding out on a decision is not a bad sign for the program. With the May semester already here, Gaoteote could wait it out a few weeks as he will be a June enrollment anyways.
A little background information on Gaoteote is that he is a former five-star linebacker in the 2018 cycle, but his collegiate career has been defined by injuries. He had pre-season knee cartilage surgery in 2018, suffered a sprained ankle the next year, and missed all but two games last season due to a concussion.
When he’s been healthy (for 17 games, that is), Gaoteote has averaged just shy of seven tackles per game and has 7.5 total tackles for loss in his career. Ohio State could ultimately decide to pass but, as of right now, things are trending for the program.
A note on Quinn Ewers’ wide receiver
One additional name that we can add to the list of wideouts that Ohio State is considering is three-star junior Landon Samson. If you followed Southlake Carroll’s 2020 season, then Samson is a familiar name as he was Quinn Ewers’ top wide receiver target.
I reached out to Samson this weekend, and he did tell me that he is on the Buckeyes’ radar. In fact, Samson says that he’s planning a trip up to Columbus next month with Ewers.
While he did not say which date this will be as it’s still being planned out, a source informed me that Samson will be camping at Ohio State next month. Thus, that limits the list of dates to June 2, June 8, June 9, June 15, June 16 and June 22. This response from the source I spoke with was after I asked if an offer could be in the works, so it still remains to be seen if the program will dip into his recruitment.
Samson did tell me, however, that based on his conversations with the staff, he believes he’d receive an offer “if everything goes well.”
Even though he is a low-rated three-star, there’s a lot to like about Samson. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder hauled in 1,293 yards on 74 receptions and had 15 touchdowns last season, and has great downfield speed. He also possesses strong hands, has a quick burst after catching the ball, can take the top off a defense if there’s no safety help, and routinely won one-on-one battles in his junior campaign.
It’s hard to predict if an offer will indeed arrive, but the Buckeyes are certainly entertaining that option.
Where to go next for Chris Holtmann’s staff
Most of the content in our Skull Sessions are dedicated to football recruiting, but we wanted to talk a little bit about the basketball program following Efton Reid’s commitment to LSU this week.
Ohio State did well in the 2021 cycle with the additions of Kalen Etzler, Malaki Branham and Meechie Johnson, who later went on to reclassify to the 2020 class, but they have struck out on some targets at center. They did land Joey Brunk via the transfer portal, but missed out on Reid, Charles Bediako and Chet Holmgren in this class.
I caught up with Jake Spegal, our basketball analyst here at BuckeyeGrove, to get his thoughts on where Ohio State should turn to with another big man target off of the board.
Spegal believes it is not likely that they will sign a center recruit out of high school in the 2021 cycle, and thinks any addition would come from the NCAA Transfer Portal. The two options that make the most sense, in Spegal’s opinion are EJ Onu from Shawnee State University and Sterling Manley from North Carolina.
While anything can happen, Spegal believes Ohio State is moving on to the 2022 class. The ones to pay attention to at this time are Shawn Phillips and top-50 overall junior Donovan Clingan. Phillips has the Buckeyes in his top seven, and Clingan recently included them in his top eight.
Spegal does not see either of them committing anytime soon, but did note that Phillips – now in Ypsilanti, Michigan – is originally from Dayton. He thinks Ohio State has a good shot here, and Phillips admitted last month that he is very familiar with the program.
We will see what happens, but it appears as if Holtmann and company will focus their attention on their crop of junior targets.
