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Joseph Hastings' Report
Final thoughts on J.T. Tuimoloau
With this potentially being the last Skull Session before J.T. Tuimoloau announces his decision, I wanted to share some parting thoughts on this whole situation.
First off, to quickly address the canceled last visit, I heard from one of our Alabama analysts that as of Thursday, the Crimson Tide staff had expected him in town. The change was all of a sudden, and the real reason behind it is not yet known on their end.
My takeaway from this is that it is hard to discern whether or not this is good or bad news for Ohio State. Yes, a powerhouse program like Alabama is eliminated and Nick Saban won’t get the last visit, but some could easily interpret this as a sign of how well Tuimoloau’s official to Oregon went.
Speaking of the Ducks, I caught up with one of Tuimoloau’s uncles, Kenny Aukuso, to discuss what he heard about that visit, which started right after his official to Columbus. Aukuso said that Oregon, along with Ohio State, both “wowed” Tuimoloau, and that he expects a decision to come this week.
I think the Buckeyes come out on top and that the Ducks could finish as a close second. Anything can happen – maybe besides Washington, I believe all three of his other finalists have strong, compelling arguments that can be made on why they will land him – but Tuimoloau has been viewed as an Ohio State lean for a long time for a reason.
Tuimoloau admires Larry Johnson’s history of developing elite defensive ends, getting on the field early is a priority and Johnson would facilitate that, Ohio State is the one finalist that is objectively the closest to winning a championship in the near future, and he has good relationships with both the staff and multiple players.
In my opinion, the Buckeyes win out here and sign one of the greatest d-end tandems in the history of recruiting classes.
Recently submitted a FutureCast for Ohio State to land Rivals100 DT Chris McClellan
This past weekend, newly minted Rivals100 defensive tackle Chris McClellan took his official visit to Ohio State.
The Buckeyes, led by d-line coach Larry Johnson, did an excellent job during his three-day stay in Columbus. Johnson’s attention to detail, the plan that they have for him, the departure of several players in the trenches, and his interactions with the players really stood out to McClellan.
What’s also appealing to McClellan is the possibility of him being used inside and outside of the defensive line. This, coupled with expected departures at the position group, had made McClellan believe he will be afforded an opportunity to earn playing time quickly if he chooses Ohio State.
Shortly after the visit, the Oklahoma-based prospect told me that tOSU is now his leader. After doing some additional digging, I opted to submit a FutureCast in favor of the Buckeyes.
One of the reasons why I did so is due to McClellan potentially moving up his commitment timeline.
Less than a week ago, McClellan said he was loosely targeting November for when he would commit. McClellan, who dropped a top 17 earlier this month, seemed intent on taking more visits and stretching out his recruitment.
Now, following his time at Ohio State, McClellan says he is unsure of when he will make his announcement, and that he’ll talk about it with his family this week. It’s been hinted to me that a decision could come within the next couple of days, but nothing is set in stone.
If a decision does not arrive in the coming days, I would be a little more hesitant with my pick, but the Buckeyes would absolutely still be in strong contention, alongside Alabama, Florida, Georgia and USC. From what I’ve been told, the Gators felt they led for him after he visited the school a couple of weeks ago, so I think they pose the greatest threat to Ohio State right now.
I’ve been told that McClellan could pop soon, so we’ll be closely monitoring this situation.
Latest I’ve heard on Treyaun Webb
Switching over to the Class of 2023, Rivals100 running back target Treyaun Webb recently revealed that he will be committing on July 17. That announcement was made shortly after unveiling a top three of Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Earlier this month, Webb told us that the Buckeyes had leapt to the top of his leaderboard following an “amazing” visit to Columbus. I was even told behind the scenes that Webb thought about committing to Ohio State shortly after his trip wrapped up.
Now, however, Oklahoma has taken the momentum after a multi-day visit just under two weeks ago. Four FutureCasts poured in today, and I heard that Lincoln Riley’s staff is acting confident about their chances with him. Meanwhile, I’ve been led to believe that as of earlier today, the Buckeyes were unsure about which program he will commit to.
After speaking with a source, however, I’m told Ohio State is not too worried about what happens on July 17. The mindset here is that Webb is already someone who committed before (to Georgia as a freshman), and he’s still in the Class of 2023. Unless he pulls a shocker and ends up reclassifying to the Class of 2022, then Webb will still have nearly a year and a half left until he has to make a final decision.
The Buckeyes are going to continue sticking by their message that they have a proven track record of developing players over the time. Also, Ohio State is emphasizing that even though they’ll have guys like Dallan Hayden, Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson on the team by the time Webb would arrive in Columbus if he picks the school, competition is rewarding in the end and will improve him on and off the field.
I think Oklahoma wins out on July 17, but this one will be far from over no matter where he commits to. Webb even admitted that taking visits after committing is on the table, so I wouldn’t completely write him off if the Sooners are the pick in three weeks.
Buckeyes are set with Hayden in the 2022 class
Although Friday featured huge news with Tuimoloau canceling his Alabama visit, I did want to bring up something I reported that some may not have seen.
Recent Ohio State commit Dallan Hayden told me last week that Tony Alford said to him he would be the only running back the program signs in this class. As a result, the Buckeyes have moved on from Rivals250 prospect Omarion Hampton, who did not officially visit Columbus this weekend as he had initially planned.
In my opinion, this is probably the right move.
Right now, the roster outlook for the program includes six scholarship players at the position. Those are junior Master Teague, redshirt sophomore Steele Chambers, redshirt sophomore Marcus Crowley, redshirt freshman Miyan Williams and true freshmen Evan Pryor and TreVeyon Henderson.
Even if Teague opts to go to the NFL after this upcoming season, they’ll have enough depth at the position, so it’s not a necessity to add two in the 2022 class.
Also, this allows Alford and company to focus on landing a pair of top-100 overall players in the 2023 cycle, which is very possible. I would not be shocked if the Buckeyes can add two of the following three recruits: Justice Haynes, Richard Young and Treyaun Webb. If not, I see them getting one of these three, and adding another player who’s currently not on their offer sheet.
I believe this is the right decision, but be sure to leave your thoughts on Ohio State’s running back recruiting efforts down below.
Carson MacRae’s Report
My JTT thoughts
All right, let’s circle back to the most talked recruit across the “Twitterverse” right now: J.T. Tuimoloau.
This recruitment is beyond fascinating to me as the Buckeyes have really led the whole way throughout without ever receiving a visit before his recent official to Columbus.
Following his recent cancellation of the official he had scheduled to Alabama, this reaffirmed to me my belief that the Buckeyes are going to win out here. The end all, be all, with the Tuimolau family and J.T. himself has been all about maintaining his high stock as a blue-chip prospect and making sure it translates to becoming a first-rounder one day.
After meeting Larry Johnson, the family could not have been more pleased with the meeting they had with him from what I’ve been told.
I’ve heard that J.T. enjoyed his Oregon visit but he did not seem to be as engaged when speaking to Oregon d-line coach Joe Salave'a as he did when he was picking Johnson’s brain. Too much of this just feels to be trending Ohio State’s way for me not to take the Buckeyes here.
I think we could even get some news as early as tonight as the timeline is short on his decision.
Kam Dewberry update
Joseph has been like white on rice when it comes to the Kam Dewberry coverage, but I thought I would give my opinion in this Skull Session as I have not really spoken about him a ton, if at all on here.
Dewberry is coming off his visit to Columbus this past weekend. I had a chance to catch up with a source who knows Dewberry fairly well following his visit. He mentioned that Dewberry was thrilled the whole time and kept saying how he could just seem himself dawning the Scarlet and Gray one day.
With this information I’ve been provided, I’m getting very close to flipping my FutureCast pick (currently in favor of Texas A&M) to Ohio State. I still need a couple more boxes checked on this one, but everything has really started to trend for the Buckeyes.
This would be a major get as Ohio State missed on priory OT target Kiyaunta Goodwin, who committed to Kentucky in April. Dewberry is Rivals’ No. 18 overall player in the country and the No.3 OT nationally.
If the Buckeyes can land Dewberry, (which I think is probably a 60% chance of happening as of right now)m then I believe there’s still a chance this 2022 class is still on pace to match Alabama’s record setting 2021 class. I’m becoming very optimistic with this one, so do not be surprised to see that FutureCast flipped in the next week or so here as I continue to dig.
Since we're on the trend of lineman today, I figured I’d focus my attention on another priority target in the trenches for Ohio State.
Earnest Greene out of Bellflower (California) has drawn the Wyatt Davis comparison, rightfully so. The highly sought-after o-lineman is Rivals’ No. 2 guard and is quickly growing on the Buckeyes following his visit to Columbus recently.
I spoke to a source who told me yesterday that he thinks this one could wrap itself up by the first week of August. I’m optimistic that the Buckeyes are ultimately going to win out in this one.
Greene has been a prospect who is not so much as big on the coaching as he is with the school and program feeling like home. Greene has been noted saying that the visit to Columbus and walking around the Ohio State campus certainly gave him the home feeling he was looking for.
If I had to make a prediction as of right now, I think the Buckeyes would edge out the home state Trojans. To add on, I think the fact that Alabama is not among the serious contenders in Greene’s top 10 allows for Ohio State to surge in terms of NIL, coaching, and overall program success.
As of right now, Ohio State leads by a slight margin over USC, then I have OU sitting at three. I think the Buckeyes ultimately prevail here.
Expecting Christen Miller to wind up elsewhere
Recently, I flipped my Ohio State pick for Christen Miller to USC.
Oftentimes when recruiting these top end-prospects, the narrative gets created that the program didn’t do enough, or the positional coach did not do enough to show the player “this” or “that”. In this recruitment, this is absolutely not the case.
The Buckeyes have gone all in on Miller as one of the premier DTs in this class. Larry Johnson, as always, does a spectacular job breaking down film to recruits when they are on visits and gives them critiques, they can work on from what he sees during their workouts. Miller valued his expertise like all the d-line recruits who were able to work out with Johnson.
This time, it's a matter of the player’s future aspirations seeming to be prioritized as much as football is. As Miller looks to build on his brand towards the Hollywood and TV lifestyle after football, USC used the opportunity to expand on their connections through the school. It appealed to Miller a ton and has caused a swing in the direction of this recruitment.
Furthermore, five-star defensive end Mykel Williams recently committed to USC. Williams and Miller have a very strong bond as many recruits have told me. The two took their officials at USC the same weekend, and have also competed in many camps together.
The bond between the two has been in USC’s favor as Williams aided in getting Miller to lean on USC. I have heard Miller is getting close to making an announcement and I fully expect that one to end all Trojans.
