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Quick notes on Five-Star DE JT Tuimoloau
by Dave Lackford
As I detailed earlier in the week as well as last week's Skull Session, Alabama and Oklahoma seem to feel they've made a big push with JT Tuimoloau. That being said both staffs still believe Ohio State leads. If you're not first you're last in recruiting. At the time of this publication, I still feel confident Tuimoloau will be in this class based on what I've been told.
Peer Pressure
TreVeyon Henderson and Jordan Hancock have been up to their usual recruiting efforts on twitter and the two have started a coordinated effort to sway Raesjon Davis and Barrett Carter to Columbus.
On July, 30 Davis tweeted "#GoBucks" in reply to Michigan receiver Christian Dixon tweeting a graphic showing how Ohio State has won nine of the last ten meetings between the rivals. Dixon's caption to the graphic that showed his team's futility against the Buckeyes was "remember I posted this #goblue" which was dumb but I digress. Henderson, seeing Davis's "GoBucks" tweet responded with "Don't play with us like that."
The next day, Hancock tweeter at Henderson saying "nah trey i want this one" to which Barret Carter responded "yo jordan pipe down cuh." Henderson, never the one to play the sideline responded to Carter with "I think BC "Barrett Carter" still wants in on the low." Anyway, you can see the whole thing here.
My take away from this type of activity is that the recruits in this class do a great job recruiting other players. I poo-pooed their efforts to flip Hancock as mere attention-seeking behavior and I ended up smelling like sewage. So this time I'm going to pay attention without rank cynicism, especially when it comes to Hancock trying to flip Carter. Once again, I have been humbled by teenagers (I'm raising three of them at the moment).
Evan Pryor looks good at NC prospect event
A friend of mine, whose evaluation skills I trust was down in North Carolina for a camp and got to see Evan Pryor. His report pretty much aligned with what I detailed in the Joe v Dave piece earlier this week. I was told the following:
"Very good hands for a running back, basically impossible for linebackers to cover in space. Not as bulky as I thought he would be, all-purpose type guy for sure."
I was surprised to hear that Pryor was at one of these types of camps. He's already committed, and he's already highly ranked. Most kids don't feel the need to come out and headline one of these small-time local events but there he was. For one it shows how much kids have missed the offseason football world but also it shows that Pryor loves the game and loves to compete. Those are the type of intangible things that sometimes get overlooked when evaluating players. I think he's going to be just fine at Ohio State with that type of competitive nature.
2021 Tight End reports official offer
A final note on the 2021 class for this week's Skull Session is a surprising one. Remember four-star Kentucky-based tight end Jordan Dingle? He posted that he received an official scholarship offer from Ohio State yesterday. Looks like Ohio State isn't done at the tight end position. I was told by a few sources that Dingle is leaning toward Vanderbilt because his family loves the staff there and they put a heavy emphasis on education. However, Mason is on the hot seat so I think that's why he hasn't pulled the trigger. Ohio State could be a compromise for Dingle and his family. I will have more on this development later in the week or on the next Skull Session.
Spotlighting Caden Curry
I've become enamored with the film of 2022 DL Caden Curry from Indiana. I really think that kid is a five-star talent. My friend Chris Vaughn (he's the one who trained Rondale Moore and Wandale Robinson) sent me his film unsolicited and we had a long conversation of who Curry reminded us of. I said Bryan Breese, he said Joey Bosa. I reached out to Curry and he told me that he's still talking to Ohio State every week. I like Ohio State's chances here.
Bama and Oregon are the other threats here but I never give Oregon much of a shot with east coast/midwest kids. Bama is Bama but I think Ohio State has the NFL production and geographical advantage. If Notre Dame offers, and I find it unconscionable that they haven't, the Irish will also be a factor.
I spoke with some of the powers that be at Rivals as to why he isn't ranked and everyone I spoke with raved about him but for some odd reason he still doesn't have a rating. With is frame, explosion, twitch, and footwork he looks like a top 25-prospect. Perhaps his ranking, or lack thereof, is a product of him playing in Indiana which isn't exactly a hotbed combined with the pandemic shutting down offseason camps. Either way, Larry Johnson likes him and he's definitely a take for the Buckeyes.
Spotlighting C.J. Hicks
by Joseph Hastings
With Gabe Powers committing yesterday, I wanted to spotlight fellow 2022 pledge C.J. Hicks today because of the incredible job he is doing as a recruiter.
We already know how connected Hicks is with Ohio State’s recruiting efforts and, this past Wednesday, he hinted at Powers’ announcement by tweeting, “Who ready for another boom???” His Twitter feed is constantly filled with Buckeye content, and he is always liking/retweeting posts from the top 2022 targets.
I exchanged a few messages with Hicks earlier today, and I was once again impressed by his mindset as both a recruiter and as a commit.
First of all, he recently received offers from Alabama (last week) and LSU (before the Under Armour All-America Camp). Instead of tweeting it out, however, he just asked me to add it to his Rivals profile. This is exactly what you want to see from a pledge as Hicks doesn’t want to give off the impression that he’s considering other programs; he’s 100 percent locked in and ready to make the move to Columbus at the next level.
Secondly, we got to talking about some of the different recruits he is pursuing and labeling as a priority. Two of his top targets are top-100 overall rising juniors Dasan McCullough and Shawn Murphy, but he’s also working on offensive lineman Zach Rice and a couple of others.
My thoughts on McCullough and Murphy, based on what I have heard, are that they would probably need to visit first before committing to the school. This makes sense as the staff may want to get them on campus and have them be completely sure about their decision so there is no wavering if they wind up joining forces with the Buckeyes.
Dave and I have already put in our FutureCast predictions for McCullough to wind up with Ohio State, and Dave submitted one for Murphy a few weeks ago as well.
Switching back over to Hicks, he also shared with me his message to prospects that are on his radar. This is what he told me:
“I just try and get to know them and build a relationship with them and get a feel for their personality,” Hicks said. “Then, I see if they’ll be a good fit for OSU and I just try and get them to come join me and be a part of something great.”
Hicks is someone who is a strong contender for five-star status and will be a versatile player in the Scarlet and Gray, but his off-the-field intangibles are probably even more impressive than what he brings to the table on the field. I’m really looking forward to seeing this young man continue to improve and be a prominent name for Buckeye Nation over the next few years.
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