From the Road
Had a chance to watch a couple of major Ohio State targets this weekend in 2016 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic defensive back Damar Hamlin and 2017 Clairton (Pa.) defensive back Lamont Wade.
First game was Friday night with Hamlin's team cruising to a 42-6 win. Hamlin plays cornerback for his Central Catholic team but I feel he'll be a safety at the next level. Hamlin was very physical in press-man coverage and I was a little surprised by how aggressive he was both in run support and as a blitzer. He definitely does not shy away from contact out there, he was sticking his nose into any play he could. He's a pretty mild-mannered kid so seeing that other side of him come out between the lines was encouraging.
I also thought Damar did a great job of anticipating plays. He saw next to no action in coverage as Shaler Area did not test him, but he was able to jump a lot of plays in the run game and on some underneath stuff away from him, kid just has a nose for the football. I think ultimately his lack of big-time top end speed combined with his ability as a blitzer and run support guy make him a better fit for safety in Ohio State's defense, and as we've said before they want safeties who can cover so it just seems like a natural fit.
On the opposite end of the spectrum personality-wise is Wade, who is an absolute ball of energy and hate out there. He's going to hit you in the mouth and then he's going to let you hear about it and he's that type of out-going personality off the field as well (minus the hitting in the mouth part, haven't seen that yet).
Unfortunately Lamont sprained his ankle pretty badly midway through the first quarter (will likely miss this upcoming week and maybe one more after that) but he made his presence felt from the opening kickoff (first play of the video on the front page) where he tried to decapitate the return man.
Wade wasn't tested in coverage and made his biggest impact on offense during the game but the energy he brings to the huddle on defense is really something else. He was running around during pre-game getting everyone fired up and the switch just never got turned off, one of the most fiery, competitive kids that I've had the chance to cover. Given the circumstances, leaving early due to injury and not getting a lot of opportunities in coverage, Lamont showed me everything he could have on Saturday, big-time football player. For me it's Darnay Holmes and Lamont as 1 and 1a in the 2017 cornerback class.
More from Pittsburgh
Spending the weekend in Pittsburgh, I not only had the chance to evaluate and speak with a few key Ohio State targets but also some local sources from the area who could provide some insight into some of these recruitments.
The most pressing situation in Pittsburgh right now is Rivals250 defensive back Damar Hamlin. Hamlin doesn't do many interviews, you typically have to get him in-person, so he is a tough one to get a read on.
There are four teams that matter in his recruitment; Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame. I'm hearing the least amount of buzz around Penn State right now. They seem to be running fourth at the moment. From there, it just depends on who you talk to. I can find people who think he is staying home at Pitt, I can find people who think he's going to Notre Dame, and I can find people who think he's going to Ohio State.
My gut feel right now is that Ohio State holds a narrow edge heading into official visits. Urban Meyer is on the case now and that has made an impact in my opinion. He has always casually talked with Damar but as we've seen in the past, there are typically about a handful of guys that he gets fully involved with down the stretch and Hamlin is one of those this year. OSU knows the score right now in the secondary in terms of some guys slipping away recently and Hamlin has been a priority from day one so all hands are on deck here.
I think I'd handicap it right now as Ohio State, Pitt, and Notre Dame as the top three with PSU just outside of that group. Official visits will be key and while I don't see the ultimate winner coming from outside of this foursome, I do think we could be in for a roller coaster. Over the past several months, all of these teams have run hot and cold at times so it's all about grabbing that late momentum. Ohio State sources are cautiously optimistic, however, heading into the home stretch.
Hamlin's decision could potentially be pretty impactful for 2017 Rivals100 safety Paris Ford who I fully expect to end up at either Notre Dame or Pittsburgh. We've been waiting to see which, if any, of these elite 2017 DB's start taking a closer look at the depth chart and seeing better opportunites elsewhere and I'm told Ford is doing just that. He'll likely continue to list Ohio State as a school of interest and Ohio State will continue to try and change his mind but I just don't see this being a fit as things stand today.
As for Hamlin's role in this, if Damar doesn't end up at Ohio State, I'd imagine that he and Ford end up at the same school, again, Pitt or ND.
That brings us to Lamont Wade, a guy I think Ohio State has an excellent chance with right now. Wade, I'm told, couldn't care less about the depth chart at Ohio State and couldn't care less about who or how many defensive backs the Buckeyes bring in in his class.
"Lamont is a five-star prospect in his own right, he doesn't care about any of that," a source very close to the nation's No. 5 overall prospect told me this weekend. "He actually thinks he could get on the field very early at Ohio State."
Lamont doesn't do the whole "top schools" thing but I do believe the Buckeyes are the team to beat and that someone is going to have to really impress him to change that. Also, unlike a lot of Pittsburgh area guys in the past, I don't view Pitt as a threat. Penn State, West Virginia, and Tennessee are some schools of note right now and Michigan is trying to get back into it.
The Wolverines initially slow played Lamont a bit and things really fell off between the two parties up until this past week when they decided to offer. It will be interesting to see if things can be fully repaired there, they have some catching up to do but UM was a school early on that Lamont was intrigued by.
Will wrap this segment up with a quick note on four-star class of 2017 defensive lineman Donovan Jeter. The Buckeyes are still very much in the mix with Donovan, however I'm told they likely trail Penn State right now. So just kind of a 'scoreboard update' on that one.
Latest on Jackson
Have not yet had a chance to speak with four-star defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson who was on campus this weekend for his third unofficial visit in the past three months. I did check in with a couple of people that were around him this weekend, however, and was given the thumbs up that things continue to go well for Ohio State in this race.
I'm trying not to read too much into the three visits in three months, but when you think about what this latest visit meant for Antwuan, getting up in the very, very early hours of the morning after playing a game on Friday, driving about nine hours to Columbus for a game that wasn't exactly a headliner, and then turning around the next day and driving back to Atlanta, clearly the interest is very serious on his end.
As I've said before, I like the momentum that Ohio State has here right now. I believe both he and his father's strongest relationship right now is with Larry Johnson and there is a very genuine comfort level that he has not only with some of the commits in this class like Jonathon Cooper but with the campus and the general culture in the locker room as well. Recent successes in Georgia are helping the cause here too.
I certainly do not want to downplay Auburn in all of this, that would be foolish, but I have no reason to pick against Ohio State right now with people close to Jackson still telling me they feel OSU would be the pick if he had to make one today.
Speaking of Georgia....
Best of Both Worlds
Ohio State's recruiting efforts in Georgia have been a hot topic for a while now. Certainly the Buckeyes are always going to lose more Peach State battles than they win, but they have done a tremendous job over the past few years of winning some big-time battles against the SEC on some of the state's most high profile prospects. That happened again recently in 2017 with Isaiah Pryor and they can make it four out of five classes with at least one big name Georgia kid (no disrespect to Josh Norwood, think he has a chance to be pretty good, just wasn't a high profile recruitment) if they can land Antwuan Jackson.
While trying to cherry pick from Georgia isn't a completely new strategy (the Tressel staff dabbled in it), the Buckeyes are treating the Peach State like it's a Midwest state in terms of the resources used recruiting down there and the sheer number of offers going out to prospects from Georgia. Maybe that's because it kind of IS a Midwest state, allow me to explain.....
I've been going to Georgia three or four times per year since Meyer took over the program and I've started calling it Ohio South. It's truly a best of both worlds scenario down there. You have the talent level of a South Florida, but there is a discipline and structure down there at the high school programs that you typically see in Ohio and that is sometimes missing in other talent hot beds around the country.
The coaching down there is TOP NOTCH, I am down there every spring for spring football and I'm always impressed with how hard those guys get after it. The high school coaches are also pretty heavily involved in the recruiting process, much like in Ohio and the Midwest. You typically aren't dealing with cousins, uncles, or your step-mom's friend's brother.
You deal with a Georgia kid and you're dealing with the kid, his parents, and his high school coaches, just like in Ohio. When you factor in just how much talent is down there, and the fact that Atlanta is one of the biggest transplant cities in the country (so not as much loyalty to stay close to home), you have a very appealing recruiting territory for a program like Ohio State.
And I have no doubt the above plays into Ohio State's strategy of targeting the state so heavily. It checks that initial box of having a lot of talent, but the talent is more accessible there than in places like Louisiana, Alabama, and the Houston area and you don't have as many headaches as you do in other areas as well.
Draft stock
I try and provide 3-4 NFL draft stock type of updates between the months of September and April from talking to people in NFL circles. I thought now would be a good time for the first one for this upcoming draft. There were a ton of NFL people at the Virginia Tech game last week so some opinions on OSU players were confirmed and some changed based on last Monday. I've had a chance to speak with a couple of people who really provide some good insight into this type of stuff.
Will start off with some non-surprising news. Joey Bosa is of course a first round lock and a candidate to be a No. 1 overall draft choice. Taylor Decker is comfortably in the first round right now as well, though not quite as comfortably as Mr. Bosa. Michael Thomas is also on the rise right now and a guy that if the draft was tomorrow, would go in the first round.
Now onto some of the stuff from my conversations that I found to be more interesting.
On Adolphus Washington - "He's a wild card, could go anywhere from the first to the third round. It's a consistency issue there. He made some great plays against Virginia Tech but if you go back and watch the tape he wasn't consistently defeating his man. He played better in the second half, but he has to become more consistent."
On Braxton Miller - "The thinking going into the season was that he would be a fifth or sixth round guy that you would be taking a complete flyer on. He helped himself against Virginia Tech. He probably moved up a couple rounds on Monday night."
On Darron Lee - "There are actually a few teams that have him as one of the 10 best draft eligible prospects. If he comes out, someone is going to take him in the first round."
On Cardale Jones - "He would have to be terrible this year for a team not to take him in the first round. Too many teams in love with his arm for him to drop unless he's really, really bad or he gets seriously injured."
On Pat Elflein - "Middle of the draft guy right now, probably no higher than the third round but there's a market for him if he comes out."
On Jacoby Boren - "Probably an undrafted free agent."
On Vonn Bell - "Probably an early second rounder right now, could play his way into the first."
Had a chance to watch a couple of major Ohio State targets this weekend in 2016 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Central Catholic defensive back Damar Hamlin and 2017 Clairton (Pa.) defensive back Lamont Wade.
First game was Friday night with Hamlin's team cruising to a 42-6 win. Hamlin plays cornerback for his Central Catholic team but I feel he'll be a safety at the next level. Hamlin was very physical in press-man coverage and I was a little surprised by how aggressive he was both in run support and as a blitzer. He definitely does not shy away from contact out there, he was sticking his nose into any play he could. He's a pretty mild-mannered kid so seeing that other side of him come out between the lines was encouraging.
I also thought Damar did a great job of anticipating plays. He saw next to no action in coverage as Shaler Area did not test him, but he was able to jump a lot of plays in the run game and on some underneath stuff away from him, kid just has a nose for the football. I think ultimately his lack of big-time top end speed combined with his ability as a blitzer and run support guy make him a better fit for safety in Ohio State's defense, and as we've said before they want safeties who can cover so it just seems like a natural fit.
On the opposite end of the spectrum personality-wise is Wade, who is an absolute ball of energy and hate out there. He's going to hit you in the mouth and then he's going to let you hear about it and he's that type of out-going personality off the field as well (minus the hitting in the mouth part, haven't seen that yet).
Unfortunately Lamont sprained his ankle pretty badly midway through the first quarter (will likely miss this upcoming week and maybe one more after that) but he made his presence felt from the opening kickoff (first play of the video on the front page) where he tried to decapitate the return man.
Wade wasn't tested in coverage and made his biggest impact on offense during the game but the energy he brings to the huddle on defense is really something else. He was running around during pre-game getting everyone fired up and the switch just never got turned off, one of the most fiery, competitive kids that I've had the chance to cover. Given the circumstances, leaving early due to injury and not getting a lot of opportunities in coverage, Lamont showed me everything he could have on Saturday, big-time football player. For me it's Darnay Holmes and Lamont as 1 and 1a in the 2017 cornerback class.
More from Pittsburgh
Spending the weekend in Pittsburgh, I not only had the chance to evaluate and speak with a few key Ohio State targets but also some local sources from the area who could provide some insight into some of these recruitments.
The most pressing situation in Pittsburgh right now is Rivals250 defensive back Damar Hamlin. Hamlin doesn't do many interviews, you typically have to get him in-person, so he is a tough one to get a read on.
There are four teams that matter in his recruitment; Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame. I'm hearing the least amount of buzz around Penn State right now. They seem to be running fourth at the moment. From there, it just depends on who you talk to. I can find people who think he is staying home at Pitt, I can find people who think he's going to Notre Dame, and I can find people who think he's going to Ohio State.
My gut feel right now is that Ohio State holds a narrow edge heading into official visits. Urban Meyer is on the case now and that has made an impact in my opinion. He has always casually talked with Damar but as we've seen in the past, there are typically about a handful of guys that he gets fully involved with down the stretch and Hamlin is one of those this year. OSU knows the score right now in the secondary in terms of some guys slipping away recently and Hamlin has been a priority from day one so all hands are on deck here.
I think I'd handicap it right now as Ohio State, Pitt, and Notre Dame as the top three with PSU just outside of that group. Official visits will be key and while I don't see the ultimate winner coming from outside of this foursome, I do think we could be in for a roller coaster. Over the past several months, all of these teams have run hot and cold at times so it's all about grabbing that late momentum. Ohio State sources are cautiously optimistic, however, heading into the home stretch.
Hamlin's decision could potentially be pretty impactful for 2017 Rivals100 safety Paris Ford who I fully expect to end up at either Notre Dame or Pittsburgh. We've been waiting to see which, if any, of these elite 2017 DB's start taking a closer look at the depth chart and seeing better opportunites elsewhere and I'm told Ford is doing just that. He'll likely continue to list Ohio State as a school of interest and Ohio State will continue to try and change his mind but I just don't see this being a fit as things stand today.
As for Hamlin's role in this, if Damar doesn't end up at Ohio State, I'd imagine that he and Ford end up at the same school, again, Pitt or ND.
That brings us to Lamont Wade, a guy I think Ohio State has an excellent chance with right now. Wade, I'm told, couldn't care less about the depth chart at Ohio State and couldn't care less about who or how many defensive backs the Buckeyes bring in in his class.
"Lamont is a five-star prospect in his own right, he doesn't care about any of that," a source very close to the nation's No. 5 overall prospect told me this weekend. "He actually thinks he could get on the field very early at Ohio State."
Lamont doesn't do the whole "top schools" thing but I do believe the Buckeyes are the team to beat and that someone is going to have to really impress him to change that. Also, unlike a lot of Pittsburgh area guys in the past, I don't view Pitt as a threat. Penn State, West Virginia, and Tennessee are some schools of note right now and Michigan is trying to get back into it.
The Wolverines initially slow played Lamont a bit and things really fell off between the two parties up until this past week when they decided to offer. It will be interesting to see if things can be fully repaired there, they have some catching up to do but UM was a school early on that Lamont was intrigued by.
Will wrap this segment up with a quick note on four-star class of 2017 defensive lineman Donovan Jeter. The Buckeyes are still very much in the mix with Donovan, however I'm told they likely trail Penn State right now. So just kind of a 'scoreboard update' on that one.
Latest on Jackson
Have not yet had a chance to speak with four-star defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson who was on campus this weekend for his third unofficial visit in the past three months. I did check in with a couple of people that were around him this weekend, however, and was given the thumbs up that things continue to go well for Ohio State in this race.
I'm trying not to read too much into the three visits in three months, but when you think about what this latest visit meant for Antwuan, getting up in the very, very early hours of the morning after playing a game on Friday, driving about nine hours to Columbus for a game that wasn't exactly a headliner, and then turning around the next day and driving back to Atlanta, clearly the interest is very serious on his end.
As I've said before, I like the momentum that Ohio State has here right now. I believe both he and his father's strongest relationship right now is with Larry Johnson and there is a very genuine comfort level that he has not only with some of the commits in this class like Jonathon Cooper but with the campus and the general culture in the locker room as well. Recent successes in Georgia are helping the cause here too.
I certainly do not want to downplay Auburn in all of this, that would be foolish, but I have no reason to pick against Ohio State right now with people close to Jackson still telling me they feel OSU would be the pick if he had to make one today.
Speaking of Georgia....
Best of Both Worlds
Ohio State's recruiting efforts in Georgia have been a hot topic for a while now. Certainly the Buckeyes are always going to lose more Peach State battles than they win, but they have done a tremendous job over the past few years of winning some big-time battles against the SEC on some of the state's most high profile prospects. That happened again recently in 2017 with Isaiah Pryor and they can make it four out of five classes with at least one big name Georgia kid (no disrespect to Josh Norwood, think he has a chance to be pretty good, just wasn't a high profile recruitment) if they can land Antwuan Jackson.
While trying to cherry pick from Georgia isn't a completely new strategy (the Tressel staff dabbled in it), the Buckeyes are treating the Peach State like it's a Midwest state in terms of the resources used recruiting down there and the sheer number of offers going out to prospects from Georgia. Maybe that's because it kind of IS a Midwest state, allow me to explain.....
I've been going to Georgia three or four times per year since Meyer took over the program and I've started calling it Ohio South. It's truly a best of both worlds scenario down there. You have the talent level of a South Florida, but there is a discipline and structure down there at the high school programs that you typically see in Ohio and that is sometimes missing in other talent hot beds around the country.
The coaching down there is TOP NOTCH, I am down there every spring for spring football and I'm always impressed with how hard those guys get after it. The high school coaches are also pretty heavily involved in the recruiting process, much like in Ohio and the Midwest. You typically aren't dealing with cousins, uncles, or your step-mom's friend's brother.
You deal with a Georgia kid and you're dealing with the kid, his parents, and his high school coaches, just like in Ohio. When you factor in just how much talent is down there, and the fact that Atlanta is one of the biggest transplant cities in the country (so not as much loyalty to stay close to home), you have a very appealing recruiting territory for a program like Ohio State.
And I have no doubt the above plays into Ohio State's strategy of targeting the state so heavily. It checks that initial box of having a lot of talent, but the talent is more accessible there than in places like Louisiana, Alabama, and the Houston area and you don't have as many headaches as you do in other areas as well.
Draft stock
I try and provide 3-4 NFL draft stock type of updates between the months of September and April from talking to people in NFL circles. I thought now would be a good time for the first one for this upcoming draft. There were a ton of NFL people at the Virginia Tech game last week so some opinions on OSU players were confirmed and some changed based on last Monday. I've had a chance to speak with a couple of people who really provide some good insight into this type of stuff.
Will start off with some non-surprising news. Joey Bosa is of course a first round lock and a candidate to be a No. 1 overall draft choice. Taylor Decker is comfortably in the first round right now as well, though not quite as comfortably as Mr. Bosa. Michael Thomas is also on the rise right now and a guy that if the draft was tomorrow, would go in the first round.
Now onto some of the stuff from my conversations that I found to be more interesting.
On Adolphus Washington - "He's a wild card, could go anywhere from the first to the third round. It's a consistency issue there. He made some great plays against Virginia Tech but if you go back and watch the tape he wasn't consistently defeating his man. He played better in the second half, but he has to become more consistent."
On Braxton Miller - "The thinking going into the season was that he would be a fifth or sixth round guy that you would be taking a complete flyer on. He helped himself against Virginia Tech. He probably moved up a couple rounds on Monday night."
On Darron Lee - "There are actually a few teams that have him as one of the 10 best draft eligible prospects. If he comes out, someone is going to take him in the first round."
On Cardale Jones - "He would have to be terrible this year for a team not to take him in the first round. Too many teams in love with his arm for him to drop unless he's really, really bad or he gets seriously injured."
On Pat Elflein - "Middle of the draft guy right now, probably no higher than the third round but there's a market for him if he comes out."
On Jacoby Boren - "Probably an undrafted free agent."
On Vonn Bell - "Probably an early second rounder right now, could play his way into the first."
