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Running back target sets official visit
When Ohio State emerges from the bye week to host Nebraska it's going to be a big weekend in terms of getting the season back on the right track. But it's also going to be a big weekend in regards to running back recruiting. Recently four-star Katy (Texas) running back Deondrick Glass set his official visit for that weekend.
Now Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian product Marcus Crowley has followed suit. The Miami (Fla.) commit told me this afternoon that he has decided to setup an official visit with the Buckeyes and it will be the weekend of November 2nd. This is a pretty big step here as Crowley has been considered a pretty strong verbal to the Canes and of the realistic remaining options, it was Crowley who was going to be the toughest to get on campus.
It will be interesting to see if Ohio State puts Crowley and Glass in a position where the first one to commit gets the spot. Or if they play the long game. I don't think OSU is in a position to turn down a commitment if they can get one that weekend. I think they would certainly have to take one of these two if they tried to make the jump, but it will be interesting to see how much pressure is applied especially with the looming visit of Noah Cain at the end of November.
Crowley won't be an easy flip but the Buckeyes do have some support from a couple of former teammates on the roster and Glass has other visits he is looking to take, so it might not even come to the point of having to make a snap decision that first weekend in November.
But regardless of just how quickly things can come together during that weekend, this is unquestionably a big couple of days for the Buckeyes on the recruiting trail. If they are going to get real momentum going with Crowley it's going to have to be this weekend. If they are going to go from a team with some momentum to a front-runner for Glass, it's going to have to be this weekend.
Robinson rumblings
I generally don't read too much into what kids tell me on the record. These guys are very media savvy at this point and the comments range from just canned non-answers to, in some cases, even misleading answers to either throw people off the trail or build suspense and everything inbetween.
But every now and then I get an answer that I think is interesting or telling even if the player isn't trying to reveal anything. When I spoke with Wandale Robinson after his game on Friday night, he gave me this quote about trying to come to a decision:
"It's really just going somewhere that I'm going to feel comfortable every day," he said. "I'm just trying to keep my peace of mind and really think for myself and stay away from everybody, blocking out the noise and just figuring out where I fit the best."
The last part screamed to me of someone who was trying to get away from the local pressure to go with the team right down the road in Kentucky. First thought there was, 'sounds good for Ohio State'. The Buckeyes have probably made up more ground than anyone for Robinson over the past couple of months and that is where my prediction has settled in recent weeks.
But there is very real concern now from Ohio State sources that Nebraska could be the pick for Robinson on November 1st. Nebraska had not been really mentioned to me as a school that Ohio State was worried about recently. There was some early talk about Alabama a few weeks ago but the depth chart there looks to be too crowded and the Crimson Tide probably haven't pushed as hard as some of the other contenders.
There has also been some concern about the local pressure to stay home and play for Kentucky, especially with the Wildcats in the midst of their best season that probably any of us can remember.
But Nebraska, who put forth a great visit for Robinson at the beginning of September, had seemed to lose some momentum with that 0-6 start. Now there are very real questions about whether or not that was actually the case. Have talked with people close to both OSU and Robinson who feel Nebraska needs to be taken very seriously right now.
Dave Lackford from our Kentucky Preps site actually did mention this a week or two ago on this board. If this comes to fruition that was a hell of a call by Dave. I'm going to give this a few days to play out. Ohio State coaches will be hitting the road in force this week on the recruiting trail and Robinson will no doubt be a target they focus on. There has also been a ton of mixed info on Robinson throughout the past two months when it comes to various teams running hot and cold.
So I haven't changed my pick yet, but the Nebraska stuff looks to have some very real legs to it.
"He loves the staff, the town, and the offense and how he would fit into it," one source told me today.
Again, I don't want to do the whole ping pong game where I bounce the pick back and forth between two or three different schools. But I am not super comfortable with my Ohio State pick right now and definitely want to take some time here the next few days to see where things are at and at that point will revisit this and see if a change of my pick is warranted.
Thoughts from the Road
In addition to my trip to Kentucky on Friday night, I caught a game in Central Ohio on Thursday night as Westerville South hosted Westerville Central. I also watched Cincinnati St. Xavier host Cleveland St. Ignatius on Saturday afternoon.
Thursday night's game ended up being a good one for me. I have been told to keep an eye on Westerville South class of 2022 wide receiver Kaden Saunders and now I am telling you guys to keep an eye on him.
Saunders' stats weren't eye-popping on Thursday night, but I saw some good things, most notably a very serious top gear. Kaden can really go. He had a 40+ yard kickoff return that he almost broke and also turned the corner on a jet sweep to explode for about 15-yards and a first down where it didn't look like there was much there. Saunders is going to be the next highly recruited kid out of Westerville South and a guy that Ohio State will be recruiting.
Across the field, Westerville Central might have the most under-recruited class of 2020 prospect in Ohio right now in safety Rickey Hyatt Jr. Hyatt also plays running back for Central, but I like him better on defense and that is where most schools are recruiting him right now as he has just recently been playing running back. Hyatt had two interceptions on Thursday night and can covers a lot of ground back there in a single high safety type of role. But he also flashed in run support and isn't afraid to come up and get his nose dirty.
In a class that will see Ohio State take a ton of defensive backs, I think Hyatt would be worth a look. He's getting some MAC and mid-tier Power Five type of interest right now but does not hold an offer yet. I think he's a guy that we're going to look at in six months and he's going to have about 15-20 offers.
As for Saturday, I continue to be impressed with Tommy Eichenberg. I have been on the Eichenberg train for a long time now and he just continues to show me that he's a kid that Michigan and Ohio State should have offered six months ago. Tommy has moved to MIKE linebacker after playing last year and the early part of this year on the outside. He was in on seemingly every tackle on Saturday against St. X. He just has tremendous instincts and runs hard to the football on every single play.
I think he'll play inside in college. He has all of the tools to play the MIKE position as a big, tough kid who can run and shows tremendous instincts. Ohio State needs a middle linebacker in this class. Not an outside guy who they try to make an inside guy (Browning) but a legitimate inside guy and I think Eichenberg would be a very big pick-up if it happens.
I do think Ohio State is the favorite to sign Tommy at this point. He is absolutely struggling with being loyal to BC but he's making these visits nonetheless and I think going into the visits, Ohio State is the program with more juice here. He hasn't been to Michigan in about five years and OSU was the more favored program growing up but the Buckeyes will have to earn this one.
I'm expecting him to visit for the Michigan game at the end of November but we'll see if pops up at the Nebraska game. He will not be enrolling early so he could take this into January if he needs to and that would give Ohio State more time to work with in terms of getting an unofficial visit in November and then a later official visit down the road.
