DeSoto duo set for visit
Some big news out of Texas yesterday evening as DeSoto quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, Wallace committed to Texas Tech, and things looked just about dead there.
But recruiting has a funny way of bringing things full circle and now Wallace is clearly the No. 2 option behind Guarantano as both prospects head into the home stretch of their recruitments with each likely to be committed somewhere by the end of April.
Ohio State has an interesting situation on its hands here with Wallace. Is it possible that he tries to commit this weekend? I wouldn't completely rule that out but from what I am told the plan is for him to still hang on for a few more weeks and possibly take another visit or two. I think that is probably what Ohio State would prefer. Guarantano is heading back to New Jersey today from his Tennessee visit where the Vols have positioned themselves as a serious threat to land the Rivals100 product.
It is not completely out of the realm of possibility that Guarantano could visit this upcoming weekend but the weekend after Easter still seems most likely and I think OSU would very much prefer that situation to play out before Wallace decides what he wants to do. Again, if things do not go well with Guarantano or Ohio State gets a bad vibe this week coming out of his Tennessee visit, I think Wallace is a very likely possibility as the quarterback in this class. Ohio State is the team to beat for Tristen right now, in my opinion.
As for Wallace's teammate, Nixon. The class of 2017 speedster is really looking forward to his trip this weekend.
"I want to have a great experience and a great visit," Nixon told me today. "I am hoping to get an offer."
With the logjam of playmakers that Ohio State is recruiting in 2016 and 2017 it might be too early for the Buckeyes to pull the trigger on an offer here. If they do, it is going to be tough for Nixon to say no.
"An offer would be great because that is where I want to go," he told me. "They are a championship team and they all work hard."
Gary making Midwest swing
Five-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary will hit both Ohio State and Michigan this weekend and has also set up several visits through the Southeast in April. While it is never a bad thing to get a five-star prospect on your campus, and certainly this needed to happen with Gary with the Buckeyes slipping over the last year in that race, I am not ready to change my position on the likelihood that Gary ultimately signs with Ohio State.
I think this is going to be a major long shot between the connections at Michigan, the location of Rutgers, the relationships at Penn State, and the swarm of SEC schools that have made him a priority. Would this visit be a step in the right direction? Yes. Do I think this is going to change OSU's circumstances in this race in a significant way? Probably not, but we'll see how things go.
Linemen watch
This weekend is certainly going to provide an interesting assortment of characters on campus. From the top of the board types like Gary and Nygel Edmonds.
While all of that stuff will probably dominate the headlines, I am very curious to see the in-state offensive line situation unfold. As we discussed in a recent Skull Session, there are a ton of "fringe" prospects in Ohio on the offensive line. What I mean by that is that there is a lot of depth on the O-line in Ohio in 2016 which means there are no fewer than five or six in-state linemen that are right on the fringe of possibly being offered.
If you asked me today who the two most likely Ohio guys are to be offered at the position, my answer would be Darius Harper for honorable mention) and both are expected to be on campus this Saturday. I am not sure if Ohio State is ready to move on either of these guys. I think in a perfect world they would see both at camp in June. Both guys are versatile with Cupp being more of a tackle prospect that could kick inside to guard with Wohlabaugh being a guard/center prospect.
Michigan recently offered Wohlabaugh so it will be interesting to see if that turns up the heat on Ohio State. Cupp doesn't have quite the offer list at this point so the pressure might not be as high to make a decision there.
Still, it's going to be interesting to see if either of these two guys get offered over the weekend and then to see what they are saying coming out of the visit.
Another 2017 Ohioan emerging
The Ohio 2017 class looks it will have a good deal of star power at the top with prospects such as Danny Clark, and others. With nearly two years to fill in depth wise, it is assumed that more guys will emerge during that time to make this class very strong from top to bottom.
One prospect that is picking up a lot of steam right now is Mansfield Madison Comprehensive defensive back Tyrell Ajian. Ajian is a multi-sport athlete, but on the football field he is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound free safety. Ajian is just now getting his film out after an impressive sophomore season and schools are taking notice in a big way.
Toledo and Miami (Ohio) were the first two programs to offer Ajian a scholarship but things went to the next level on Tuesday with the news of an offer from Michigan. Ajian spoke with Michigan assistants Greg Mattison and DJ Durkin and is planning to visit at some point in the near future.
The early Michigan offer could make things interesting here. Tyrell told me today he grew up a fan of Ohio State and most of his family members are Ohio State fans but obviously getting a big offer like Michigan early in the recruiting process is going to make him take notice. Where I think this makes things interesting is that he visits Ohio State on April 7th for a spring practice so does the early Michigan offer force OSU's hand there? We'll have to see but for a team that is going to need to replenish its secondary via the 2016 and 2017 classes, it wouldn't shock me if the Buckeyes made an early move here.
I'll have a full update on Tyrell in the near future.
This post was edited on 3/24 8:18 PM by Kevin_N
Some big news out of Texas yesterday evening as DeSoto quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, Wallace committed to Texas Tech, and things looked just about dead there.
But recruiting has a funny way of bringing things full circle and now Wallace is clearly the No. 2 option behind Guarantano as both prospects head into the home stretch of their recruitments with each likely to be committed somewhere by the end of April.
Ohio State has an interesting situation on its hands here with Wallace. Is it possible that he tries to commit this weekend? I wouldn't completely rule that out but from what I am told the plan is for him to still hang on for a few more weeks and possibly take another visit or two. I think that is probably what Ohio State would prefer. Guarantano is heading back to New Jersey today from his Tennessee visit where the Vols have positioned themselves as a serious threat to land the Rivals100 product.
It is not completely out of the realm of possibility that Guarantano could visit this upcoming weekend but the weekend after Easter still seems most likely and I think OSU would very much prefer that situation to play out before Wallace decides what he wants to do. Again, if things do not go well with Guarantano or Ohio State gets a bad vibe this week coming out of his Tennessee visit, I think Wallace is a very likely possibility as the quarterback in this class. Ohio State is the team to beat for Tristen right now, in my opinion.
As for Wallace's teammate, Nixon. The class of 2017 speedster is really looking forward to his trip this weekend.
"I want to have a great experience and a great visit," Nixon told me today. "I am hoping to get an offer."
With the logjam of playmakers that Ohio State is recruiting in 2016 and 2017 it might be too early for the Buckeyes to pull the trigger on an offer here. If they do, it is going to be tough for Nixon to say no.
"An offer would be great because that is where I want to go," he told me. "They are a championship team and they all work hard."
Gary making Midwest swing
Five-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary will hit both Ohio State and Michigan this weekend and has also set up several visits through the Southeast in April. While it is never a bad thing to get a five-star prospect on your campus, and certainly this needed to happen with Gary with the Buckeyes slipping over the last year in that race, I am not ready to change my position on the likelihood that Gary ultimately signs with Ohio State.
I think this is going to be a major long shot between the connections at Michigan, the location of Rutgers, the relationships at Penn State, and the swarm of SEC schools that have made him a priority. Would this visit be a step in the right direction? Yes. Do I think this is going to change OSU's circumstances in this race in a significant way? Probably not, but we'll see how things go.
Linemen watch
This weekend is certainly going to provide an interesting assortment of characters on campus. From the top of the board types like Gary and Nygel Edmonds.
While all of that stuff will probably dominate the headlines, I am very curious to see the in-state offensive line situation unfold. As we discussed in a recent Skull Session, there are a ton of "fringe" prospects in Ohio on the offensive line. What I mean by that is that there is a lot of depth on the O-line in Ohio in 2016 which means there are no fewer than five or six in-state linemen that are right on the fringe of possibly being offered.
If you asked me today who the two most likely Ohio guys are to be offered at the position, my answer would be Darius Harper for honorable mention) and both are expected to be on campus this Saturday. I am not sure if Ohio State is ready to move on either of these guys. I think in a perfect world they would see both at camp in June. Both guys are versatile with Cupp being more of a tackle prospect that could kick inside to guard with Wohlabaugh being a guard/center prospect.
Michigan recently offered Wohlabaugh so it will be interesting to see if that turns up the heat on Ohio State. Cupp doesn't have quite the offer list at this point so the pressure might not be as high to make a decision there.
Still, it's going to be interesting to see if either of these two guys get offered over the weekend and then to see what they are saying coming out of the visit.
Another 2017 Ohioan emerging
The Ohio 2017 class looks it will have a good deal of star power at the top with prospects such as Danny Clark, and others. With nearly two years to fill in depth wise, it is assumed that more guys will emerge during that time to make this class very strong from top to bottom.
One prospect that is picking up a lot of steam right now is Mansfield Madison Comprehensive defensive back Tyrell Ajian. Ajian is a multi-sport athlete, but on the football field he is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound free safety. Ajian is just now getting his film out after an impressive sophomore season and schools are taking notice in a big way.
Toledo and Miami (Ohio) were the first two programs to offer Ajian a scholarship but things went to the next level on Tuesday with the news of an offer from Michigan. Ajian spoke with Michigan assistants Greg Mattison and DJ Durkin and is planning to visit at some point in the near future.
The early Michigan offer could make things interesting here. Tyrell told me today he grew up a fan of Ohio State and most of his family members are Ohio State fans but obviously getting a big offer like Michigan early in the recruiting process is going to make him take notice. Where I think this makes things interesting is that he visits Ohio State on April 7th for a spring practice so does the early Michigan offer force OSU's hand there? We'll have to see but for a team that is going to need to replenish its secondary via the 2016 and 2017 classes, it wouldn't shock me if the Buckeyes made an early move here.
I'll have a full update on Tyrell in the near future.
This post was edited on 3/24 8:18 PM by Kevin_N
