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Joseph Hastings' Report
Spoke with one of J.T. Tuimoloau’s uncles today
This week, it was revealed publicly when 2021 five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau will be taking each of his five official visits.
While speaking with Brandon Huffman of 247Sports, Tuimoloau stated that his officials will be to Washington (June 4-6), USC (June 14-16), Ohio State (June 18-20), Oregon (June 20-22) and Alabama (June 25-27). A decision is expected shortly after he makes his way back from Tuscaloosa.
Some may interpret this schedule as a negative for the Buckeyes. After all, Alabama will get the last visit, and his OV to Oregon begins the same day that his trip to Columbus will wrap up.
I'm in the mindset, however, that the June 18-20 weekend was perfect for Ohio State. It's not too close to the beginning of the month, and it occurs during a weekend where they will only have three other official visitors in town.
Getting in touch with Tuimoloau has been an unsuccessful endeavor for me in this cycle, but I have been able to speak with a couple of his uncles: Doc and Kenny Aukuso. Just a few hours ago, I caught up with Kenny to get his thoughts on Tuimoloau and where things stand right now.
Kenny says that when evaluating Ohio State, he believes what's sticking out about the program is Tuimoloau's fit along the defensive line. Putting Tuimoloau at the Wide 9-technique will give the 6-foot-4, 275-pounder one-on-one opportunities and a chance to dominate on an island by himself. Larry Johnson's resume and development of elite pass rushers has, not surprisingly, been on Tuimoloau's mind as well.
Kenny also talked about his familiarity with the Buckeyes given the connection he has with Gee Scott Jr., who Tuimoloau played high school football with. When asked who he believes has the advantage in Tuimoloau's recruitment, Kenny had the following to say.
"Honestly, this is just my opinion and I'm not speaking for the rest of the family as well as his parents, I think Ohio State has a really great chance with him," Kenny said. "But, again, he doesn't really mention which schools he wants to go to because he's a quiet kid, really focuses on himself and tries to get better every day...
"I'd probably lean a little bit more toward Ohio State," Kenny added. "If I'm going to put something on it, I would probably choose Ohio State."
Kenny did say that this is a close race, and that Nick Saban should never be counted out. He also said that Tuimoloau has a lot of family members who are USC fans, so they're a program that shouldn't be ruled out either.
I'm keeping my FutureCast in for Ohio State, but these visits next month are going to truly determine where Tuimoloau winds up at the next level.
2022 Rivals100 offensive lineman schedules two trips to Ohio State
There is still a lot that remains to be seen in Earnest Greene’s recruitment.
The Rivals100 offensive guard did release a top 10 back in March, which featured Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M and USC. Other than that, there has not been much to report on with Greene over the past couple of months, until now.
I recently spoke with his head coach at St. John Bosco, Jason Negro, and was told that Greene has two trips set up to Columbus. Negro said that Greene has an official visit scheduled to Ohio State, and will also be taking an unofficial to the school next month.
Unfortunately, however, I did not get a specific date for that official. Negro said it could be during the season, possibly for their home opener against Oregon, but he was not 100 percent sure.
As for that unofficial next month, Negro says Greene will be traveling with his teammates to the Midwest, with the stop in Columbus occupying three days of their time. Also, one of Greene’s teammates joining him on that June 16-18 trip is Kyngston Viliamu-Asa, the only 2024 recruit OSU has offered thus far.
Going back over to Greene, Negro had the following to say when talking about why the Buckeyes are piquing his interest.
“Ohio State is a great destination for athletes to be developed,” Negro said. “He’s following one of the great Ohio State linemen in Wyatt Davis, who was at St. John Bosco and went on to the Buckeyes. Earnest believes that maybe he can have some of that same type of success and development over the time that he’s there.”
Negro also says he’s been in touch with Greg Studrawa, and that the o-line coach told him Greene is one of the top overall targets on their board. They have known each other for several years as Davis was a member of the 2017 cycle, so Negro had nothing but positive things to say about the Buckeyes during our conversation.
It’s too early to tell where Greene will wind up, but I think Ohio State is in that top three or top four of his 10 finalists.
Dallan Hayden “can’t wait” to return to Columbus
One of the most anticipated official visitors next month is Rivals250 running back Dallan Hayden. Not only is Hayden their top target at the position in this cycle, but he’s viewed by many as an Ohio State lean.
I had a chance to catch up with Hayden and talk about where things currently stand with the Buckeyes heading into June. Hayden, who took a self-guided trip to Ohio State in mid-March, says he is excited to return to the school.
“Man, I’m very excited,” Hayden said. “Can’t wait and this time, I get to talk to the coaches face to face. Feels like it’s been so long since I’ve got to talk to a coach live.”
Hayden said that communication between him and staff is still strong, with Tony Alford and company emphasizing to him that they want him to be a part of their family. When asked why the Buckeyes remain in strong contention here, the product of Memphis (Tennessee) cited the history of the program and the fact that he’s been watching them since he was a young kid.
He was somewhat vague when I asked where Ohio State fits in his recruitment as Hayden said, “they’re definitely in the mix” and loves being recruited by him. Hayden also says he has officials scheduled to Illinois (June 4-6), Notre Dame (June 11-13) and Ohio State (June 18-20), so those programs, along with Tennessee, appear to be the ones he’s the most focused on right now.
Hayden intends on wrapping up his recruitment before his senior season kicks off. He did admit that the official visits he’ll take will play a key role in determining where he commits.
I believe this one is down to Notre Dame and Ohio State, and I’m giving the Buckeyes the edge here. The opportunity to be RB1 in this class, the relationship he has with Alford, and how similar the Buckeyes’ offense is to the one his high school runs will, in my opinion, put OSU over the top in this one.
Florida-based DE’s father previews next month’s official visit to OSU
Also making his way up to Columbus for an official visit next month is Gabe Dindy. Dindy isn’t a name we’ve talked about frequently, but the Rivals100 defensive end will be in town from June 25-27.
I exchanged a few messages with Dindy’s dad recently to get an idea of his son’s interest in the Buckeyes. Dindy said they’ve conducted multiple Zoom calls with Ohio State’s staff, with the primary coaches they’ve spoken with being Larry Johnson and Ryan Day.
On the topic of Johnson, Dindy said his son has a lot of respect for the defensive line coach.
“He, like most who play his position, is extremely impressed with how they develop players on the defensive line — and especially at the end, where Gabe excels most profoundly,” Dindy said. “Coach J loves talking development and how to make players better.”
Dindy says what they are looking forward to the most about next month’s visit is finally being able to meet the coaches as, in his words, Zoom calls “are getting old.” He opened up about what they’ll be looking forward to the most in this trip, and each of his officials this year.
“We know that each of the schools that Gabe will visit are elite programs, in elite places, with elite facilities, and great academics,” Dindy said. “The coaches and the culture they produce will be among the most significant factors.”
Besides Ohio State, Dindy said his son is evaluating the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Texas A&M, along with the other programs in his top 11. The one school that appears to have the inside track here, however, is Oklahoma.
While known for their offensive prowess more so than their production on defense, the Sooners, led by Lincoln Riley, have forged a great relationship with the younger Dindy. It also helps that both of his parents attended the school, which gives OU a significant advantage over his other finalists.
A visit can always turn the tide in a recruitment, but Ohio State will have a lot of work to do to usurp Oklahoma to land Dindy.
Carson MacRae’s Report
Pair of Rivals250 DTs to visit Ohio State next week
It’s been another quiet week leading up to the start of official visits in June. Not a ton too report just yet, but I do have an update on a pair of top DT targets.
I had the chance to speak with Khurtiss Perry this week. The Montgomery (Alabama) product comes in as Rivals.com’s No. 64 overall player in the country and the No. 5 DT prospect. Perry confirmed with me this week that him and his family will be taking a trip to Columbus on the June 4-6 weekend.
It’s not an unknown fact that Ohio State has never had luck in recruiting Alabama prospects, but this recruitment may look a little more positive than prior targets.
Perry’s major point of contact has been with defensive line coach Larry Johnson, and he seems to have really enjoyed all of his conversations with Johnson so far. So much so that the Buckeyes were originally not on the list of his five official visits, but they were added because Johnson has begun to surge in Perry’s recruitment.
Perry will be taking the trip on his own dime, which is also a pretty good sign that things are pointing in the right direction. Now, I’m not saying the Buckeyes are even in his top three at this time, but I definitely believe they’re still very much in play. I’m curious to see how the visit goes, and I hope to catch up with Perry following the visit.
The second DT who most are familiar with is Christen Miller. Miller is a fairly active guy on social media as most can see, he loves to joke around about his recruitment on Twitter and tweet at current commits of classes.
Point being, it may be tough to get a read on which direction Miller is leaning, but I’m still very much a believer that the Buckeyes are the leader here. Miller has two visits set up in the month of June to Columbus and this is something I would credit to Larry Johnson. Miller will be there for an unofficial on June 1 for his first visit, and will be in town June 25-27 for his official visit.
Johnson has encouraged Miller, as well as other targets, to visit multiple times if they are able to in order to make sure they get a great feel of Ohio State. Luckily for Ohio State, Miller has been following every order Johnson has asked of him, which is a great sign for one of their top defensive targets on the board.
The Buckeyes are on pace to see a large amount of commitments in the month of June and if all goes as planned, I would have Miller in that group. I’ve heard from a variety sources the Buckeyes are in a good position here and Miller could pull the trigger whenever he feels ready.
He has no plans to ride out the whole process; it really seems to be a matter of when he feels he’s seen enough of each school. Miller has already been to Ohio State, USC and Georgia, so all that’s left that I see is him visiting Columbus again and reaffirming what he has felt about the Buckeyes program.
I also did get asked about where Louisville fits in to his recruitment. I will continue to say that Ohio State, USC and Georgia are the only real threats here. I think Miller tweeting out about Louisville and showing them support is really him just building his NIL as a high schooler; I do not believe they are really close at all in this one.
