More on Luke Deal
I posted an update early this afternoon on Greenwood (SC) Emerald TE Luke Deal who made an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. Deal plans to announce a decision on May 25th and coming out of this weekend's visit, Ohio State is looking like it could be a factor here. Deal has previously made official visits to Michigan, N.C. State, and Notre Dame and plans to visit Auburn next weekend.
It is Clemson, however, that I'm told is the team to beat for Deal. Despite not making an official visit to Clemson (Dabo Swinney has a no spring official visit policy), Deal has been there several times as an unofficial visitor. Clemson is right around the corner from Deal, less than 60 miles away and the Tigers were not surprisingly a childhood favorite there.
"(Deal) grew up a big Clemson fan," one source on the ground in South Carolina shared. "Now they were just a little late to the party.
Ohio State, however, has done a good job recruiting Deal. I'm told they'd be ready to take him on May 25th if that is the direction that Luke wants to go. Clemson has to be considered the favorite right now, but it does sound like the door has been left open, at least a crack, for schools such as Ohio State and Notre Dame.
"The feeling is he comes back (to Clemson) once he gets all of the visits out of his system," the source continued. "But you just never know."
In talking with Luke today, there is no question that he is an Urban Meyer type of guy. The Buckeyes will be able to get down and see Deal in person during the Spring Evaluation Period. His high school starts spring football practice the second week of May so I would expect Ohio State to swing through multiple times over the next few weeks, but certainly at least once during spring ball.
I think this is one of those situations where while not the outright leader or anything like that, Ohio State made up some ground on this visit and opened some eyes. Now it's a case of trying to keep that momentum going.
2020's talk offers
Ohio State is starting to put out offers to top out-of-state prospects in the 2020 class and I expect that to really pick up this week as the OSU staff will be out on the road for the next several weeks during the Spring Evaluation Period.
Two intriguing new offers went out this past week to a couple of highly regarded prospects in Memphis (Tenn.) Briarcrest Christian defensive lineman Omari Thomas and Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro defensive back Kelee Ringo.
Thomas is pushing 20 offers right now, including heavyweights Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma along with the in-state Tennessee Volunteers. At 6-foot-5, 265-pounds he is listed a strong-side end right now but certainly seems like the type of kid who ends up being a 300-pound defensive tackle.
"I talked to the running backs coach (Tony Alford)," Thomas told me. "I was just very excited and thankful for the offer."
Alford is Ohio State's lead recruiter in the state of Tennessee so it is not unusual for him to be the first point of contact for the Buckeyes in this part of the country. Memphis is a tough area to get into for Big Ten programs as its loyalties are split among a couple of SEC programs. Thomas did seem intrigued by the offer, however.
"I haven't been there before but I will definitely be visiting," he added. "I like their intensity and how aggressively they play."
As for Ringo, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound defensive back has already been given a high four-star ranking. He's going to be one of the nation's most heavily recruited prospects. Ringo was put in touch with Ohio State assistant Alex Grinch by his high school coach.
"I like their football program. I have been a fan of their's for a while but I would like to learn more about the school," Ringo told me.
Unlike West Tennessee, Arizona is kind of no man's land. A lot of different schools have been able to pull top prospects from that state and Ohio State being a school that Ringo followed growing up gives them an in early on.
Grinch made it clear to Ringo that for right now the Buckeyes view him as a corner. He is very much in the mold of what Ohio State likes in its defensive backs in terms of his height, reach, and speed.
O-Line recruiting and Notre Dame
Ohio State has done a lot of damage to Notre Dame this recruiting cycle when it comes to running back recruiting. The Buckeyes beat out the Fighting Irish for both Sampson James and Steele Chambers, prospects Notre Dame very much wanted to land.
Now Notre Dame has a chance to return the favor along the offensive line. The Fighting Irish landed Rivals100 tackle John Olmstead on Friday who was more of a fringe target for the Buckeyes than anything as well as a strong Notre Dame lean from very early on.
Olmstead is just the beginning as the Fighting Irish are the presumed leader for Top 100 offensive tackle Quinn Carroll and are considered the team to beat for three-star Western Pa. lineman Andrew Kristofic. Ohio State is involved with both Carroll and Kristofic, more so Kristofic who has made several unofficial visits to Columbus. Many feel the Buckeyes are Notre Dame's biggest challenger for Kristofic at this point.
But things are starting to wind down for both of these two. Carroll is going to make a decision at some point in the next couple of months, and perhaps on the early end of that timeframe. Kristofic could go at any time.
In fact, Ohio State will need to dodge a big visit tomorrow (Monday) as Kristofic will be back in South Bend checking out Notre Dame.
I have been wondering out loud recently if Notre Dame could fit all of these guys in the class and if maybe Ohio State could be a beneficiary here of either a numbers problem for the Fighting Irish or one of these guys just taking a look at everything and liking the situation at Ohio State better from a depth perspective.
I'm told Notre Dame would absolutely take all three of the guys mentioned here. Olmstead could potentially kick inside leaving Carroll and Kristofic as the tackles. So it's no dice for the Buckeyes on that front. Carroll and Kristofic have spots.
I'm also told Notre Dame is going to really be pushing to lock things up with Kristofic tomorrow. If that happens, the tackle board could start shifting a bit. The Buckeyes are currently in a very major battle with Darnell Wright, a battle I suspect will go into the fall and could certainly go the SEC's way with Alabama and Tennessee making big pushes.
You still have Trevor Keegan out of Illinois who I believe the Buckeyes lead for and you still have Devontae Dobbs out of Belleville (Mich.) who I believe Ohio State has as good of a chance for as anyone at this stage. But much like with Wright, I think we could see the Dobbs recruitment go for a while.
So we may get a little more clarity at offensive tackle this week with this Kristofic visit. If he doesn't commit to Notre Dame coming out of the trip, the Buckeyes may have an opportunity to counter as it really has felt in recent months like these two programs were the heavy favorites over the rest of the pack. And if Notre Dame does hit the trifecta here, it could certainly lead to some new offensive tackle targets emerging during this Spring Evaluation Period and as we had to June camps.
Wilson wraps up Texas visit
Top Ohio State wide receiver target Garrett Wilson wrapped up his official visit to Texas this evening. Wilson told me it was a "really good" visit. Texas rolled out the red carpet as expected for the Rivals100 product.
Wilson also told me his decision will now come in early May, which isn't much of a change. He is essentially moving a decision from this coming week to the following week.
My read on things tonight is that Ohio State is still in great position to land Wilson at this point. The chatter out of Austin right now is about "giving Garrett something to think about" or the visit making it a tough call. The talk coming out of the Ohio State visit last weekend was much more optimistic for the Buckeyes.
While the decision might come a few days later than expected, Wilson's plan of attack really has not changed much. He wants to sit down with his family this week and make sure that when he announces that everyone is one-hundred percent comfortable with the decision as he does not want to be someone who commits somewhere and then goes and visits other schools or wavers on his initial choice.
Texas did exactly what they were expected to do this weekend. Show Garrett a great time, get him around some of the players, and preach home state pride. But I do not get the sense right now that it was enough to jump Ohio State.
I posted an update early this afternoon on Greenwood (SC) Emerald TE Luke Deal who made an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. Deal plans to announce a decision on May 25th and coming out of this weekend's visit, Ohio State is looking like it could be a factor here. Deal has previously made official visits to Michigan, N.C. State, and Notre Dame and plans to visit Auburn next weekend.
It is Clemson, however, that I'm told is the team to beat for Deal. Despite not making an official visit to Clemson (Dabo Swinney has a no spring official visit policy), Deal has been there several times as an unofficial visitor. Clemson is right around the corner from Deal, less than 60 miles away and the Tigers were not surprisingly a childhood favorite there.
"(Deal) grew up a big Clemson fan," one source on the ground in South Carolina shared. "Now they were just a little late to the party.
Ohio State, however, has done a good job recruiting Deal. I'm told they'd be ready to take him on May 25th if that is the direction that Luke wants to go. Clemson has to be considered the favorite right now, but it does sound like the door has been left open, at least a crack, for schools such as Ohio State and Notre Dame.
"The feeling is he comes back (to Clemson) once he gets all of the visits out of his system," the source continued. "But you just never know."
In talking with Luke today, there is no question that he is an Urban Meyer type of guy. The Buckeyes will be able to get down and see Deal in person during the Spring Evaluation Period. His high school starts spring football practice the second week of May so I would expect Ohio State to swing through multiple times over the next few weeks, but certainly at least once during spring ball.
I think this is one of those situations where while not the outright leader or anything like that, Ohio State made up some ground on this visit and opened some eyes. Now it's a case of trying to keep that momentum going.
2020's talk offers
Ohio State is starting to put out offers to top out-of-state prospects in the 2020 class and I expect that to really pick up this week as the OSU staff will be out on the road for the next several weeks during the Spring Evaluation Period.
Two intriguing new offers went out this past week to a couple of highly regarded prospects in Memphis (Tenn.) Briarcrest Christian defensive lineman Omari Thomas and Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro defensive back Kelee Ringo.
Thomas is pushing 20 offers right now, including heavyweights Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma along with the in-state Tennessee Volunteers. At 6-foot-5, 265-pounds he is listed a strong-side end right now but certainly seems like the type of kid who ends up being a 300-pound defensive tackle.
"I talked to the running backs coach (Tony Alford)," Thomas told me. "I was just very excited and thankful for the offer."
Alford is Ohio State's lead recruiter in the state of Tennessee so it is not unusual for him to be the first point of contact for the Buckeyes in this part of the country. Memphis is a tough area to get into for Big Ten programs as its loyalties are split among a couple of SEC programs. Thomas did seem intrigued by the offer, however.
"I haven't been there before but I will definitely be visiting," he added. "I like their intensity and how aggressively they play."
As for Ringo, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound defensive back has already been given a high four-star ranking. He's going to be one of the nation's most heavily recruited prospects. Ringo was put in touch with Ohio State assistant Alex Grinch by his high school coach.
"I like their football program. I have been a fan of their's for a while but I would like to learn more about the school," Ringo told me.
Unlike West Tennessee, Arizona is kind of no man's land. A lot of different schools have been able to pull top prospects from that state and Ohio State being a school that Ringo followed growing up gives them an in early on.
Grinch made it clear to Ringo that for right now the Buckeyes view him as a corner. He is very much in the mold of what Ohio State likes in its defensive backs in terms of his height, reach, and speed.
O-Line recruiting and Notre Dame
Ohio State has done a lot of damage to Notre Dame this recruiting cycle when it comes to running back recruiting. The Buckeyes beat out the Fighting Irish for both Sampson James and Steele Chambers, prospects Notre Dame very much wanted to land.
Now Notre Dame has a chance to return the favor along the offensive line. The Fighting Irish landed Rivals100 tackle John Olmstead on Friday who was more of a fringe target for the Buckeyes than anything as well as a strong Notre Dame lean from very early on.
Olmstead is just the beginning as the Fighting Irish are the presumed leader for Top 100 offensive tackle Quinn Carroll and are considered the team to beat for three-star Western Pa. lineman Andrew Kristofic. Ohio State is involved with both Carroll and Kristofic, more so Kristofic who has made several unofficial visits to Columbus. Many feel the Buckeyes are Notre Dame's biggest challenger for Kristofic at this point.
But things are starting to wind down for both of these two. Carroll is going to make a decision at some point in the next couple of months, and perhaps on the early end of that timeframe. Kristofic could go at any time.
In fact, Ohio State will need to dodge a big visit tomorrow (Monday) as Kristofic will be back in South Bend checking out Notre Dame.
I have been wondering out loud recently if Notre Dame could fit all of these guys in the class and if maybe Ohio State could be a beneficiary here of either a numbers problem for the Fighting Irish or one of these guys just taking a look at everything and liking the situation at Ohio State better from a depth perspective.
I'm told Notre Dame would absolutely take all three of the guys mentioned here. Olmstead could potentially kick inside leaving Carroll and Kristofic as the tackles. So it's no dice for the Buckeyes on that front. Carroll and Kristofic have spots.
I'm also told Notre Dame is going to really be pushing to lock things up with Kristofic tomorrow. If that happens, the tackle board could start shifting a bit. The Buckeyes are currently in a very major battle with Darnell Wright, a battle I suspect will go into the fall and could certainly go the SEC's way with Alabama and Tennessee making big pushes.
You still have Trevor Keegan out of Illinois who I believe the Buckeyes lead for and you still have Devontae Dobbs out of Belleville (Mich.) who I believe Ohio State has as good of a chance for as anyone at this stage. But much like with Wright, I think we could see the Dobbs recruitment go for a while.
So we may get a little more clarity at offensive tackle this week with this Kristofic visit. If he doesn't commit to Notre Dame coming out of the trip, the Buckeyes may have an opportunity to counter as it really has felt in recent months like these two programs were the heavy favorites over the rest of the pack. And if Notre Dame does hit the trifecta here, it could certainly lead to some new offensive tackle targets emerging during this Spring Evaluation Period and as we had to June camps.
Wilson wraps up Texas visit
Top Ohio State wide receiver target Garrett Wilson wrapped up his official visit to Texas this evening. Wilson told me it was a "really good" visit. Texas rolled out the red carpet as expected for the Rivals100 product.
Wilson also told me his decision will now come in early May, which isn't much of a change. He is essentially moving a decision from this coming week to the following week.
My read on things tonight is that Ohio State is still in great position to land Wilson at this point. The chatter out of Austin right now is about "giving Garrett something to think about" or the visit making it a tough call. The talk coming out of the Ohio State visit last weekend was much more optimistic for the Buckeyes.
While the decision might come a few days later than expected, Wilson's plan of attack really has not changed much. He wants to sit down with his family this week and make sure that when he announces that everyone is one-hundred percent comfortable with the decision as he does not want to be someone who commits somewhere and then goes and visits other schools or wavers on his initial choice.
Texas did exactly what they were expected to do this weekend. Show Garrett a great time, get him around some of the players, and preach home state pride. But I do not get the sense right now that it was enough to jump Ohio State.
