St. Louis stops
Two stops in St. Louis this week to see a pair of highly ranked class of 2018 Ohio State targets in two-way lineman Michael Thompson and wide receiver Kamryn Babb.
The interesting news on Thompson is that after initially being looked at along the offensive line, Ohio State is now saying defensive line. Thompson is in the wait-and-see category right now for the Buckeyes, I don't think they'd be ready to take that commitment today. But Thompson plans to go the distance with this so there is plenty of time to sort that out.
I do not believe Ohio State would do anything right now that would derail things with Stephon Wynn before Wynn is even able to visit. Once that situation has been cleared up a bit after Wynn makes his summer visits, I think that will tell us a little more about just how realistic it is to see Thompson end up in Columbus.
Thompson is being pursued by some SEC powers but says Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa are recruiting him the hardest right now, which is also interesting. Ultimately he strikes me as a kid, not too much unlike Terry Beckner, who ends up staying closer to home at Mizzou but how much Ohio State pushes could play a big part in how this one shakes out.
As for Babb, I got very positive OSU vibes from the Rivals100 receiver and he is a definite take for the Buckeyes. The Magical Orb of Wonderment was flickering scarlet and gray during our sit down on Thursday. Now Babb plans to take a bunch of visits over the summer, including Ohio State, so any time you have a kid taking that many visits, all it takes is one great one to another school to shake things up, but I like Ohio State's position heading into the summer.
His plans to major in communications are going to play into OSU's favor given all of the former OSU guys out there in sports broadcasting. His younger sister also runs track against Zeke Elliott's younger sister so the two families have gotten to know each other pretty well in recent years and I think the Zeke influence could help them out here as well.
Blackman duo has Ohio State's attention
Our stop at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro (Tenn.) was probably one of our most interesting visits over the past two weeks. Two prospects in very different situations right now as it relates to Ohio State, but both are very much worth watching moving forward.
Running back Master Teague could very well be the next guy up if Zamir White heads elsewhere. Yes, Tavion Thomas is still out there as well, but Teague has really caught the eye of the coaching staff lately. He is up to 210-pounds and the coaches have taken notice of his physical transformation over the past year.
Teague does not yet have an offer from Ohio State, and I don't think that will change until the coaching staff knows what White is doing, but the one telling thing here is that Urban Meyer has become pretty heavily involved with Teague over the past couple of months. I don't know exactly how many unoffered prospects Meyer puts in a lot of time with, but I can promise that it is a very short list.
I'm told Teague would like to come to a decison sooner rather than later so it will be interesting to see if he holds off until at least the middle of June and perhaps camps with Ohio State before White's announcement. If Teague does wait it out another month and a half, the White domino will be a big one. I'm told both Ohio State and Clemson are taking a close look here and both are offers that he would love to have. Both would likely wait to make totally sure they are out of it with Zamir.
Georgia has offered Teague and might be the pick if it were made today. Now UGA is the favorite to land White, but I'm told that at least on Teague's end, he isn't worried about where White goes and wouldn't be afraid to pick the same school. Georgia is looking to probably take two backs in the class so Zamir to UGA wouldn't necessarily close the door on Teague.
Tennessee and South Carolina are also in the mix here and Notre Dame just offered so it will be interesting to see if that shakes anything up. But it definitely sounds like Master is hoping for Ohio State and Clemson to come through. If he waits it out and Ohio State comes through, I'm told the Buckeyes could be pretty tough to beat at that point.
Teague's teammate, class of 2019 wide receiver Trey Knox certainly passes the look test at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds. Knox is also on the Zach Harrison plan, he's a class of 2019 prospect that doesn't turn 16 until August, so he could easily be a class of 2020 guy.
Florida is the childhood favorite here but Trey has stated several times now that Ohio State is right at the top with the Gators and it has also been told me by others around Blackman that the Buckeyes have a lot of momentum right now with Trey. That one probably has a long way to go, but Ohio State is going to be a very legitimate player here. Emory Jones is already on the case on this one.
Latest on the Wray brothers
We wrapped things up on Friday afternoon with a stop at Franklin High School just outside of Nashville to speak with 2018 Ohio State offensive line commit Max Wray and his younger brother Jake, a class of 2020 prospect.
Max confirmed during our talk today that he was all but headed to Alabama before that Ohio State visit, even saying that the OSU visit was only on the agenda to make totally sure that Alabama was the place. As it turns out, Alabama was not the place. Wray was blown away by the Ohio State visit.
Kind of a funny moment as we were setting up as I told Max, 'man, I really thought you were going to Alabama'. He just laughed and said, 'so did I'.
So now a lot of attention will turn to Jake in the 2020 class. Ohio State has made a great early impression and as with all of these brother tandems, I suspect Max's experience at Ohio State will go a long way towards determining whether the Buckeyes ultimately sign Jake.
To use the Bosa's as an example, once Joey was two years into the program and had developed a relationship with Larry Johnson, that was it for the rest of the schools trying to recruit Nick. Nick was never going to sign up to play for anyone other than Larry. If Max has a good experience early on at OSU and is clicking with the coaches, it's tough to see the Buckeyes not being able to pull Jake.
But that doesn't mean Jake won't do his own research. He genuinely seems to like LSU and the Tigers have made him an early priority.
Two stops in St. Louis this week to see a pair of highly ranked class of 2018 Ohio State targets in two-way lineman Michael Thompson and wide receiver Kamryn Babb.
The interesting news on Thompson is that after initially being looked at along the offensive line, Ohio State is now saying defensive line. Thompson is in the wait-and-see category right now for the Buckeyes, I don't think they'd be ready to take that commitment today. But Thompson plans to go the distance with this so there is plenty of time to sort that out.
I do not believe Ohio State would do anything right now that would derail things with Stephon Wynn before Wynn is even able to visit. Once that situation has been cleared up a bit after Wynn makes his summer visits, I think that will tell us a little more about just how realistic it is to see Thompson end up in Columbus.
Thompson is being pursued by some SEC powers but says Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa are recruiting him the hardest right now, which is also interesting. Ultimately he strikes me as a kid, not too much unlike Terry Beckner, who ends up staying closer to home at Mizzou but how much Ohio State pushes could play a big part in how this one shakes out.
As for Babb, I got very positive OSU vibes from the Rivals100 receiver and he is a definite take for the Buckeyes. The Magical Orb of Wonderment was flickering scarlet and gray during our sit down on Thursday. Now Babb plans to take a bunch of visits over the summer, including Ohio State, so any time you have a kid taking that many visits, all it takes is one great one to another school to shake things up, but I like Ohio State's position heading into the summer.
His plans to major in communications are going to play into OSU's favor given all of the former OSU guys out there in sports broadcasting. His younger sister also runs track against Zeke Elliott's younger sister so the two families have gotten to know each other pretty well in recent years and I think the Zeke influence could help them out here as well.
Blackman duo has Ohio State's attention
Our stop at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro (Tenn.) was probably one of our most interesting visits over the past two weeks. Two prospects in very different situations right now as it relates to Ohio State, but both are very much worth watching moving forward.
Running back Master Teague could very well be the next guy up if Zamir White heads elsewhere. Yes, Tavion Thomas is still out there as well, but Teague has really caught the eye of the coaching staff lately. He is up to 210-pounds and the coaches have taken notice of his physical transformation over the past year.
Teague does not yet have an offer from Ohio State, and I don't think that will change until the coaching staff knows what White is doing, but the one telling thing here is that Urban Meyer has become pretty heavily involved with Teague over the past couple of months. I don't know exactly how many unoffered prospects Meyer puts in a lot of time with, but I can promise that it is a very short list.
I'm told Teague would like to come to a decison sooner rather than later so it will be interesting to see if he holds off until at least the middle of June and perhaps camps with Ohio State before White's announcement. If Teague does wait it out another month and a half, the White domino will be a big one. I'm told both Ohio State and Clemson are taking a close look here and both are offers that he would love to have. Both would likely wait to make totally sure they are out of it with Zamir.
Georgia has offered Teague and might be the pick if it were made today. Now UGA is the favorite to land White, but I'm told that at least on Teague's end, he isn't worried about where White goes and wouldn't be afraid to pick the same school. Georgia is looking to probably take two backs in the class so Zamir to UGA wouldn't necessarily close the door on Teague.
Tennessee and South Carolina are also in the mix here and Notre Dame just offered so it will be interesting to see if that shakes anything up. But it definitely sounds like Master is hoping for Ohio State and Clemson to come through. If he waits it out and Ohio State comes through, I'm told the Buckeyes could be pretty tough to beat at that point.
Teague's teammate, class of 2019 wide receiver Trey Knox certainly passes the look test at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds. Knox is also on the Zach Harrison plan, he's a class of 2019 prospect that doesn't turn 16 until August, so he could easily be a class of 2020 guy.
Florida is the childhood favorite here but Trey has stated several times now that Ohio State is right at the top with the Gators and it has also been told me by others around Blackman that the Buckeyes have a lot of momentum right now with Trey. That one probably has a long way to go, but Ohio State is going to be a very legitimate player here. Emory Jones is already on the case on this one.
Latest on the Wray brothers
We wrapped things up on Friday afternoon with a stop at Franklin High School just outside of Nashville to speak with 2018 Ohio State offensive line commit Max Wray and his younger brother Jake, a class of 2020 prospect.
Max confirmed during our talk today that he was all but headed to Alabama before that Ohio State visit, even saying that the OSU visit was only on the agenda to make totally sure that Alabama was the place. As it turns out, Alabama was not the place. Wray was blown away by the Ohio State visit.
Kind of a funny moment as we were setting up as I told Max, 'man, I really thought you were going to Alabama'. He just laughed and said, 'so did I'.
So now a lot of attention will turn to Jake in the 2020 class. Ohio State has made a great early impression and as with all of these brother tandems, I suspect Max's experience at Ohio State will go a long way towards determining whether the Buckeyes ultimately sign Jake.
To use the Bosa's as an example, once Joey was two years into the program and had developed a relationship with Larry Johnson, that was it for the rest of the schools trying to recruit Nick. Nick was never going to sign up to play for anyone other than Larry. If Max has a good experience early on at OSU and is clicking with the coaches, it's tough to see the Buckeyes not being able to pull Jake.
But that doesn't mean Jake won't do his own research. He genuinely seems to like LSU and the Tigers have made him an early priority.
