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Welcome back for another edition of “A-Deck” at BuckeyeGrove.com, presented by Infinit Nutrition, where I’ll bring you thoughts, what I’m hearing, inside scoop, tidbits, and more for Ohio State recruiting and team coverage, every Wednesday.
Last week’s A-Deck saw me predict the class on the defensive side of the ball for Ohio State’s 2021 recruiting cycle and provide some info on a recent commit, as well as a recent 2022 offer.
This week we take a look at the “stock report” on a number of Ohio State 2021 targets, as well as look at a 2022 prospect who is rising fast and could soon land an offer from the Buckeyes.
STOCK REPORT ON OHIO STATE TARGETS
Recruiting is fluid. Extremely fluid. Things not only change week to week, but day to day and sometimes hour to hour or minute to minute. With that said, I wanted to take a look at a number of Ohio State 2021 prospects, based on the latest I am hearing and have heard over the past week, and provide a “stock report”, showing whether each player’s stock is up or down (or unchanged), in terms of ending up in the Buckeyes’ class.
WR Emeka Egbuka: Right now I have Ohio State as the leader for Egbuka. In speaking to folks in the know out west, as well as sources on the Buckeyes’ side of things, confidence is high that Columbus will be the eventual landing spot. That said, there could be a long way to go here before a decision is made, and with the hometown team Washington, Clemson, and regional power Oregon all still in the mix, I’m going to hold off on a FutureCast pick at the moment. If I had to make one today, it would be for the Scarlet and Gray, though. STOCK UP
WR Troy Stellato: I reported a little over a month ago that this one was looking like a true 50-50 battle that could go either way. On one hand, the relationship with Brian Hartline and Keenan Bailey is better than that with any other staff--a factor that usually wins in recruiting. On the other hand, Stellato sees a much faster path to the field at Clemson and was able to get a visit in to Death Valley right before the quarantine, which went very well. I think this kid is truly torn and ideally wants to get back to Columbus one more time before a final decision. But when will he be able to do that? If he’s willing to ride the wave out and wait until this Coronavirus thing dies down so he can make some visits, I think OSU can pull themselves back into the lead. If not, I think the last visit to Clemson and the opportunity to play earlier with the Tigers could win out. If I could, I’d go “foggy” on my FutureCast pick (currently on OSU). I’m not flipping it just yet but feel like this one is trending Dabo’s way at the moment. STOCK DOWN
TE Hudson Wolfe: The original plan for Wolfe was to take official visits to all five of his finalists before making a decision, but Coronavirus may be thwarting those plans. We’ll see what happens, but this is a kid who wanted to be committed by the end of the summer, so if he can’t take visits, will that still be the timeline? When we spoke last, he said he would take his time to ensure the right decision was being made, but there’s some buzz his thinking may be changing about a decision without official visits if needed. I don’t have a pick in here yet and I’m going to hold firm there for now, as I wanted to see how a visit potentially went before doing that---I do think OSU is the top or a top two contender here, though. STOCK UNCHANGED
OL JC Latham: I spoke to Latham on Tuesday and he told me continues to speak with Greg Studrawa and Ryan Day frequently and that they’re telling him how much of a priority he is. The original plan when all of this Coronavirus stuff first happened was to make a few visits once allowed before deciding, but the IMG Academy star is telling me that plan could change depending on how long the ban on recruiting activity goes. It seems there is now a willingness to consider a decision before being able to take visits and given that I think Ohio State leads over LSU and Alabama, that would be great news for the Buckeyes. Sticking with my FutureCast pick to Ohio State and feeling even better about it should a decision timeline move up. STOCK UP
OL Jager Burton: I think this will be an Ohio State vs. Kentucky battle in the end for the Blue Grass State native, and right now I have the Buckeyes as the leader, with a FutureCast pick having been close but not issued yet. Burton seems to be willing to wait on making a decision, originally slated to commit on August 24, but announcing via Twitter he would be pushing that date back until he can take all five of his visits. If he sticks to that, it gives some of the other schools in contention here a chance to catch the Buckeyes, although OSU also getting one of those visits obviously gives Stud and the staff a chance to solidify themselves as the choice. If anything, I would say stock is slightly down given the timeline moving back, but I still am feeling Ohio State leads right now, so: STOCK UNCHANGED
OL Rocco Spindler: I think Spindler likes Ohio State and the staff a lot, but I never really saw Columbus as his future destination. I always thought this was a Notre Dame vs. Michigan battle (with Penn State being the fourth school involved) and from what I am hearing, it seems like the Irish may have the edge right now. STOCK DOWN
DL JT Tuimoloau: I don’t see Tuimoloau deciding anytime soon, but I will say that I do think Ohio State is the leader at this point in time. Again, if I had to make a pick today it would be for the Buckeyes, but there’s a long way to go for a Pacific Northwest kid. I’ll wait for the visits to happen here before making a firm call, but I think things continue to trend in a positive direction for the Bucks: STOCK UP
DL Tywone Malone: This is another top target that I could easily see waiting until December to decide. I do think Ohio State sits in a really good spot with Malone at the moment, but I think there’s going to be a number of twists and turns in this recruitment. Baseball could end up being an X-factor, as Malone is an excellent first baseman and would love to play both in college. That could end up helping some SEC schools (like Ole Miss) who are in on this recruitment, although OSU has told him he could play both if he comes to Columbus. As my friend Bill Greene says, “this one’s in layup lines”, and I think we really should start paying closer attention come August. I like where Ohio State is positioned today, but for now: STOCK UNCHANGED
DL Marcus Bradley: I spoke with Bradley on Monday and he told me that he planned on a decision “coming soon”. He mentioned that he’ll probably drop a top three before a final decision comes, and I think that list could be Maryland, Ohio State, and Tennessee. I had the Buckeyes as the leader in the fall and through early winter, but I think the Terps have picked up serious steam and have a real chance to keep Bradley home. I’ve flipped my FutureCast to UMD and unfortunately think this one is trending away, although not completely gone, from OSU: STOCK DOWN
DL Damon Payne: Payne and Ohio State were high one each other early, but then things died down a bit. Now it seems they may be heating up again, and while I’m not ready to call the Michigan-native to Columbus, I do think things are trending back towards him becoming a realistic member of the 2021 class once again (especially if Bradley does commit to Maryland). Going to try and dig into this one a bit further the next couple of weeks, but I will say for now it is: STOCK UP
LB Barrett Carter: I think Carter, who has Midwest ties and a great relationship with Al Washington, really likes the Buckeyes, but as one source in the know here put it “he has to make another visit to Columbus if they want a chance”. I am in agreement there and think Georgia, Clemson, and Auburn may all have a leg up over the Bucks right now. Ohio State sources seem to be a bit more confident than that, but I want to see another visit to the 614 before I change my mind on Carter being a realistic possibility for the class. The longer this recruiting activity ban goes the worse for OSU, but things have relatively been unchanged here. STOCK UNCHANGED
LB Raesjon Davis: Davis, a LSU commit, is talking about making an official visit to Ohio State once he’s able to (figure the fall), which obviously is a good thing for the Bucks. People inside the WHAC aren’t too confident that a flip is in the works, but the vibe I’ve gotten is that it’s possible should the talented linebacker visit. I’d like to see a visit actually happen before I talk about this as a realistic option for the class, but the fact that Davis is saying all the right things and keeping in touch with the Ohio State staff has this as: STOCK UP
DB Jaylin Davies: I wrote this story on the latest with Ohio State and Davies on Tuesday. As you can see from that, a commitment could be a formality once the visit is made, but as Marc stressed in Skull Session earlier this week, the visit has to happen. Of course things can change between now and then, but I think OSU is high on Davies and vice versa, and I see this getting done whenever the trip occurs, thus my recent FutureCast pick. STOCK UP
DB Kamar Wilcoxson: Third commitment is in for Wilcoxson and after two to Florida, he is now a Tennessee Volunteer. That said, I don’t think anybody who wants this kid should give up, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he decided to make one more switch-a-roo before signing a letter of intent. When it comes to Ohio State, I think they like the IMG Academy star, but with their defensive back class almost full and a number of talented players highly interested in the program, they wanted to take things slow for now. It seems that was not the case for Wilcoxson (with maybe the same scenario happening at Alabama) and he decided to commit elsewhere. I would say I probably don’t see this one working out for Wilcoxson to Columbus anymore, but I do think Ohio State was the desired destination when he decommitted from Florida, so if he ever gets the green light from Kerry Coombs, I’d put him on flip watch. STOCK DOWN
DB Derrick Davis: I have Ohio State as the slight leader over Penn State and Clemson, although I think the Nittany Lions will be the main competition. Marc put in a FutureCast here, and he’s usually spot on, but I’m personally not ready to do that just yet. I think Davis will take another round of visits later in the summer or early fall before any decisions are made, so I’d like to see how those go. I do think Ohio State has him as a priority prospect, though. STOCK UNCHANGED
DB Tony Grimes: I have been vocal that I think the Buckeyes can be a dark horse team in this recruitment, they just have to get Grimes on campus. The problem is the longer this Coronavirus thing goes on, the longer it will be without Grimes getting on campus. I have Georgia in the driver’s seat right now, with Coombs needing to hit a home run on a potential visit to overtake or seriously challenge the Dawgs. Is it possible for that to happen? Absolutely, but when will visits be allowed again? When they are, when will Grimes be able to get to Ohio State? The longer this ban goes, the worse it is for OSU’s chances. I don’t see a decision until December, and a lot will change from now to then, but for now: STOCK DOWN
SNEED BLOWING UP, BUCKEYES NEXT BIG PROGRAM TO OFFER?
One of the fastest rising players in the 2022 class is Hilton Head Island (S.C.) High School linebacker Jaylen Sneed. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder is unranked at the moment, but that will likely change soon, as he’s blown up the past few weeks, landing offers from the likes of Alabama, Texas, Florida, Florida State, Michigan State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Wake Forest, and others.
Al Washington from Ohio State is well aware of Sneed and has been in touch a bit, both with the prospect, as well as his head coach BJ Payne, who is an Ohio-native that has lived down in Hilton Head for quite some time.
The Buckeyes haven’t offered yet, but I’m told if they do that they will be a major player in this recruitment. As many of you may know, there is a large contingency of Ohio-natives who either now live down in the area, or frequent Hilton Head Island for vacation annually. Point there is that there is a lot of support for the Scarlet and Gray, which has made Sneed aware of and very fond of the Buckeyes.
Additionally, I’m told that Sneed grew up a fan of Alabama. When he heard the news that the Tide was offering, he was obviously very giddy about the offer and is thrilled to have them as an option. It should be a done deal to the Tide then, right? Not so fast, as someone very close to this recruitment told me that Ohio State is “the offer Jaylen really wants”, and that the Buckeyes would be “possibly the favorite, but definitely a top two or three choice at minimum” should they offer.
We’ll see what happens, but for now, check out the film and watch Sneed take some guys heads off:
