Welcome to another week here at the Scarlet and Gray Report.
Here’s what I’m thinking about this Monday morning.
It’s the end of the summer recruiting season.
The dead period is here. There’s nothing more Ohio State can do but wait.
But in the time leading up to June 27, the Buckeyes have remained busy, whether its month filled with recruiting visits or official visits to the three commitments by three wide receivers in the span of three days last week, putting the Buckeyes at the top of the 2023 class ahead of Notre Dame.
And the Buckeyes ended its recruiting slate with a bang, hosting a slew of top-tier recruits for their final weekend of official visits including four-star safety Caleb Downs, linebacker targets Raul Aguirre, Troy Bowles and Tackett Curtis, four-star running back Justice Haynes and four-star offensive tackle Olaus Alinen.
In its final weekend of official visits this summer, Ohio State made its final pitch to a group of targets it desperately needs in the class, making the best case they could over the course of the past month.
And now it’s time to wait to see what’s next.
OK, so who does Ohio State already have in its 2023 class?
Ohio State seems to be set at two spots: wide receiver and guard.
Ohio State offensive line coach and associate head coach for the offense Justin Frye secured the trio of in-state linemen — Austin Siereveld, Joshua Padilla and Luke Montgomery — to round out the inside of his line for the future. While Montgomery could project out to tackle depending on how he develops heading into the next level, Frye seems to have a building block to try and build momentum to the outside where the line needs the most help.
As for wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Brian Hartline, his room seems to be filled up in 2023. Starting with Bryson Rodgers the day after the program’s spring game, Hartline got commitments from five-stars Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss before rounding out the trifecta with four-star Noah Rogers.
Add to the class players like projected safeties Malik Hartford and Cedrick Hawkins, corner Dijon Johnson, defensive tackle Will Smith Jr., running back Mark Fletcher and tight end Ty Lockwood — all players at positions the Buckeyes are looking to add to in 2023 — and you have one hell of a class up to this point.
How do I think the Buckeyes fill out the rest of the class?
Let’s have some fun, shall we?
First, you have to see how big of a class Ohio State would take in 2023.
OK, so let’s take a look first at who likely would leave after the 2022 season.
Here’s who I came up with:
Offense: QB C.J. Stroud, WR Kamryn Babb, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, TE Mitch Rossi, OL Matthew Jones, OL Dawand Jones, OL Paris Johnson Jr.
Defense: DL Jerron Cage, DL Javontae Jean Baptiste, DL Zach Harrison, DL Tyler Friday, DL Taron Vincent, LB Teradja Mitchell, LB Palaie Gaoteote IV, CB Cameron Brown, S Josh Proctor, S Tanner McCalister, S Ronnie Hickman
Special teams: K Noah Ruggles
Let’s add three players that represent unforeseen transfers/players who leave early for the NFL Draft and that would leave 22 spots for a roster that currently has 84 scholarships filled and one scholarship left to give heading into 2022.
Ohio State currently has 13 players in the class: WR Bryson Rodgers, WR Carnell Tate, WR Brandon Inniss, WR Noah Rogers, TE Ty Lockwood, RB Mark Fletcher, OL Joshua Padilla, OL Luke Montgomery, OL Austin Siereveld, DT Will Smith Jr., DB Malik Hartford, DB Dijon Johnson and DB Cedrick Hawkins.
That leaves nine spots to fill.
Who will Ohio State get? Here’s my best guess in no particular order of confidence:
LB Tackett Curtis
CB Jermaine Matthews
SAF Jayden Bonsu
SAF Caleb Downs
OT Olaus Alinen
DT A’mauri Washington
DL Darron Reed
LB Raul Aguirre
Wait, that’s only eight? What will fill that ninth spot?
Ohio State’s going to get a quarterback. But I’m not confident that it’s coming from the 2023 class.
Here’s my thinking.
First of all, the Buckeyes would love to have Austin Novosad. Each time I’ve talked to him, he’s raved about the coaching staff, talking about how they would develop him into the quarterback he was meant to be.
But with the Arch Manning sweepstakes complete, the dominoes are starting to fall, with Baylor fighting to keep their 2023 commit and with Texas A&M seemingly swooping in here recently. And it’s a situation Ohio State put themselves in, focusing on Dylan Raiola and the 2024 class first — which, based on his throws and his poise in the practice session we saw last week, was the smart move. But it’s not an attractive situation for a top-10 quarterback in the class knowing that Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are in the room for the next two or three seasons with Raiola waiting in the wings in 2024.
Despite how attractive the Buckeyes are at quarterback for Novosad or Brock Glenn, who’s down to TCU, Auburn and Florida State along with the Buckeyes, I think that Ohio State will have a transfer quarterback in its future to fill the gap between Brown in 2022 and Raiola in 2024. It’s a situation the Buckeyes have been in before, bringing in Justin Fields in 2019 with a room filled with Gunnar Hoak, JP Andrade, Jagger LaRoe and Danny Vanatsky.
It’s not an ideal situation, but I think it’s the one Ohio State put itself in for a reason. It’s one that’s better than the situation it was in in 2019. And it’s one the Buckeyes would take.
That’s the path that it seems Ohio State is on.
Who’s the MVP of this recruiting period?
It’s Hartline, hands down.
The relationships he’s built with Tate, Inniss and Rogers have catapulted Ohio State’s recruiting class into the running for the best in the country. It’s a room where they have to be the right fit, but the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach has turned it into an exclusive room for the best talent in the country who want to be like Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
It’s something he didn’t take a break with after securing Tate, Rogers, Rodgers and Inniss, looking at guys like Tyseer Denmark, Chris Henry Jr. and Winston Watkins Jr. during the Buckeyes’ recruiting camps, names that could be at the top of the class in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes like Tate and Inniss were.
As long as Ohio State receivers are producing, Hartline’s going to keep getting his guys.
I do have an honorable mention.
Every offensive lineman that I have talked to after camps have raved about the one-on-one attention of Frye and his attention to detail.
It’s something that was seen clearly in his personal workouts with his three offensive line commits Siereveld, Montgomery and Padilla. If anything, they were already his to mold, to shape and to better, even though they will not be in his room officially for another year.
It’s an infectious personality that showed up on the practice field, just like it has already on the recruiting trail, something that will play a major impact moving forward.
As we turn back to the 2022 team for a bit, here’s three main ideas that I can’t shake:
Duke’s going to be looking for revenge. And at Cameron Indoor? That’s no joke.
But that’s just the start, folks.
Duke, North Carolina, a combination of Arkansas, Arizona, Cincinnati, Creighton, Louisville, San Diego State and Texas Tech, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State twice in conference play, and Michigan and Indiana on the road?
I mean, come on?
Chris Holtmann and his coaching staff will not have an easy transition for a team that’s really going to be an unknown heading into 2022-23.
But it’s something that could be beneficial for this group.
Here’s why.
This is an entirely new group, as we have gone through before.
Returners: Zed Key, Eugene Brown III
Returners (kind of): Justice Sueing, Seth Towns, Kalen Etzler
And the rest are newcomers: Tanner Holden, Sean McNeil, Isaac Likekele, Bruce Thornton, Feliz Okpara, Roddy Gayle Jr., Bowen Hardman and Brice Sensabaugh.
This is a team that needs to form its own identity that’s completely different from the team that ended its season against Villanova in the Round of 32.
And it will have to be ready against this non-conference schedule, and quickly.
And here it is: your song of the week.
Yes, I fit the stereotype: I’m a sportswriter who loves Bruce Springsteen.
I’m not one of those superfans, but I am a sucker for the E-Street band, whether it’s non-Sopranos Steven Van Zandt or the sultry saxophone of Clarence Clemons. It’s a band that knows how to make a moment.
And that’s a moment I had this week, driving to Riverbend in Cincinnati to see Dead and Company.
I was in traffic, listening to a live Springsteen record, and “Jungleland” came on: what I argue is the best closing song of all time for an album that I listen to over and over again in “Born to Run.” It’s the ultimate example of what Springsteen and the E-Street Band does well: building up moments with a lyric that places you in 1970s New Jersey.
And no matter what version you listen to, it’s one that gives me chills time and time again.
See you on the board.
Here’s what I’m thinking about this Monday morning.
It’s the end of the summer recruiting season.
The dead period is here. There’s nothing more Ohio State can do but wait.
But in the time leading up to June 27, the Buckeyes have remained busy, whether its month filled with recruiting visits or official visits to the three commitments by three wide receivers in the span of three days last week, putting the Buckeyes at the top of the 2023 class ahead of Notre Dame.
And the Buckeyes ended its recruiting slate with a bang, hosting a slew of top-tier recruits for their final weekend of official visits including four-star safety Caleb Downs, linebacker targets Raul Aguirre, Troy Bowles and Tackett Curtis, four-star running back Justice Haynes and four-star offensive tackle Olaus Alinen.
In its final weekend of official visits this summer, Ohio State made its final pitch to a group of targets it desperately needs in the class, making the best case they could over the course of the past month.
And now it’s time to wait to see what’s next.
OK, so who does Ohio State already have in its 2023 class?
Ohio State seems to be set at two spots: wide receiver and guard.
Ohio State offensive line coach and associate head coach for the offense Justin Frye secured the trio of in-state linemen — Austin Siereveld, Joshua Padilla and Luke Montgomery — to round out the inside of his line for the future. While Montgomery could project out to tackle depending on how he develops heading into the next level, Frye seems to have a building block to try and build momentum to the outside where the line needs the most help.
As for wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Brian Hartline, his room seems to be filled up in 2023. Starting with Bryson Rodgers the day after the program’s spring game, Hartline got commitments from five-stars Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss before rounding out the trifecta with four-star Noah Rogers.
Add to the class players like projected safeties Malik Hartford and Cedrick Hawkins, corner Dijon Johnson, defensive tackle Will Smith Jr., running back Mark Fletcher and tight end Ty Lockwood — all players at positions the Buckeyes are looking to add to in 2023 — and you have one hell of a class up to this point.
How do I think the Buckeyes fill out the rest of the class?
Let’s have some fun, shall we?
First, you have to see how big of a class Ohio State would take in 2023.
OK, so let’s take a look first at who likely would leave after the 2022 season.
Here’s who I came up with:
Offense: QB C.J. Stroud, WR Kamryn Babb, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, TE Mitch Rossi, OL Matthew Jones, OL Dawand Jones, OL Paris Johnson Jr.
Defense: DL Jerron Cage, DL Javontae Jean Baptiste, DL Zach Harrison, DL Tyler Friday, DL Taron Vincent, LB Teradja Mitchell, LB Palaie Gaoteote IV, CB Cameron Brown, S Josh Proctor, S Tanner McCalister, S Ronnie Hickman
Special teams: K Noah Ruggles
Let’s add three players that represent unforeseen transfers/players who leave early for the NFL Draft and that would leave 22 spots for a roster that currently has 84 scholarships filled and one scholarship left to give heading into 2022.
Ohio State currently has 13 players in the class: WR Bryson Rodgers, WR Carnell Tate, WR Brandon Inniss, WR Noah Rogers, TE Ty Lockwood, RB Mark Fletcher, OL Joshua Padilla, OL Luke Montgomery, OL Austin Siereveld, DT Will Smith Jr., DB Malik Hartford, DB Dijon Johnson and DB Cedrick Hawkins.
That leaves nine spots to fill.
Who will Ohio State get? Here’s my best guess in no particular order of confidence:
LB Tackett Curtis
CB Jermaine Matthews
SAF Jayden Bonsu
SAF Caleb Downs
OT Olaus Alinen
DT A’mauri Washington
DL Darron Reed
LB Raul Aguirre
Wait, that’s only eight? What will fill that ninth spot?
Ohio State’s going to get a quarterback. But I’m not confident that it’s coming from the 2023 class.
Here’s my thinking.
First of all, the Buckeyes would love to have Austin Novosad. Each time I’ve talked to him, he’s raved about the coaching staff, talking about how they would develop him into the quarterback he was meant to be.
But with the Arch Manning sweepstakes complete, the dominoes are starting to fall, with Baylor fighting to keep their 2023 commit and with Texas A&M seemingly swooping in here recently. And it’s a situation Ohio State put themselves in, focusing on Dylan Raiola and the 2024 class first — which, based on his throws and his poise in the practice session we saw last week, was the smart move. But it’s not an attractive situation for a top-10 quarterback in the class knowing that Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are in the room for the next two or three seasons with Raiola waiting in the wings in 2024.
Despite how attractive the Buckeyes are at quarterback for Novosad or Brock Glenn, who’s down to TCU, Auburn and Florida State along with the Buckeyes, I think that Ohio State will have a transfer quarterback in its future to fill the gap between Brown in 2022 and Raiola in 2024. It’s a situation the Buckeyes have been in before, bringing in Justin Fields in 2019 with a room filled with Gunnar Hoak, JP Andrade, Jagger LaRoe and Danny Vanatsky.
It’s not an ideal situation, but I think it’s the one Ohio State put itself in for a reason. It’s one that’s better than the situation it was in in 2019. And it’s one the Buckeyes would take.
That’s the path that it seems Ohio State is on.
Who’s the MVP of this recruiting period?
It’s Hartline, hands down.
The relationships he’s built with Tate, Inniss and Rogers have catapulted Ohio State’s recruiting class into the running for the best in the country. It’s a room where they have to be the right fit, but the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach has turned it into an exclusive room for the best talent in the country who want to be like Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
It’s something he didn’t take a break with after securing Tate, Rogers, Rodgers and Inniss, looking at guys like Tyseer Denmark, Chris Henry Jr. and Winston Watkins Jr. during the Buckeyes’ recruiting camps, names that could be at the top of the class in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes like Tate and Inniss were.
As long as Ohio State receivers are producing, Hartline’s going to keep getting his guys.
I do have an honorable mention.
Every offensive lineman that I have talked to after camps have raved about the one-on-one attention of Frye and his attention to detail.
It’s something that was seen clearly in his personal workouts with his three offensive line commits Siereveld, Montgomery and Padilla. If anything, they were already his to mold, to shape and to better, even though they will not be in his room officially for another year.
It’s an infectious personality that showed up on the practice field, just like it has already on the recruiting trail, something that will play a major impact moving forward.
As we turn back to the 2022 team for a bit, here’s three main ideas that I can’t shake:
- How important C.J. Stroud is playing in the 2023 recruiting class: For lack of a better term, Strous is the face of why the Buckeyes’ offense is sexy again. The favorite for the 2022 Heisman and the possible first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is expected to to huge things in his second season as a starter. And whether it’s head coach Ryan Day or Hartline, it’s something they can pitch to receivers like Tate, Inniss and Rogers, saying that the offense will be that explosive when they get to Columbus with a room filled with quarterbacks waiting to take their turn, whether it’s McCord, Brown or Raiola. Stroud is the face of that change and that development. It’s the reason why the offense is still building up.
- The relationships that are blooming from that safeties room: I could see it watching one-on-ones from the sideline of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during recruiting camps, how Josh Proctor and Kye Stokes were seemingly inseparable, how they brought in Malik Hartford into their conversations with Perry Eliano close by. That room is building something special, not only for 2022, but a precedent moving forward.
- How young, but talented Ohio State’s going to be at defensive tackle: I got to meet Hero Kanu for the first time this month. He’s a big kid, with a big personality. But he’s just that: a kid, one that could need to step up as Jerron Cage and Taron Vincent leave after next season. Depending on the development of Tyleik WIlliams, who has all the talent in the room, Kanu could need to get ready quickly, along with Michael Hall Jr., Ty Hamilton and, possibly, Caden Curry depending on how he develops and what gets him on the field fastest.
Duke’s going to be looking for revenge. And at Cameron Indoor? That’s no joke.
But that’s just the start, folks.
Duke, North Carolina, a combination of Arkansas, Arizona, Cincinnati, Creighton, Louisville, San Diego State and Texas Tech, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State twice in conference play, and Michigan and Indiana on the road?
I mean, come on?
Chris Holtmann and his coaching staff will not have an easy transition for a team that’s really going to be an unknown heading into 2022-23.
But it’s something that could be beneficial for this group.
Here’s why.
This is an entirely new group, as we have gone through before.
Returners: Zed Key, Eugene Brown III
Returners (kind of): Justice Sueing, Seth Towns, Kalen Etzler
And the rest are newcomers: Tanner Holden, Sean McNeil, Isaac Likekele, Bruce Thornton, Feliz Okpara, Roddy Gayle Jr., Bowen Hardman and Brice Sensabaugh.
This is a team that needs to form its own identity that’s completely different from the team that ended its season against Villanova in the Round of 32.
And it will have to be ready against this non-conference schedule, and quickly.
And here it is: your song of the week.
Yes, I fit the stereotype: I’m a sportswriter who loves Bruce Springsteen.
I’m not one of those superfans, but I am a sucker for the E-Street band, whether it’s non-Sopranos Steven Van Zandt or the sultry saxophone of Clarence Clemons. It’s a band that knows how to make a moment.
And that’s a moment I had this week, driving to Riverbend in Cincinnati to see Dead and Company.
I was in traffic, listening to a live Springsteen record, and “Jungleland” came on: what I argue is the best closing song of all time for an album that I listen to over and over again in “Born to Run.” It’s the ultimate example of what Springsteen and the E-Street Band does well: building up moments with a lyric that places you in 1970s New Jersey.
And no matter what version you listen to, it’s one that gives me chills time and time again.
See you on the board.
