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Ohio State is still winning the arms race.
By Dave Lackford
Ohio State still holds a commanding lead on the number one spot in the 2021 recruiting rankings. Kyle McCord is coming off an impressive performance at the Elite 11 and will end up being a five-star before the cycle is complete giving the Buckeyes four five-stars in this class even if they fail to acquire another. At running back, they have two potential five stars in TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor.
On the offensive line, Donavan Jackson is a bonified five-star and Ben Christman is worthy of the same status. I saw Christman live at the Columbus camp a year ago and he kicked everyone’s ass with his athleticism and technique when he was a rising junior so his upside is incredible once he gets some million-dollar tutelage.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jack Sawyer is a five-star dog and should continue the trend of Ohio State defensive ends drafted in the top-ten of the NFL draft. Tunmise Adeleye is a five-star rook on the other side of Sawyer who will wreak havoc on hapless college quarterbacks with the undesirable task of making quick decisions against the best defensive backs in the country coached by Kerry Coombs. If offensive coordinators want to double team one of these players on the edge it’s like choosing the electric chair or the gas chamber and then Michael Hall gets to come up the middle one on one. Pick your poison. - DL
Is Adeleye solid?
By Joseph Hastings
A couple of weeks ago, BamaInsider’s Andrew Bone discussed Alabama’s pursuit of five-star Ohio State pledge Tunmise Adeleye.
Bone noted that Adeleye is in regular contact with Nick Saban’s staff, and the Crimson Tide are continuing to label him as a top priority in this class. He also mentioned in the video chat that he put in a prediction for Adeleye to Alabama last year, so there was a strong belief on his part that he would eventually commit to the program.
Bone didn’t go so far as to say that Adeleye will flip to the Crimson Tide, but said he wouldn’t be talking about him if he didn’t think the program had a chance.
After coming across that video, I decided to reach out to one of my sources close to the situation to get his thoughts on Adeleye. I was told, word-for-word, “I think he flips.” I asked if he meant to Alabama or Florida, the two schools perceived to have the best shot at flipping Adeleye, but he replied by saying it was just a feeling.
So, I reached out to UF pledge Kamar Wilcoxson, who is friends with Adeleye, to get his own thoughts. He said it’s not his place to speak on Adeleye’s recruitment, but is attempting to get him on campus for an official visit in the fall.
After collecting this information and examining it, I wanted to do my own version of “Dave’s Deliberations” for this section.
Let’s take a look at the evidence supporting Adeleye flipping.
For one, I have a trusted source who believes this will ultimately happen.
For another, Adeleye changed up his commitment plans drastically. He was initially slated to take all five of his officials before committing on Aug. 1, but opted to join forces with the Buckeyes in April. It is entirely possible that he reconsiders his early pledge and reopens his recruitment to take all five of his OVs.
There is also the factor that whereas Alabama has two commitments (Jacorey Brooks and J.C. Latham) and Florida has one commitment (Wilcoxson) at IMG, Adeleye is the only tOSU pledge at the powerhouse program. Those players will constantly be in his ear about flipping to their respective schools.
In my opinion, however, there is more in the Buckeyes’ favor for keeping Adeleye on board than for those other programs attempting to flip the elite pass rusher.
Ohio State is his dream school, and there’s a reason why he moved up his commitment date by four months to team up with the program. Unlike some other commits, Adeleye also isn’t openly flirting with schools on social media, and has remained locked in with and supportive of the Buckeyes’ recruiting efforts.
Also, the biggest reason for my belief that Adeleye sticking with his commitment is due to the potential for him under Larry Johnson. No other college recruiting him can say they produced a trio of top-3 NFL Draft picks for players at his position over the past five years.
No defensive line coach has that resume.
What my source told me does give me some room to pause but, using just football logic and looking at what Ohio State can offer him, I’m still standing by my prediction that Adeleye will be in Columbus this time next year.
Uncommitted 2021 Prospects
By Dave Lackford
Let us move from the bird in the hand to the remaining predators in the sky Tywone Malone and J.T. Tuimoloau I’m told from multiple sources that the efforts of the Ohio State coaching staff remains laser-focused on securing the commitment of both prospects. Both Malone and Tuimoloau have leverage beyond that of your average recruit but Ohio State’s mystique of competing for a national title and NFL draft pedigree evens the scales. I still maintain that Malone wants to play both sports and the weight of the MLB bag draft is tipping the scale at the moment moves the needle the most, efforts are being made to illuminate the value of being a top defensive tackle prospect among NFL general managers. If the focus shifts from baseball to football money I believe Malone will be a Buckeye.
In the case of Tuimoloau, who still occupies his time with fleeting hoop dreams, I’m informed that the allure of being an Ohio State defensive lineman has moved the needle significantly in the direction of Columbus. The only remaining question is geography.
I spoke with Kyle McCord on Friday and he told me that his main target is Emeka Egbuka. He told me he has been on the five-star from Washington since he committed in April of 2019. He said he knows he’s being pulled in every direction but maintained that Ohio State is in a good position to get him. McCord said he heard that a decision may come at the end of the summer but that didn’t come from Egbuka.
McCord also told me that he’s been recruiting Jager Burton and he believes that Kentucky is the biggest competition. I know Burton well and if Kentucky was the biggest threat, I don’t think he would have pushed his commitment date back. I like where Ohio State stands with Burton.
Getting the drop on 2022
By Dave Lackford
Moving on to the 2022 class, I called DT Keithan Alexander the “must get” prospect for the ’22 cycle but I want to clarify that there is no “must get” prospect for Ohio State but he is my favorite prospect in the class. I reached out to his father and he told me the following:
“Ohio State has been pretty solid. We speak from time to time and there is definitely mutual interest there.”
I told him to enjoy the time to time communication because schools will be blowing them up in September and he replied:
“We want all the smoke. Go Buckeyes.”
Needless to say, Ohio State is one of Alexander’s top schools at this early juncture.
Coming up next week.
By Dave Lackford
I will have McCord’s full interview up on Monday as well as an interview with Alexander’s father later in the week and a few interviews with some elite 2022 prospects.
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