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Have talked to several prospects so far and the individual updates from myself and Alex will continue throughout the week but my initial impressions on a relatively small number of visitors this weekend (given the magnitude of the game) have been very positive for Ohio State.
The weather did not seem to hinder the recruiting efforts this weekend. A lot of comments about loving the atmosphere, but even more importantly, a lot of comments, paraphrasing here, along the lines of "I really liked how the coaches used (insert my position group here)".
It wasn't the biggest weekend of the season (that will be Penn State) and there weren't any guys on campus who look like they will be making a decision in the immediate future. But the way Ohio State is playing right now and the way the coaches are showcasing their stars on offense and developing their guys on defense is resonating very well with recruits right now.
Buckeyes have Shipley's attention
Given the angst over running back recruiting in the 2020 class, unless there is a major surprise coming, I can only imagine said angst is going to continue and perhaps increase in the 2021 class until the Buckeyes are able to land a big fish at the position.
Charlotte (NC) area product Will Shipley is certainly a guy that could fall into that big fish category as a very versatile and very exciting running back prospect with the lofty early ranking to boot. The Buckeyes had Shipley on campus this weekend and while I'll have more comments from him on Monday, everything seemed to go very well with the Rivals100 talent.
"The visit was incredible," Shipley told me over the weekend. "It was a great atmosphere, a great fan base, and a great win."
Ohio State has really prioritized Michigan star Donovan Edwards to this point but has also been working to get guys like Shipley and Lovasea Carroll up on visits as well to get the ball rolling. Now that Shipley has made it up, it looks like a return visit will happen this off-season. Whether or not that is another unofficial visit or an official visit later on in the spring, is yet to be determined. But in talking to Will, they definitely grabbed his attention this weekend.
Shipley didn't want to get too much into "top schools" at this point and didn't seem in too much of a hurry to make a decision. He told me that he'll narrow his list down after the season and then at that point you can expect him to really focus in on that group, which I imagine will probably be in the ballpark of 7-10 schools.
South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Stanford are three to keep an eye on with Shipley. I wouldn't call Ohio State a favorite here or anything like that, but this was a pretty successful visit that now puts the Buckeyes more squarely on Shipley's radar.
Williams sets visit
I can confirm that the expectation right now is for Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods running back Miyan Williams to make an unofficial visit to Ohio State for the Penn State game in late November. That is shaping up to be a very big weekend for the Buckeyes and this visit is going to be a major benchmark in this recruitment.
Williams is a fiercely private that has not been easy to read since landing his offer from the Buckeyes, but I have always felt that Ohio State would not have offered him when they did if there wasn't at least a decent amount of optimism that he could be flipped. So this is a huge step in the right direction and lines up pretty well with what he told me a few weeks ago, that he'd like to visit for a game and take things from there.
Again, my sense is that Ohio State has a good chance to flip Williams and that as things currently stand, he's the most likely running back target to end up in this class. But this won't be a slam dunk and the Buckeyes will need to make him feel comfortable with the surroundings. He's not a guy who likes the spotlight, so the big lights of Ohio State aren't going to be a huge sell, or at least as big of a sell as it might be to most kids. What will sell is feeling good about the coaching staff, the comfort level with the players and recruits, and the proximity to home. But the location only matters if there is a matching comfort level with the surroundings.
Definitely a good sign here for Ohio State, however, and further evidence that the Buckeyes are very much in the thick of this despite his relative silence during the recruiting process.
Couple of local underclassmen to watch
The local talent pool in the 2021 and 2022 classes is pretty strong, and I watched two of the best this week over at Hilliard Bradley. Class of 2021 defensive end/tight end Jack Pugh is a name I've posted on here a few times in the past. At 6-foot-5, 230-pounds, Pugh is back on the football field this fall after a couple of years focusing on basketball.
Unfortunately for Jack he's playing with a club on one arm due to an injury he suffered earlier in the season. For a kid who is still pretty raw and hasn't played football since 8th grade, that's a tough deal. You're trying to learn proper technique on defense and you're doing it with one good hand. It has also taken his tight end duties away. But he's a very physically impressive kid. He immediately jumps out to you with his size and the way he's able to move. Definitely a guy that I think Ohio State is going to want to take a look at during camp season.
A new name to watch however is class of 2022 wide receiver Tayshaun Mayfield. Mayfield is the younger brother of Bradley senior LB/DE Chris Mayfield who is committed to Michigan State. Tayshaun had a nice touchdown grab (well two really, one was called back) in Bradley's win over Worthington Kilbourne. He holds an early offer from Bowling Green, but he's going to be a Power Five kid and probably sooner rather than later.
My *only* question on him so far is I'd like to see him run a 40. He has tremendous ball skills, the ability to go up and get it and adjust when the ball is in the air and he can separate against high school kids, but just a general curiosity there on top end speed. If that aspect is there, he's going to be very highly recruited. He's also a basketball kid so you kind of see that come out in his game when the ball is in the air. I was really impressed with him and it was my first time seeing him live and I was really there to see Jack, so for him to flash like that, that's usually a pretty good sign.
