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Wrapping up Florida
We have wrapped up our Florida leg of the Southern Swing. The quantity of Ohio State's targets in the Sunshine State isn't quite what it has been in the past, but the quality is still very strong.
St. Thomas Aquinas receiver Marcus Rosemy remains a top priority for the Buckeyes. Right now this one is simple, he has to visit. Until he does, there won't be a call for Ohio State here. He downplayed the UGA vs. Ohio State rumors, but there is definitely something to them. I do think Florida kind of makes it a Big 3, more so than a Big 2, but if you gave me the Dawgs and the Buckeyes, I'd take them over the rest of The Field.
The fact that Ohio State has been able to sit so high on Rosemy's list over the past year, despite not even getting him on campus, does bode well for its ability to move the needle if/when he does make it to Columbus. Right now that is looking like it will happen either the weekend of June 14th or perhaps the following weekend for Friday Night Lights. Rosemy was unsure about whether or not it will be an official visit or an unofficial visit but I can pretty much promise that Ohio State is hoping it's an unofficial as it would leave the door open for a late official visit, which is always the preference with a Florida kid.
Another guy that Ohio State is hoping makes an unofficial in June is four-star cornerback Henry Gray. Again, you don't want to burn the official early with the Florida guys if you're a Big Ten school. But unlike Rosemy, who didn't seem sure what type of visit his would be, Gray plans to be up for an unofficial in June and could have class of 2021 athlete Amari Daniels with him, the Buckeyes have already offered Daniels who is probably a running back at the next level (more on him this week).
It's looking like Friday Night Lights weekend for Gray but that is certainly subject to change. Henry is a really good kid, but he definitely has a lot of South Florida in him so he kind of talks himself in circles when he discusses his recruiting plan. He's basically intending to silently commit somewhere this summer and hold onto that and announce at the Under Armour Game in January. That is likely not going to go as planned, but that is what his intention is right now.
Ohio State is a very, very heavy favorite at this point and I have not lost any confidence in my pick there after spending a few hours at Miami Central on Thursday. There are obviously a couple of caveats here. One, South Florida. Henry definitely wants out, so that's good for Ohio State, but we've seen this things turn at the drop of a hat in that part of the country so the South Florida Factor always leaves for just a bit of wiggle room on these predictions.
There is also Ohio State's defensive back recruiting efforts to account for here. I don't think the Buckeyes are going to pull off a Ricks/Ringo dream scenario, but if something crazy were to happen there, along with Clark Phillips gaining some steam, you could maybe see a super long shot situation occur where things get filled up.
But these are both unlikely scenarios at this point and the smart money right now is on Gray being an Ohio State pledge down the road.
Not too long ago I made sort of an obscure post in one of the threads on the board that I thought I had the high school flip destination of Elias Ricks and that it would be IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. I still think we're going to see that happen this summer. No, I still don't have Ricks to OSU, I have him sticking with LSU. But if you want to hold out hope there, this is certainly a better alternative than Elias doing what he initially intended to do which was reclassify and enroll at LSU for this fall and it would certainly be better than him staying at Mater Dei or staying out in California.
This would at least give Ohio State pledge Lejond Cavazos a chance to keep working his close buddy on a daily basis. I expect this to happen with Ricks and IMG and if nothing else it should make for some interesting internet and message board fodder during the season.
And speaking of Cavazos and IMG. They'll be playing St. Joe's Prep and 2021 Ohio State quarterback commit Kyle McCord in Philly in September. Should be a hell of a game, I know I'm looking forward to it.
Updating some picks
I've made one pick switch on a major 2020 Ohio State target and am on the verge of at least one more change so I thought now would be a good time to go through and explain myself on a few of these guys.
Will start with 2020 Mars (Pa.) offensive tackle Michael Carmody. I had Carmody picked to Penn State over the past few months, that was getting shaky in recent weeks with Ohio State picking up a lot of momentum there but I still felt it wasn't to the point where it was worth a switch in my pick.
Then Notre Dame offered and now both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions might both be in some trouble.
Carmody is scheduled to make an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of June 21st and right now the biggest priority for the Buckeyes is making sure that visit actually happens. When the offer first came through from Notre Dame, we talked about how Michael had sort of been downplaying the Fighting Irish in terms of how they factored into things but we cautioned that it could have been simply the emotions of recruiting and not wanting to come off like he was 'chasing' the offer.
I think that is probably what was going on at this point as Notre Dame now has some momentum here and is the favorite at this point. I have switched my pick to Notre Dame here as even Ohio State sources don't seem quite as confident as a couple of weeks ago. Again, Ohio State's challenge here is to make sure that official visit next month still goes through as planned. There is certainly a chance for teams like OSU and PSU that got into the Carmody sweepstakes earlier than Notre Dame to convince him that they are the right place for him, but the visit has to happen for that to really take hold.
Feels like this was the one Michael was waiting for, however and so I have made the switch after letting things digest over the past week.
On a positive note, I'm very close to doing the opposite on perhaps Ohio State's top overall target, five-star wide receiver Julian Fleming. I put in my pick for Penn State last summer and even mentioned at the time that I felt it would be one of the more impressive recruiting wins that I could remember for the Buckeyes if they were able to pull this one off.
Well, I think they are close to doing it. The Buckeyes have had Fleming on campus four times in the past year, and each visit seems to help their cause a little more. They even survived the Urban Meyer departure midway through this battle to remain right in that top tier for Fleming. This is a relationship that Brian Hartline has spent a year cultivating and I doubt he's put more time and energy into a player than he has with Fleming.
Ohio State would be my pick right now, I'll be crossing a few T's and dotting a few I's of my own on Fleming and his situation over the next couple of days before I make an official switch in our system, because now that the date is set, schools go into desperation mode and will say just about anything to get him off his pick and shake things back up, but I like the timing for the Buckeyes. I think they have been the most consistent here, I think Hartline is his best relationship, and have just sensed this steady increase in quiet confidence on OSU's end over the past few months.
With five-star offensive lineman Justin Rogers, Ohio State is obviously out as he'll announce on May 20th. I have had him picked to UGA basically ever since the Urban Meyer and Dwan Mathis situations played out the way they did. But Kentucky might actually be the pick if Justin announced today. Georgia is getting a crack at him next weekend, however, before he announces so I'm letting it ride on UGA for now. I've even had a couple of sources indicate to me that they think Justin will commit to Kentucky on the 20th but sign with UGA so that one continues to be pretty unpredictable.
I don't foresee Ohio State getting back into serious consideration here, but you honestly never know, Justin's recruiting process has been quite a roller coaster.
