Tag: Eddrick Houston

Former five-star recruit makes position change for Ohio State football

Former five-star recruit makes position change for Ohio State football #GoBucks

The Ohio State football roster is an embarrassment of riches and the coaching staff has shown that they have no issue moving players around positionally to find the best combination of on-field talent possible. The movement on the offensive line has been the most clear piece of evidence to that, but we have also seen players get moved around in the defensive backfield.

Now the adjustments above were made more out of necessity than anything else, but one position change was not made out of need and is flying under the radar currently, but could be a program shifting move.

Eddrick Houston is a true freshman and five-star prospect in the class of 2024, who was widely considered a future star at defensive end. The Georgia product has seemingly found a new home on the interior of the defensive line as evidenced by his slow rise in playing time leading to six plays against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Ryan Day had the following to say about Houston: “He’s got to keep learning. He has the size, the strength, the toughness to play inside.”

We talked about his potential sliding to the inside during our off-season scouting series and it looks like that is ringing true for now. A player of his caliber is just too talented to keep off the field.

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Black Stripe Alert! Defensive lineman Eddrick Houston sheds black stripe

Welcome the newest member of the Rushmen! #GoBucks

The black stripes are starting to fall frequently now that fall camp is in full swing. The next official member of the brotherhood is defensive lineman Eddrick Houston after he lost his black stripe on Friday.

Houston was a big get for Larry Johnson and Ohio State going deep into the south to pluck the big man out of Buford, Georgia. The Buckeyes absolutely needed to make sure they kept Houston locked in after seeing Justin Scott flip to Miami late in the recruiting process. Houston was rated as the No. 7 defensive lineman in the class and top 50 overall according to 247Sports.

Ryan Day has said all along that he believes Houston can be an impact player from day one. That remains to be seen, but he seems to be on the right track so far.

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Ohio State recruiting scouting report: Eddrick Houston

Ohio State recruiting scouting report: Eddrick Houston #GoBucks

Ohio State football had another dominant recruiting class and was a consensus top-five class in the country. Once again, the class features more than a few heavy hitters on the offensive side of the football, but the best commit may be on the defensive side of the ball with the surprising signing of Eddrick Houston.

Name: Eddrick Houston

High School: Buford

Height: 6 feet, 3 inch

Weight: 269 pounds

Position: Defensive Line

Strengths

Houston is a ball of clay with the potential to fill any role on the defensive line and could fill out to play on the interior or continue to develop off the edge. He has great athleticism for his size with surprising speed to cause havoc in the backfield. His go-to move is the bullrush, which looks Big Ten-ready.

NEXT … Weaknesses

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Top five defensive linemen signed to the Big Ten during the early signing period

Top five defensive linemen signed to the Big Ten during the early signing period #GoBucks

The initial hype of the early signing period has died down, but there was a ton of talent to explore and so much so we are breaking it down by position. We have already dove into the top five quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive tackles, interior offensive linemen and edge defenders to sign with Big Ten teams and now we want to break down a position that Ohio State actually attacked in a meaningful way at defensive line.

The Big Ten actually did not dominate in recruiting this position, only snagging five of the top 25 defensive linemen in the country and that is including the new teams via expansion. This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who is watching the bowl games that a majority of Big Ten schools are undersized and underwhelming on the interior of the defensive line.

Let’s now dive into the top five defensive linemen to sign with Big Ten teams during the early signing period according to 247Sports. Also, other sites may have some of the players assigned to different positions, but we’re just going by how 247Sports has them classified.

Ohio State trending away from signing 5-star prospect

Not the best news on the first day of the early signing period for the Buckeyes

The drama of the early signing period is here, and, unfortunately for Ohio State, some of the early news is not very promising.

Georgia five-star defensive lineman [autotag]Eddrick Houston[/autotag], who took weekend official visits to Clemson and Alabama, is trending to sign with the Crimson Tide.

Multiple insiders believe the No. 33 overall recruit and No. 7 defensive lineman prospect, according to the 247Sports composite, will make the late flip to the SEC power.

This is the latest potential blow to Ohio State’s 2024 defensive line group. The program failed to close the deal on more than few prospects lately and had five-star Justin Scott flip to Miami.

If Houston flips, it would leave the Buckeyes’ class very short-handed on the defensive line.

Ohio State has had a difficult time in the 2024 cycle holding onto its top players as it navigates the name, image and likeness world. It should still be a very good class, though, that is likely to finish inside the top five or 10.

You can follow along with our early signing period tracker here as all of the commitments sign their national letter of intents.

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5 recruits that Alabama could flip on early national signing day

There is always room to be made for flipping some of the nation’s top prospects. On Wednesday, the Crimson Tide are hoping that several prospects will flip their commitments from other programs and sign with Alabama.

The wheels are always churning for the Alabama coaching staff on the recruiting trail. There is always work to be done.

In recent years, Alabama fans have realized that enough is never enough. Well, that is how it seems to the fans at least. The coaching staff continues to work effortlessly to flip some of the nation’s top recruits.

In 2023’s recruiting cycle, Alabama was able to flip five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley, five-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, and three-star offensive guard Roq Montgomery.

Now, the Crimson Tide are working the phone lines with hopes of flipping several more recruits in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Roll Tide Wire takes a look at five recruits that Alabama could potentially flip on early national signing day.

Report: Ohio State 5-star defensive end visiting other schools

Not great news for the Bucks

It has been a rough early finish for Ohio State and its 2024 recruiting class 5-star prospects.

We have already seen defensive tackle Justin Scott flip to Miami, while wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, continues to take visits. You can now add defensive end [autotag]Eddrick Houston[/autotag] to that list.

According to 247Sports Steve Wiltfong, the No. 26 prospect in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, is taking official visits this weekend to Clemson and Alabama. There are rumors surrounding the status of defensive line coach [autotag]Larry Johnson[/autotag] and a potential retirement, which could be the reason why Houston could be wavering on his verbal pledge.

Nothing concrete has been announced about Johnson’s future, so Houston could just be covering his bases. Either way, this is something to monitor as the early signing period is quickly approaching, starting on Tuesday the 20th.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

Report: 5-star Ohio State commit visits Clemson days before signing day

Clemson hosted a five-star Ohio State commit on Friday who has been committed to the Buckeyes since August, per report.

Despite being verbally committed to Ohio State, one of the top prospects in the class of 2024 was on Clemson’s campus this week, according to a report.

Five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston was at Clemson on Friday, and at Alabama on Saturday, 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong reported. Houston has been committed to the Buckeyes since August, but with the early national signing period set for next week, Houston’s late visits add some drama.

Houston is the No. 5 defensive lineman prospect and the No. 26 overall recruit in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender previously took a visit to Clemson in June after being offered by the Tigers last year.

Clemson’s 2024 class is No. 15 in the nation based on 247Sports Composite rankings. With two five-star commits and 10 four-star commits, the Tigers already have one of the top classes in the country. If they were to flip Houston, that would be the cherry on top for head coach Dabo Swinney and his staff.

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Watch: Buford 5-star DL Eddrick Houston commits to Ohio State

A big get for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is still trailing Georgia in the 2024 national recruiting rankings. However, they’ve been inching closer over the last several weeks and took a significant step forward on Tuesday by landing another blue-chip recruit.

Here’s how Buford (Ga.) five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston announced his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Houston (6-foot-3, 265 pounds) had offers from 21 other programs, including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma and USC.

Rivals has Houston ranked as high as No. 3 at his position and No. 17 nationally in the class of 2024. None of the four major recruiting services have him ranked any lower than No. 9 at DL or No. 56 in the nation.

Ohio State has been steadily chipping away at No. 1 ranked Georgia’s once-insurmountable recruiting lead in this cycle and it’s now down to 11 points.

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Remaining top targets for Ohio State football in the 2024 recruiting class

Which top remaining targets would you like to see join the 2024 Buckeyes class? #GoBucks

As we all know, [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] scored a massive recruiting win on Tuesday evening when five-star defensive lineman [autotag]Eddrick Houston[/autotag] committed to the Buckeyes.

The huge addition brings the 2024 Ohio State recruiting class to 22: 13 on offense, 8 on defense and one specialist. As many as four more players could  join the class, but that doesn’t mean head coach [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] is looking only at that number of remaining prospects.

Find out below which recruits that the Buckeyes are still actively going after and an update on their recruitment and when they might commit. (All recruiting rankings are via the 247Sports Composite Rankings.)