Current Ohio State Outside Linebackers and their 247Sports rankings #GoBucks
The Ohio State football team has eight linebackers on scholarship, but six of these prospects arrived on campus with bonafide outside linebacker designated rankings on 247Sports. Now the Ohio State scheme only has two linebackers and the rotation for both is likely going to be fluid, but to keep things simple I just wanted to recap the six that were rated as outside backers.
The star of the outside group is Steele Chambers who was debating whether or not to declare for the NFL, but has elected to return in an attempt to raise his draft stock. The funny part is that Chambers was actually recruited as a running back before making the positional switch two seasons ago, but it’s time to dive into what this unit was ranked.
The newest member of the Buckeye brotherhood, Gabe Powers! #GoBucks
Black stripe alert! Freshman linebacker Gabe Powers lost his black stripe and was officially welcomed to the brotherhood on Tuesday.
Powers came to Ohio State as a four-star recruit from Marysville High School just about 30 minutes outside of Columbus. He was the No. 8 linebacker in the 2022 class according to the 247Sports composite. Powers did not see any action on the defensive side of the ball this season, but did get a few snaps on special teams during blowouts against Toledo and Wisconsin.
You can check out what the newest member of the “regulators” had to say in the video posted by the official Ohio State football Twitter account below.
Top ten recruits in the 2022 class that could make an impact this season, and their scouting reports. #GoBucks
The 2022 college football season is coming up and even though most of the focus is on the returning studs like C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Paris Johnson Jr. — and rightfully so — it is still always fun diving into the possible future of the program.
Ohio State snagged a consensus top-five recruiting class and added a number of studs, and despite the defense playing less than ideal ball last season, they still snagged a number of playmakers on that side of the ball too. We here at Buckeyes Wire have been working all summer on some of the top recruits in this class and the following are the top five and a link to their scouting report.
Enjoy looking through what is widely considered the top ten commits that are incoming freshmen and the skinny on each for the 2022 season.
The two-way star finished his senior season with a flourish. Find out more about the Ohio State commit in the latest episode.
USA TODAY High Sports Awards‘ Randy Buffington sat down with the Marysville High School standout, who wrapped up his senior campaign with 90 tackles and a team-high 14 touchdowns out of the backfield.
Next stop: Saturdays at the Horseshoe with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Learn more about Gabe Powers in the latest episode of “ICEBREAKERS” — check it out!
Ohio State football class of 2022 scouting report: Gabe Powers #GoBucks
The recruiting cycle for 2022 is in the books. The Ohio State Buckeyes had a consensus top-five class in the country and are considered the No. 1 class in the Big Ten by a wide margin. The linebacker position is a huge weakness, but Gabe Powers is the ideal candidate to rejuvenate this group.
It should be noted for those that are not familiar, recruiting classes are not like NFL draft classes. Many of these players will not see time as freshmen and will likely be redshirted. It’s also true that in the age of the transfer portal it is likely several players from this class will not be here at the end.
See the top 10 high school football recruits committed to Big Ten schools.
As recruiting for the high school football class of 2022 picks up, more and more schools are seeing who may be its superstars of the future.
Only two five-star players are committed to Big Ten schools as of Nov. 3, but there are 52 four-star recruits, the second-most of any conference.
Here’s a dive into the top-10 ranked players, according to the USA TODAY High School Sports Composite Player Rankings, The list averages the grades from the three biggest recruiting services: 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals.
For conferences that do not have 10 players in the top-100, the remainder of the list came from the 247Sports Composite Ranking. That does not apply to the Big Ten, which has 13 top-100 players.
(Note: The recruit’s measurements and position are courtesy of 247Sports.)
Former world record holder Butch Reynolds had some positive things to say about #Buckeyes recruit Gabe Powers
We recently had the honor of sitting down with former world record holder in the 40-meters, former Ohio State and international track star Butch Reynolds. The interview was wide-ranging and extremely interesting, but we were keenly interested in his work with OSU 2022 linebacker commit Gabe Powers. Reynolds has been working with the Marysville product, and he had some pretty lofty praise about the Rivals 5-star prospect..
So what does Reynolds see in Powers? How fast is he, and what kind of work ethic is present?
“What is different about Gabe is his focus to train, his focus to be the best,” Reynolds told Buckeyes Wire. “He’ll drive 45 minutes to see me two to three times a week because he wants to train. Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will be among the stars and that’s who Gabe is. He’ll be there one way or another.”
That’s high praise for a guy that has a history of working with historic and legendary Buckeye greats like Bobby Carpenter, A.J. Hawk, and Anthony Schlegel. With a resume like that, it certainly means something when Reynolds calls you a special athlete with the worklike mentality Powers possesses.
Reynolds also went on to say that Powers can run a 40-yard dash in the 4.5 range which is flat out getting it done for a linebacker that’s 230-pounds on a 6-foot, 4-inch frame.
Top 2022 instate #Buckeyes priority target Gabe Powers getting some speed and footwork training in w/ former Olympian and OSU track star Butch Reynolds. pic.twitter.com/VajMlzhPXE
After this interview, I feel confident that Powers is destined to be a star for Ohio State. It may not happen immediately, but there’s a lot to like about the athlete and person Gabe Powers is and can still become. He already has a believer in a guy that knows a thing or two about special athletes.
You can catch the rest of our interview with Butch Reynolds below.
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Gabe Powers has committed to become an Ohio State Buckeye, but he still feels he has a ton to prove. He thinks a five-star bump is coming.
We recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with four-star outside linebacker prospect and Ohio State commit, Gabe Powers. We previously broke down Powers and his likeness to former Buckeye greats like Chris Spielman and James Laurinaitis, but now we are going to dive into his feelings about being rated a four-star instead of sitting as a prestigious five.
“I was a five-star recruit at one time, the bumped me down about a couple of months ago, but why I should be a five-star recruit — my dedication to the game. I’m training six times a week on top of lifting four or five times a week. I take it very seriously not only on the field but off the field. Academically, I’m 3.8 GPA right now.”
Although no one has told Powers directly why he has fallen in the rankings, Powers feels the questions about his athleticism may be the reason.
“I’ve seen people say oh, I don’t know if he’s that fast, but they’ve never seen me run a 40,” Powers stated while discussing some of the criticisms he has heard. In response to this, Powers has started to work with famed Ohio State and Olympic track legend, Butch Reynolds. According to his coverage coach, Ryan Stewart, who has spent time at both Boise State and Ohio State, Powers now runs the forty in the 4.5s with consistency.
Another possible reason for the loss in ranking is the fact that Powers was being critiqued on his lack of size as most sights listed him in the low 220- pound range, but like with most of the criticism Powers hears, he doesn’t get upset he just sees it as an opportunity to improve. In regard to his size, Powers has changed his diet and is now safely in the 230-pound range and feels he could potentially even hit 250 pounds before football season.
The ironic part is that since gaining the additional weight, rumors are floating around that he may be best playing defensive end rather than linebacker. It has to be somewhat frustrating for someone to hear that they are too small to play linebacker and now those same people want to project you as a defensive lineman, but again Powers keeps a positive attitude.
“I’ll play any position they (Ohio State) want me to play,” Is what Power said when we were discussing the conversations surrounding his future position.
Ohio State commit Gabe Powers has throwback style, attitude like Chris Spielman https://t.co/tilANrRsWH
Before exiting the interview, Powers expressed to me that he feels strongly he will regain his fifth star. If so, it’ll give Ohio State. Stewart, who has worked with Kerry Coombs has seen a lot of top-level athletes first hand both at OSU and Boise, believes that Powers is one of the best he’s seen.
“I’ve been at all these different places. I was at Ohio State, Boise State, and there’s nodoby that I can say is more athletic than what I’ve seen from Gabe,” Stewart said. “There are people that are just as athletic … From Boise State it’s Doug Martin and Kyle Wilson. It’s Braxton Miller and Ryan Shazier, and Joey Bosa (from Ohio State). It’s like the top notch guys I’ve been around are just as good as him — as Gabe. Gabe is on another level … I’ve never seen a high school junior that was even close to as good.”
Sounds like a five-star athlete to me. At the least, Powers is a five-star person. We’ll keep an eye on the next update and see if Powers does indeed regain that five-star status from recruiting services. If he does, it’ll make the fourth five-star OSU has in the 2022 class.
Gabe Powers is a four-star recruit that has committed to become an Ohio State Buckeye and the future star has a ton of old-school flavor.
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with four-star linebacker and current Ohio State football commit, Gabe Powers. Unlike the fictional Kenny Powers, Gabe is a phenomenal and humble person with a hometown attitude and an old-school style.
“I know my ability, I don’t need to brag to the world, I’m going to show my ability on the field,” Powers told Buckeyes Wire.
The 6-foot, 4-inch, 230-pound Ohio product was gracious enough to let us sit down with him in the Marysville High School weight room with his coverage coach, Ryan Stewart. It should be noted that Stewart has an extensive résumé which includes stops at Boise State and Ohio State as defensive assistant with his specialty being with defensive backs. We discussed a number of topics, but one of the more interesting subjects was discussing which former Ohio State linebacker Powers admires the most.
“Probably, honestly, Chris Spielman. I’ve watched his highlights,” Powers told Buckeyes Wire. I like his toughness — his grit, and the way he plays, you know it always come down to toughness. That’s also what I pride myself in. I’m a tough, blue-collar kid and that’s what I really admire.”
Ohio State’s Chris Spielman (36). Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Typically when tasked with finding a favorite Buckeye, people usually pick someone they were alive to see, but Powers had a more unique take citing Chris Spielman as his favorite. Spielman’s last season in the NFL was before Powers was even born, but with his family history the answer is not surprising at all.
Powers’ father is not only a linebacker coach, but was a former All-American at Findlay before earning a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys and raised his son on Spielman film. It almost brings a tear to your eye as an Ohio raised linebacker with football bloodlines and an old-school humble mentality talks about the linebacking greats from yesteryear.
And there are some similarities there. Powers is cut out of a little different cloth than most kids these days. His favorite pastime is not playing video games but rather fishing. He has social media, but doesn’t really see many benefits in using it that much. He seems like a high character kid that spends most of his time working on his craft rather than working on his brand.
Powers is much taller than Spielman, but has the same type of sideline to sideline athleticism, and as Ryan Stewart also mentions in the interview, a more recent comparison to Gabe Powers is James Laurinaitis. This comparison maybe even more appropriate considering Laurinaitis has a more similar body type and athleticism.
“I think that the linebacker that reminds me the most of Gabe, that like I’ve met him and he’s a nice guy,” Stewart Said “But just like their physical build and how they play is James Laurinaitis … could run, cover.”
That may be, but we couldn’t help but think about how much Chris Spielman was in Powers’ attitude, work ethic, and outlook on the game of football as we sat in the gym and talked to him. And, you know what number he wears? That’s right, the No. 36.
We’ll have more on Powers and our interview with him in the coming days, but it’s been awhile since Ohio State has had a great linebacker like the Spielman and Laurinaitis. Could Powers be a guy similar to those two? Time will tell, but if his play on the field is anything like his character off of it, there’s a good chance Buckeye Nation is going to fall in love with the kid that has the right attitude to become a fan favorite.
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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.
Ohio State got a huge pledge to the 2022 class Saturday with the announced pledge of four-star linebacker Gabe Powers.
While Ohio State is still in hot pursuit of two tops recruits in the class of 2021 (Emeka Egbuka and J.T. Tuimoloau), it added a huge piece to the 2022 class.
Four-star linebacker Gabe Powers, who is rated as the No. 2 linebacker in the class and No. 1 in the state of Ohio, gave his verbal commitment to Ohio State via Facebook live on Saturday.
Powers held offers from Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, Tennessee and other power five schools. He is currently one of two players in the 2022 class to be ranked in the top 100 (Tegra Tshabola) according to 247 sports, and he’s the fourth commitment to the class.
Although Powers thought he might wait to make a decision, the threat of COVID-19 taking away his football season made him want to commit and get it out of the way.
