Tag: ohio state recruiting

Ohio State Recruiting: Final Thoughts On The 2020 football Class … So Far

For all intents and purposes, the 2020 recruiting class for the Ohio State football team is in the books. Here’s some final thoughts.

The Ohio State football 2020 recruiting class is done … for now. It was a consensus top five class and there are some significant pieces to like across the board. There might be a change here or there when the traditional signing period finishes up in February, but for all intents and purposes, what you see is what you get for this recruiting cycle.

The Buckeyes may have turned their attention to the Fiesta Bowl, but now that the weekend is over, it feels like a good time to take stock in the haul that was the 2020 class Ryan Day and company brought in during the early signing period.

So off we go with some thoughts and observations.

Next … Thoughts and observations on the 2020 Ohio Sate football recruiting class

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Buckeye Battle Cry: Why can’t any other Big Ten team recruit at the level of Ohio State?

Ohio State once again pulled in the top rated recruiting class of any Big Ten team. Why can’t other teams compete? We discuss.

Another top-flight recruiting haul is in the books for Ohio State, one that’s a consensus top five class. It’s heavy on offensive lineman, wide-receivers, and defensive backs. But more than anything, it is heavy on talent once again.

The Buckeyes once again signed the best recruiting class in the Big Ten, and it’s not really even close. Michigan and Penn State tried to keep up, but you have to go down pretty far to find a Wolverine or Nittany Lion commit that has a rating at the top of what OSU pulled in.

But why? Why does Ohio State continue to recruit at an elite level while other programs in the conference can’t? We know it’s not for trying, but the Michigans of the world will never compete on a consistent level with the Buckeyes until they can close the gap in the talent coming in.

We’re throwing this out for our weekly Buckeye Battle Cry roundtable, and like usual, we’ll let Mark kick it all off.

Next … Mark’s theory

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Complete Ohio State football 2020 recruiting class

All the dust has settled and we have your complete Ohio State football 2020 recruiting class from the early signing period.

The Ohio State 2020 recruiting class is mostly in the books save for the potential additional signing from athlete Cameron Martinez in February, or another surprise somewhere along the way. It’s the way of the college football world now, when most of the work is signed, sealed, and delivered during the first day of the early signing period.

Now that we know what’s official, we’ve got the entire 2020 recruiting class including position, hometown, and national/position rankings and star ratings.

It’s a consensus top five class, and one that should keep Ohio State as one of the premier programs in the country. Here’s your complete 2020 Ohio State football recruiting class.

Ohio State Football 2020 Recruiting Class
Name Position Hometown National Rank/POS Rank Star Rating
Julian Fleming WR Catawissa, PA 2/1 *****
Paris Johnson, Jr. OL Cincinnati, OH 7/1 *****
Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR Rockwall, TX 33/5 ****
Gee Scott, Jr. WR Sammamish, WA 62/12 ****
Lathan Ransom DB Tuscon, AZ 79/5 ****
Mookie Cooper WR Maryland Heights, MO 82/15 ****
CJ Stroud QB Rancho Cucamonga, CA 83/2 ****
Luke Wypler OL Montvale, NJ 96/2 ****
Cody Simon LB Jersey City, NJ 123/9 ****
Kourt Williams LB Bellflower, CA 153/11 ****
Jacolbe Cowan DL Charlotte, NC 161/15 ****
Darrion Henry DL Cincinnati, OH 166/16 ****
Ryan Watts DB Little Elm, TX 258/17 ****
Lejond Cavazos DB Bradenton, FL 259/26 ****
Jack Miller QB Scottsdale, AZ 290/14 ****
Joe Royer TE Cincinnati, OH 406/11 ***
Josh Fryar OL Beech Grove, IN 428/20 ***
Grant Toutant OL Warren, MI 464/37 ***
Mitchell Melton LB Olney, MD 541/37 ***
Miyan Williams RB Cincinnati, OH 621/46 ***
Ty Hamilton DL Pickerington, OH 753/36 ***
Jakob James OL Cincinnati, OH 834/53 ***
Trey Leroux OL Norwalk, OH NA/89 ***
Jake Seibert K Cincinnati, OH NA/2 ***

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Longtime Ohio State 2020 DB commit Clark Phillips III flips to Utah

Ohio State has lost out on the services of 4-star DB Clark Phillips III. He has officially flipped his commitment to the Utah Utes.

The writing was on the wall.

After being committed to the 2020 Ohio State recruiting class, four-star DB Clark Phillips III took an official visit to Utah just before the first day of the early signing period to put things up in the air. He then postponed his decision a day and decided to reveal his commitment today at 2PM.

In the end, he has chosen to go with the Utah Utes over Ohio State, completing what can be considered as the only real drama in the signing period for the Buckeyes to date. Four-star Michigan athlete and OSU commit Cameron Martinez is also still out there, but he won’t decide until likely February.

Phillips is the No. 4 rated cornerback in the country, and No. 47 overall recruit in the entire class according to 247Sports. There’s no doubt this is a big miss for Ohio State, but there are still some very talented DBs on the roster and on the way to take the sting out a bit.

So what precipitated this move? It’s most likely collateral from Jeff Hafley accepting the head coaching position at Boston College. Hafley had been instrumental in developing a relationship and recruiting Phillips, and his departure seems to have at least somewhat fractured the relationship and intentions of the 5-10, 178 pounder out of La Habra, California.

We wish nothing but good things for Phillips and we’ll keep tabs on how he does in Utah.

A whopping fourteen 2020 Ohio State football recruits are expected to enroll early

An unbelievable fourteen of the so far 24 commitments for the Ohio State 2020 recruiting class are expected to enroll early.

It used to be that a college football prospect would still finish out his senior year in high school and look to join good ‘ole State U in the fall to begin his development on a “normal” schedule. But over the last fifteen years or so, early enrollees are becoming more and more common.

More of your blue-chip recruits want to graduate from high school early and get a jump on their football life in college. So, they get on campus in January and hit the ground running. It’s no different at Ohio State, but this year specifically has a slew of early enrollees ready to hit campus and get to work.

In fact, an OSU record 14 of the 24 signed recruits from the first day of the early signing period are expected to enroll early and jump into winter conditioning. Here’s the complete list of which players are expected to pack up their belongings and come be a part of all the fun — in order of 247Sports Composite recruiting ranking.

Julian Fleming, 5-Star WR, St. Louis, Catawissa, Pennsylvania

Paris Johnson, Jr, 5-Star OL, Cincinnati, Ohio

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 4-Star WR, Rockwall, Texas – Signed

Clark Phillips III, 4-Star CB, La Habra, California (*pending OSU signing)

Gee Scott, Jr., 4-Star WR, Sammamish, Washington – Signed

Mookie Cooper, 4-Star WR, Maryland Heights, Missouri- Signed

C.J. Stroud, 4-Star QB, Rancho Cucamonga, California- Signed

Luke Wypler, 4-Star OL, Montvale, New Jersey – Signed

Kourt Williams, 4-Star LB, Bellflower, California – Signed

Jacolbe Cowan, 4-Star DL, Charlotte, North Carolina – Signed

Darrion Henry, 4-Star DL, Cincinnati, Ohio – Signed

Ryan Watts, 4-Star CB, Little Elm, Texas – Signed

Lejond Cavazos, 4-Star S, Bradenton, Florida – Signed

Jack Miller, 4-Star QB, Scottsdale, Arizona – Signed

Say what you will about staying a kid and finishing out your high school experience, but there’s a proven track record of kids getting on campus early and making inroads towards an early role with the team.

The fact that so many kids are ready to get things going says a lot about the work ethic and hunger of this 2020 class.

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4-star UGA football target makes commitment

Four-star quarterback CJ Stroud makes a decision on his commitment

Wednesday, the Georgia football program signed all of its intended commits as expected, though retaining everyone was no small feat.

Now, the Dawgs will turn their attention elsewhere, as a number of highly-ranked prospects are still yet to announce their college choices.

Four-star CJ Stroud out of California is the latest to unveil where he will be playing college ball.

The pro-style quarterback ranked No. 83 in the nation per 247Sports and No. 10 in the state of California, will be heading North to Columbus. Ohio State was always considered the front-runner for Stroud, though it had been reported Georgia made a significant late push to try and land the 6’2.5″, 194-pound signal caller.

Now, the Bulldogs will have to zone in on some of their backup options to replace Fromm, assuming he does in fact declare for the 2020 NFL Draft. Though nothing with Fromm is official as of right now, Georgia will likely turn its attention to newly signed four-star Carson Beck, in addition to the transfer market.

An experienced quarterback like Houston’s D’Eriq King could be an option for the Bulldogs, while taking a gamble with Stetson Bennett, Dwan Mathis and Carson Beck is also a possibility.

Stay tuned to UGA Wire throughout the day as we bring you extensive coverage of the early signing period.

Ohio State Football Recruiting: 2020 early signing period tracker – Update: Smith-Njigba in!

It’s the official start of the early signing period in college football. We’ve got your updates for Ohio State as they happen.

We’re here to get this wacky early signing day period off and running for you. Ohio Stat expects to sign somewhere in the low to mid 20s during this first day of the early signing, and we’ll keep you up to date as it all happens.

From the locked and loaded commits that can’t wait to burn up the fax machine, to the surprises and last minute changes, we’ll have it in our early signing day tracker below.

We’ll keep updating it throughout the day, so stay with us.

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Officially Signed

Julian Fleming, 5-Star WR, St. Louis, Catawissa, Pennsylvania – Signed

Paris Johnson, Jr, 5-Star OL, Cincinnati, Ohio – Signed

Lejond Cavazos, 4-Star S, Bradenton, Florida – Signed

Jacolbe Cowan, 4-Star DL, Charlotte, North Carolina – Signed

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, 4-Star WR, Rockwall, Texas – Signed

Cody Simon, 4-Star LB, Jersey City, New Jersey – Signed

Luke Wypler, 4-Star OL, Montvale, New Jersey – Signed

Jakob James, 3-Star OL, Cincinnati, Ohio – Signed

Trey Leroux, 3-Star OL, Norwalk, Ohio – Signed

Grant Toutant, 3-Star OL, Warren, Michigan – Signed

Mitchell Melton, 3-Star LB, Olney, Maryland – Signed

Ty Hamilton, 3-Star DL, Pickerington, Ohio – Signed

Joe Royer, 3-Star TE, Cincinnati, Ohio – Signed

Josh Fryar, 3-Star OL, Beech Grove, Indiana

Miyan Williams, 3-Star RB, Cincinnati, Ohio

Jake Seibert, 3-Star K, Cincinnati, Ohio

Hard Commit, Signing Pending

Gee Scott, Jr., 4-Star WR, Sammamish, Washington

Lathan Ransom, 4-Star S, Tucson, Arizona

Mookie Cooper, 4-Star WR, Maryland Heights, Missouri

Kourt Williams, 4-Star LB, Bellflower, California

Darriaon Henry, 4-Star DL, Cincinnati, Ohio

Ryan Watts, 4-Star CB, Little Elm, Texas

Jack Miller, 4-Star QB, Scottsdale, Arizona

Remaining Targets Possible/Waivering

Cameron Martinez, 4-Star ATH, Muskegon, Michigan

  • Martinez was expected to sign with Ohio State today, but news broke late in the game that he will not be signing today, but waiting until February. This seems to be a byproduct of some hesitancy because of Jeff Hafley being named head coach at Boston College.

Clark Phillips III, 4-Star CB, La Habra, California

  • Phillips is also one seemingly having second thoughts after Jeff Hafley accepted the head coaching gig at BC. Phillips went on an official visit to Utah just before signing day and the world is awaiting his decision. He is set to sign with either Ohio State or Utah today.

C.J. Stroud, 4-Star QB, Rancho Cucamonga, California

  • Ohio State would love to land stroud at the eleventh hour and it looks like it’s going to happen. Georgia and Michigan were in on him early, but a late push seems to have given the edge to the Buckeyes. The coaching staff would love to add another high-end quarterback to go with Jack Miller in this class. He should be signing later today, but we’ll see if the rumors are true. He’ll announce at 12:30 PM Eastern today.

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Ohio State Recruiting: 5 things to watch heading into the 2020 early signing period

It’ll be the third year of the implementation of the early signing period. Here’s five things to watch for Ohio state and Ryan Day.

Here we go with another crazy start to the early signing period for college football. It’s squashed right in the middle of all the playoff and bowl preparations, meaning coaches are working double and triple-time on the already crazy hours this profession demands.

Nobody really knew how this early signing period would play out, but what we’ve seen over the first two years is that over 80% of a college program’s class is typically taken on the first day of the period. That means its a pretty bid deal and can make or break the future of a place like Ohio State.

Here’s five things to watch heading into the 2020 early signing period set to begin on Wednesday.

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Notre Dame Football: Irish Dominate 2021 Rivals 100

What was viewed as a top class received further validation as the five Notre Dame commitments was the most of any school besides Ohio State who also had five.

Tuesday saw the release of the latest Rivals 100 list, ranking the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2021.

What was already viewed as a top class received further validation as the five Notre Dame commitments was the most of any school besides Ohio State who also had five.

Here’s how a few future members of the Fighting Irish Football team ranked:

Offensive tackle Blake Fisher of Avon, Michigan was the highest ranked Notre Dame commitment, checking in at 18.

The 6’6″, 330 pounder also checks in as the highest rated player from Michigan in 2021.

Lorenzo Styles, Jr. checks in at 34 overall and is the fourth highest rated receiver.

Styles committed to Notre Dame after making an official visit on USC weekend this last October and ranks as the second highest player for 2021 from the state of Ohio.

Quarterback Tyler Buchner of La Jolla, California sky-rocketed in these rankings moving up 23 spots to 42nd overall. Injuries kept Buchner from the field his sophomore but he wasted no time showing off his stardom this fall, leading his team to a state finals appearance.

Buchner had an insane performance in that game despite a loss and remains listed as a “pro style” quarterback – something you may question if you’re to watch any highlights.

Athlete Deion Colzie of Athens, Georgia also soared in these latest rankings, up 23 spots this time to 72.

The 6’4″ Colzie figures to be a favorite target of Buchner’s in the future.

Finally defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio came in at 95, down nine spots from his previous ranking.

Rubio, of St. Peters, Missouri is the only committed defensive player in Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class.

Although early, Notre Dame’s hot start on the recruiting trail has them currently sitting atop the 2021 recruiting rankings.

Ohio State football DE commit Jack Sawyer now No. 1 ESPN prospect for 2021

Ohio State 2021 defensive end commit is now rated as the number one overall recruit for the class according to ESPN recruiting rankings.

Recruiting would drop off they said. There’s no way new Ohio State head coach Ryan Day could keep up the ferocious pace of four and five-star recruits former Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer was on.

So far, it looks like “they” were wrong.

Yeah, the uneducated folks point to last year’s No. 14 recruiting ranking as evidence that things have and will slide without Meyer, but there were never going to be that many spots to fill for the 2019 recruiting cycle. In fact, the per commit rating was still one of the top three in the country.

Since then, we’ve seen big-time recruit after big-time recruit give their verbal to Ryan Day and staff, and it’s not just for the immediate, but out a couple of years.

One of those verbal commitments is five-star Columbus area Pickerington North defensive end commit Jack Sawyer. He gave his verbal to Ohio State back in early February and was already high up all the recruiting services rankings at the time.

And now this.

ESPN has updated its ESPN 100 recruiting rankings and now has the 6-5, 220 pounder as the top overall recruit in the class. If you’re keeping track, that means not only do the Buckeyes have the No. 1 recruit for the 2020 class in wide-receiver Julian Fleming, but now the top prospect for 2021 as well.

And they said Day couldn’t pull all of this off. Eat your heart out Michigan and Penn State.