Archives for July 2014

Follow: @Mike_Rockstedt

Class of 2017 star Bruce Judson recently took a trip to Ohio State and did not want to leave.  The 5-10 athlete has offers from some of the top programs around the nation including Florida State, Kentucky, Clemson, Ohio State, and Miami.  Judson is the teammate of current 2015 Buckeye commit, Jamel Dean.  He is very interested in Ohio State and even named them his leaders.  He had many good things to say about Ohio State and his recent visit to Ohio State.

“I love the campus and the locker room a lot,” Judson said of the reasons he loves Ohio State.  “There were a lot of fans at the Friday Night Lights camp, so I know the fans really care about their team.  The graduation rate is also very high.  I love everything about Columbus.  I can see myself being here for four years.  This is like a second home to me.”

Judson was also able to participate in the camp at Friday Night Lights.  He said that he thought he did very well and he even tried a new position, wide receiver.  He did this because Ohio State is recruiting him as a a RB/WR type player and could really move him all over the field.  “The best part of the camp was the one on one’s,” Judson said of the camp.  “I tried a new position and the coaches were very impressed with how I did.”  Friday Night Lights continues to prove to be a huge success for all of the recruits.

Bruce Judson told me Ohio Stat was  his leader and said he could commit at anytime.  He really enjoyed his visit to Ohio State and I think Ohio State is in a very good spot here.  If you watch film on Judson, he runs very well and I think would be a great slot receiver.  He already runs a 4.40 forty so that speed could be put to good use.  I asked what he wanted to say to Buckeyenation and he said, “Go Buckeyes! Stay tuned at anytime and I will be back very soon!”  Judson is a very good athlete who could do wonders in this system.  I think he is going to commit very soon as he told me, and I think Ohio State is in a good spot.

Highlights

@4way_lilbruce

Follow: @Mike_Rockstedt

The coaching staff at Ohio State has been recruiting the state of Michigan strongly since taking over.  Ohio State is hoping to keep that going with class of 2017 star defensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher.  Malone-Hatcher a 6-3, linemen, does not hold any offers but has been gaining some strong interest from the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Alabama.  Although Malone-Hatcher does not hold any offers, the accolades are already rolling in for the star linemen.  He was a part of the Maxpreps.com freshman all-american second team and hopes to build upon the success from last season.  He has been following Ohio State for a while now and has a strong interest to come here.

Corey Malone-Hatcher loves Coach Johnson.

“Any team that goes 24-0 over two season span, is definitely a real good team,” Malone-Hatcher said of the reasons he loves Ohio State.  “I have been following them closely for a couple of years now and I think it’s a great program.  I was at the Michigan  for the Ohio State versus Michigan game and they just looked physically dominate.  I really have a strong interest in them.”

Ohio State has always been on his radar and being from Michigan you know a lot about the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State.  He recently visited for Ohio State for Friday Night Lights and was able to compete and get a feel for the atmosphere.  He felt that the camp helped him gain a better understanding of the game.  “I participated in the camp and the competition was good,” Malone-Hatcher said of the camp. “It was good going against the older guys and I think the coaches were impressed with how explosive I was.  I also loved learning from Coach Johnson.  He is passionate about his work and I loved that.”  Coach Johnson is paying huge dividends on the recruiting trail with his reputation.

Corey Malone-Hatcher still has a long way to go until his recruitment is over, but he knows that Ohio State has been showing him a lot of love.  He told me that Ohio State is definitely in his top group of schools, most likely his top 5 list.  He is just beginning the recruiting process, but the offers are going to be rolling in.  He took a trip to Michigan yesterday for the BBQ and his father told me that everything went well on the visit to Ann Arbor.  When he is not playing football, he enjoys relaxing with friends.  I asked him what he would like to say to Buckeyenation and he responded with, “I love the atmosphere in Columbus! I definitely can picture myself playing under those lights!”  I like where Ohio State has put themselves in his recruiting process. I think Larry Johnson is going to be a big factor in his recruitment.  His dad and him both really like Coach Johnson a lot and thing he is a great coach.

Follow: @CMH2017 

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s semi-regular curated look at items that would interest Ohio State fans. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

IT’S MILLER TIME: Bill Rabinowitz of The Columbus Dispatch has a great article on the senior leader of the Buckeyes, Braxton Miller. There’s lots of great stuff here, so you definitely should read the whole thing, but here a couple pieces I particularly enjoyed. The first was Braxton’s hesitancy in telling the new coaching staff about his new born son, Landon. There was only one person he trusted enough to tell the news:

In fact, the only one he confided in was his roommate, fellow quarterback Kenny Guiton, who also became a father two months after Miller.

There were times during last season when people wondered out loud if Kenny G should be starting instead of Miller, who had some ups and downs. In our own minds we had built up this rivalry, but there clearly was a relationship not everyone was privy to.

I also enjoy his candidness when asked about having the Heisman Trophy as a goal:

“If I just play my game, play smart and play within myself, a lot of good things will happen,” he said. “If we do what we’re supposed to do on offense and defense and score a lot of points and be Big Ten champions and get to the national (playoff), I would really love to accept that Heisman award.”

A great read about a great kid.

BUCK NAKED: Late last week it was announced that Jonathan Waters, the Ohio State Marching Band director was fired after an exhaustive investigation was done and found a troubling “”sexualized” culture of the band”. You can read all about the investigation here and a lot of the fallout here.

If you were on Twitter when the new broke, I’m sure you saw much of the reaction that trended toward Ohio State acting too harshly. You can read the investigation and come to your own conclusion. I’ve certainly come to mine.

I think what bothered me the most about this situation was the number of hot takes that basically blew this off as “things college kids do”. While that may be entirely true, why is that excuse valid? Why can’t we demand that “college kids” be better? And aren’t people like Dr. Waters tasked with teaching them that they should be better? I know there is going to be a lot of this kind of thing happening, but I guess I’d rather see things like this not be swept aside with another shrug of the shoulders and “kids will be kids” excuse. Maybe I’m getting to be an old fuddy-duddy, but that’s just me.

(I have to give a h/t to future MotSaG’er Frenchie on that title)

B1G! B1G!: The B1G Media Days kick off tomorrow in Chicago, which will be the first real chance the media has to get access to the football coaches, and Ari Wasserman has a few questions that Urban Meyer might have to answer. Dave Biddle has a five storylines for the Buckeyes going in to B1G Media Days, as well. What are a few questions you’d ask Coach Meyer, given the opportunity?

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS (AND CARLOS HYDE KNOCKS OPPORTUNITY DOWN): With San Francisco’s running backs dropping like flies to injuries, it looks like Carlos Hyde is going to get some early chances to show off what he’s got:

“El Guapo” is a “throwback runner” – he knows the shortest distance between A and B is a straight line, often running over his opposition en route to a big gain. Times have changed and football has evolved into a passing game, eliminating the need to draft running backs early in the first round. Hyde slipped to the 49ers at #57, and when considering recent injuries to the backfield, it’s starting to look like one of the best picks in the draft.

#23 IT IS:

ETC: It looks like Kyle Trout will probably redshirt this season. Get to know Mrs. Urban Meyer.

It was another very successful Friday Night Lights event for Urban Meyer and the staff.  They were able to secure two commitments from Josh Moore and Josh Alabi, both are members of the 2015 class.  They are both huge pieces of this class as Josh Moore gives Ohio State the coveted tight end they so desperately wanted.  Josh Alabi plays both sides of the ball as a guard and a defensive linemen so it is going to be interesting how his career develops. I think he is  going to be a good player on either side of the ball but people think he is a good defensive linemen. Here are some updates from other prospects at the camp. I am going to update this as more recruits get back to me.

Lawrence Cager

2015

Lawrence Cager- WR- Towson, Maryland
-Got an offer from Ohio State at the camp
-Ohio State is the Leader.
-Favorite part was reuniting with Torrance Gibson and completing some routes
-Said it was amazing that a lot of fans knew who he was and wanted to take pictures with him

Torrance Gibson-QB- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
-Ohio State is the leader
-He is not changing his list anymore
-Wanted to keep list the same
-Is making this decision for HIM, not anyone else
-On why he likes Ohio State: “Urban Meyer has proof & he develops QB’s into Heisman trophy winners and the system fits me.”

2016

Austin Mack- WR-Fort Wayne, Indiana
-Told me that he thought he performed very well today
-Speaking with Coach Meyer one on one was the best part of the day
-Loved the fans being there and their O-H! Chant.
-Told me, “It does not get much better than Ohio State.”
-Attending the Ohio State vs. Michigan game, and another game TBD.

Elijah Holyfield-RB-Atlanta, Georgia
-He did not camp but spent a lot of time with Coach Drayton
-Coach Drayton told him to keep working and they talked about coming for a game
-The best part was getting to talk to the players
-Ezekiel Elliott came and talked with him about playing for Ohio State
-He thought that was awesome, that a big player in Elliot came and talked to him

Binjimen Victor- WR- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
-Had a lot of fun and called it a great experience
-He thought that he performed well
-He loved competing in the one on ones

Jared Mayden- CB- Sachse, Texas
-Did not think he performed well to his standards
-Enjoyed everything about the visit
-Really enjoyed the campus and the participants at the camp
-OSU is near the top now
-Overall a good experience!

Luke Farrell-TE-Perry, Ohio
-His favorite part was the one on one and thought he did very well
-Coach Hinton and him were able to talk for a while and Hinton told him how much he wanted to be a Buckeye
-Told me Ohio State is the leader
-Hopes to decide during his Junior Season

Jake Hausmann-TE- Cincinnati, Ohio
-Did not participate but was able to talk to commits and other recruits
-Loved talking with Nick Conner, Justin Hilliard, and Jashon Cornell
-Got to talk with Tyler Gerald also, and told me he is someone he wants to play with
-Loves Ohio State and Notre Dame and a few others but those two are the two that are serious contenders
-Hopes to decide before senior season

DJ Turner-WR/DB-Hyattsville, Maryland
-Best camp that he has been to
-Enjoyed all of the presentations and videos
-Has Ohio State in top 3
-Teammate of OSU commit Tyler Green

2017

Donovan Peoples Jones-WR-Detroit, Michigan
-Did not participate at the camp
-Told me the feeling of being out there on the field was amazing!
-The intensity of the 1 one 1 battles was his favorite part

Trevon Grimes- WR- Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
-“The camp was Great!”
-Favorite part was learning the techniques from the coaches
-Overall a great experience

Danny Clark-QB-Massillon, Ohio (Ohio State Commit)
-Loved everything about the camp
-Loved every second of the atmosphere
-The people and enthusiasm of those people he competed with was awesome
-Some really good receivers to throw to.

Bruce Judson- ATH- Cocoa, Florida
-Loved Everything about the camp and visit
-Played QB and WR
-Staff loves his abilities at WR
-Ohio State is his leader!

Juwan Armstrong- WR- Cocoa, Florida
-Great experience
-Best camp that he has been to
-Loved competing

Corey Malone-Hatcher- DE- St. Joseph, Michigan
-He loves competing against the competition
-It was neat for him going against the older guys of the camp
-Learned a lot from the coaches and he coaches loved how explosive he is
-The best part for him was being coached by Coach Johnson
-Ohio State is in his top 5

Josh Myers-OT-Miamisburg, Ohio
-Told me the camp was a lot of fun and it was good going against top competition
-Getting coached by Coach Warriner was his favorite part
-Learned a lot from the coaches that he can use for practice
-More people showed up then he thought would in the crowd
-He told me overall the atmosphere and camp were great

Earlier we told you all about Josh Moore committing to Ohio State. Also it was the first ever live commitment to OSU during the annual Friday Night Lights camp. Less than 2 hours later and OSU has their 2nd commitment of the night. This one came as a shock to most but if you follow recruiting at all OSU has been putting in work to break up the pipeline of Cass Tech kids in Detroit going to Michigan. Last year they STOLE Damon Webb and tonight they took another Cass Tech Stud…

Joshua Alabi is a 6’5″ 270 lbs 3 star DL/OL from Detroit, Michigan. He is a huge kid with a lot of upside. He can play pretty much any position on the Defensive Line and Offensive Line. He brings a real toughness to the class and will help keep the pipeline going to Ohio State that is loaded with talent.

Officially committed to the University of Ohio State 🅾🙌🙏⭕️ #BuckeyeNation #gobucks

— Joshua A. (@JoshAlabi) July 26, 2014