2016 Spring Game Recruiting Primer

Ohio State is set to host its annual spring game this Saturday at the Shoe, and with it comes a chance for the Buckeyes and their coaches to put on their recruiting hats and show a plethora of prospects why Ohio State is the place to play college ball. During last year’s spring game weekend, the Buckeyes landed five commitments from Tuf Borland, Jack Wohlabaugh, and Malik Barrow for 2016 and Marcus Williamson and Todd Sibley for 2017. Urban Meyer and company hope to secure some verbals this weekend as well. Let’s look at who is visiting campus over the next few days and how I think their recruitment will shake out.

The following seven players are all attending as commitments of the Ohio State University, and they’ll be some of the most important recruiting tools the team has this weekend as they try to convince their buddies to play football for the Buckeyes. Danny Clark and Todd Sibley have already become vocal leaders of the 2017 recruiting class, and both of them will be eager to show their peers what Ohio State is all about. There’s a possible kink in Sibley’s future in Columbus, but hopefully it doesn’t dampen his enthusiasm for the program this weekend.

Name Year Position Commitment Status
Josh Myers 2017 OT Ohio State Commit
Jake Moretti 2017 OT Ohio State Commit
Brendan White 2017 S/WR Ohio State Commit
Todd Sibley 2017 RB Ohio State Commit
Marcus Williamson 2017 DB Ohio State Commit
Jerron Cage 2017 DT Ohio State Commit
Danny Clark 2017 QB Ohio State Commit
Blake Haubeil 2017 K Ohio State Commit

The guys below are also visiting this weekend, but they have yet to commit to the Buckeyes. I’ll continue to update the list as I learn more.

Name From Year Offered Position Commitment Status
Najee Harris California 2017 Yes RB Alabama Commit
Kellen Mond Texas 2017 No QB Baylor Commit
Amir Riep Ohio 2017 Yes DB Uncommitted
Chase Young Maryland 2017 No De Uncommitted
Jaylen Harris Ohio 2017 Yes WR Uncommitted
Dalyn Wade-Perry New Jersey 2017 Yes DT Uncommitted
Joel Honigford Ohio 2017 No OT Uncommitted
Darius Stills West Virginia 2017 No DE Uncommitted
Howard Watkins Ohio 2017 No DT Uncommitted
Jackson Carman Ohio 2018 Yes OT Uncommitted
Malik Vann Ohio 2018 No LB Uncommitted
Leonard Taylor Ohio 2018 Yes DT Committed to Michigan
Shaquon Anderson-Butts Pennsylvania 2018 No WR Uncommitted
Dante Stills West Virginia 2018 No DT Uncommitted
Alex Reigelsperger Ohio 2018 No DE Uncommitted
Aeneas Hawkins Ohio 2018 No DT Uncommitted
Jaelen Gill Ohio 2018 Yes RB Uncommitted
Xavier Henderson Ohio 2018 No ATH Uncommitted
Trenton Gillison Ohio 2018 No TE Uncommitted
Tadas Tatarunas Ohio 2018 No QB Uncommitted

One of the key visitors this weekend is Najee Harris, who, like Cam Akers once was, is currently committed to Alabama. Akers visited last month and came away impressed, and the staff hopes to make the same impression on Harris this weekend. Whether or not the Buckeyes will be able to steal either of these backs from the mighty Crimson Tide is yet to be seen, but Urban will go down swinging. Late Thursday night, word got out that Ohio State may have asked Todd Sibley to greyshirt next year, so it seems the Buckeyes feel confident they will land at least one of the 5-star backs. Adding Harris or Akers, along with JK Dobbins, forces Ohio State to push Sibley to 2018. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t surprise me if Sibley starts looking elsewhere to play his college football. 

Kellen Mond is the other interesting prospect visiting this weekend. He’s currently committed to the Baylor Bears, but he’s still shopping around and finds himself at Ohio State this weekend. The Buckeyes haven’t extended an offer to him yet, but that could change this weekend. Mond has family in Ohio, so an offer from Ohio State might change his mind.  He currently does not hold an offer from the Buckeyes, but that may change this weekend. Tate Martell, another quarterback prospect promised to a Texas school, visited recently and also has family in the state. Unless Texas A&M announces a big coaching change, I see Martell sticking with the Aggies, but I can see Mond becoming the second quarterback to join the 2017 class. Only time will tell.

Watch for possible commitments this weekend from Jaylen Harris and Jackson Carman. Harris is a wide receiver out of Cleveland Heights who’s had his eye on Ohio State some time, and Carman is a big offensive tackle from Fairfield, Ohio, who could get things started for the 2018 class. I don’t see the Buckeyes netting anywhere close to last year’s five commitments, but I can see one or two coming out of this weekend, especially if the Buckeyes extend an offer to a few of its top prospects.

The players who aren’t attending the spring game are probably more interesting than those who are. Trevon Grimes, the five-star wideout from St. Thomas Aquinas, has been high on the Buckeyes since his offer, but he hasn’t made a return trip to Columbus since last July. He’s visited Florida, Miami, and Florida State this year, and this has many fans worried he’ll stay down south. I think Grimes will visit Ohio State again at some point, and I’m still confident he ends up a Buckeye. Jeffrey Okudah would have been a great visitor to get on campus for the spring game, but he’s staying home in Texas this week. The Buckeyes need to get Okudah back on campus if they want to remain in the game for his talents. Donovan Peoples-Jones (visiting ND), and Darnay Holmes would’ve also been nice to see this weekend. Peoples-Jones is going to be a hard pull from Michigan, but he did visit last week at least. I think Darnay Holmes will probably stay out west however.  The saga of Shaun Wade continues as well, as he has stated that he is 100% committed to the Buckeyes, yet he continues to take visits like the one to USC this weekend.

The kids in the 2018 class still have a lot of time to decide on their college futures, but a few of them will be visiting the Buckeyes this weekend. Jaelen Gill visited USC and UCLA recently, but he’s been a frequent visitor to Ohio State, and all signs point to him donning the scarlet and grey. Maybe he pulls the trigger this weekend and becomes the leader of the 2018 class, but I think he’ll take a little more time to make his decision. I already mentioned Jackson Carman, whom I’ve pegged for a possible commitment this weekend. He currently holds a 100% Crystal Ball prediction to Ohio State, and he recently visited campus right after trips to Michigan and Michigan State. Other than Gill and Carman, none of the other visiting 2018 recruits currently hold offers from the Buckeyes. Most of them are from Ohio and probably grew up dreaming about playing football for the Buckeyes, so don’t be surprised if one of them gets an offer this weekend and commits.

The spring game always brings a lot of top talent to the Horseshoe, and this year is no different. With 100,000 fans expected to show up for a glorified practice, I expect the recruits to get a good idea of the electric atmosphere they have to look forward to. Recent stars like Zeke Elliott, Michael Thomas, and Cardale Jones will also be in attendance, so these recruits are going to get the full Buckeye experience.

* I will continue to monitor the recruits attending and update the list as necessary.

 

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