Archives for April 2016

Braxton’s First Pitch:

Spring Game Highlights:

2018 Buckeye Target Joel Honigford adds new offer:

https://twitter.com/jhonig44/status/722404881097760768

Tate Martell to take all 5 Visits:

https://twitter.com/TheTateMartell/status/722156279485980672

Ezekiel Elliott in Miami to visit Dolphins Today:

Mel Kiper’s 3 Round Mock Draft:

Round 1:

#6 Joey Bosa – Baltimore Ravens

#13 Darron Lee – Miami Dolphins

#18 Taylor Decker – Indianapolis Colts

#25 Eli Apple – Pittsburgh Steelers

#28 Vonn Bell – Kansas City Chiefs

Round 2:

#34 Ezekiel Elliott – San Diego Chargers

#49 Michael Thomas – Buffalo Bills

Round 3:

#65 Braxton Miller – Cleveland Browns

#78 Adolphus Washington – New Orleans Saints

#83 Nick Vannett – New York Jets

#87 Joshua Perry – Cincinnati Bengals

Buckeye Target Micah Clark pledges to Rutgers:

https://twitter.com/MicahClark17/status/722490742141251585

Todd McShay on Buckeyes Draft:

Cardale Jones on Gruden’s QB Camp tonight:

Buckeyes Getting TE Grad Transfer from ND:

Dane Bruglers CBS Mock Draft – All 7 Rounds:

1st Round –

#5 Joey Bosa – Jacksonville Jaguars

#8 Ezekiel Elliott – Philadelphia Eagles

#13 Darron Lee – Miami Dolphins

#16 Taylor Decker – Detroit Lions

#28 Eli Apple – Kansas City Chiefs

2nd Round –

#37 Michael Thomas – San Francisco 49ers

#43 Vonn Bell – Tennessee Titans

#49 Cardale Jones – Buffalo Bills

3rd Round –

#76 Braxton Miller – Tennessee Titans

#92 Adolphus Washington – Arizona Cardinals

4th Round –

#102 Nick Vannett – San Diego Chargers

#109 Joshua Perry – New York Giants

5th Round –

#171 Tyvis Powell – Seattle Seahawks

7th Round –

#242 Jalin Marshall – Washington Redskins

Full Draft here

2017 RB D’Andre Swift Gives Top 10:

Braxton to throw out first pitch:

Spring Game Reflections:

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.

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.

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.

Ezekiel Elliott on Mike and Mike this morning:

Spring Game News & Notes:

https://twitter.com/WW_Marcus/status/720956579223310336

https://twitter.com/Mattdotson21/status/720941591138017283

Spring Game Rosters: 

A Look Inside the OSU Marching Band:

OSU Coaches Clinic Today:

Spring Game Updates:

Today we delve further into the future of recruiting at Ohio State with a look at the wide receivers and tight ends. The Buckeyes have lost some great playmakers to the NFL over the past few years, so they need to bring in freshmen who can make an instant impact to keep momentum going. The wide receiver and tight end positions have me a little concerned going into this season since the guys on the roster have had limited playing time and catches. The potential is there, however, in Corey Smith, Paris Campbell, and Noah Brown, who went down early last year with an injury. There is also a lot of young talent on the team in KJ Hill, Austin Mack, and Torrance Gibson – all of whom have yet to see the field. Zach Smith and #Zone6 have their work cut out for them this year, but they have a reliable quarterback in JT Barrett to distribute the ball, which should make things a bit easier on them.

2016 Projected Depth Chart:

WR#1 – Noah Brown – Sophomore (RS)

WR#2 – Corey Smith – Senior (RS)

WR#3 – Paris Campbell – Sophomore (RS)

WR#4 – Austin Mack – Freshman

WR#5 – KJ Hill – Freshman (RS)

WR#6 – Torrance Gibson – Freshman (RS)

TE #1 – Marcus Baugh – Junior (RS)

TE #2 – A.J. Alexander – Freshman (RS)

Brown showed signs of breaking out big time last year before the leg injury took him out for the season. I see him getting back to 100% by fall practice and becoming JT’s new favorite target come game one. Smith has shown flashes of brilliance, but more often than not, he goes unnoticed on the field; this is his final year as a Buckeye, so he has one last chance to make a name for himself. The rest of the players on the projected depth chart are interchangeable. Campbell has the edge at #3 because he played some last year while dealing with an injury, but if he doesn’t catch on in practice, he could be moved back to the defensive side of the ball.

There are plenty of targets on this Buckeye roster, but the key is developing them into playmakers and guys Barrett can rely on when he needs to throw a deep ball down field or a check-down in the flat. H-backs Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson will undoubtedly catch quite a few balls out of the backfield this season, but Barrett will need at least one of the young freshmen receivers to shine if the Buckeyes hope to scare anyone with their passing game. The tight ends are even greener than the receivers – the kids on the roster only have three combined catches in collegiate games. Baugh will be the #1 guy going into the season since he had some extended playing time at the end of last season. After him, Alexander and incoming freshman Jake Hausmann and Luke Farrell will have to battle it out for catches.

Now that I’ve covered the Buckeyes’ existing prospects, let’s look at potential recruiting classes over the next couple of years.

The 2017 class of receivers is quite talented, and Ohio State has leads on quite a few of the high-profile names from all over the country. Trevon Grimes out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida is probably #1 on the Buckeyes’ list of must-gets at the wideout position. Fortunately, he’s had Ohio State at the top of his list for quite some time even after visiting other programs. If the Crystal Ball prediction is any indicator, he’s going to be a Buckeye – 91% of the predictions have him in the scarlet and gray. Tyjon Lindsey is the newest name on the Buckeyes’ radar. The star wideout from Centennial High School in Corona, CA, will be one to watch as his recruitment picks up. He recently released a list of his top 10 teams, and Ohio State made the cut. Also keep an eye on Donovan People-Jones out of Michigan and Jaylen Harris out of Cleveland. Peoples-Jones will be at the spring game this weekend, and Harris has a 100% Crystal Ball prediction to Ohio State right now. If the Buckeyes have room for three, they take Grimes, Lindsey, and Harris and call it a day. I’m most uncertain about Lindsey, so he’s definitely the wildcard in the mix. The Buckeyes need to be selective at the tight end position because they don’t have much scholarship room to swing and miss. Currently, their only offer is to Matt Dotson out of Cincinnati Moeller. He’s visited a number of colleges lately, but his Crystal Ball prediction narrows the field to Ohio State and Tennessee. I see Dotson becoming a Buckeye if there is room for him in this class.

2017 Depth Chart Projections:

WR#1 – Noah Brown – Junior (RS)

WR#2 – Austin Mack – Sophomore

WR#3 – Paris Campbell – Junior (RS)

WR#4 – KJ Hill – Sophomore (RS)

WR#5 – Trevon Grimes – Freshman

WR#6 – Torrance Gibson – Sophomore (RS)

TE#1 – Marcus Baugh – Senior (RS)

TE#2 – A.J. Alexander – Sophomore (RS)

TE#3 – Jake Hausmann – Freshman (RS)

The Buckeyes will bring back the majority of their skill position players in 2017, leaving Urban Meyer and Ed Warinner scheming up ways to get all the playmakers the ball. The scholarship cap remains tight for 2018, so the Buckeyes will continue to be selective.  Right now, they only have three offers out to potential wide receivers and tight ends. One is Jermaine Eskridge is out of Tampa, Florida, who currently holds 31 offers from the likes of Florida, Michigan, and USC. The second offer went to Brian Hightower, another wideout at IMG Academy in Florida. Although he plays on a roster full of future Buckeyes, Hightower also has quite a few offers from top schools, and I think he’ll be a hard pull for Ohio State. The most recent offer went to L’Christian Smith out of Wayne High School in Dayton. He holds offers from Michigan, Penn State, and a few other schools, and early Crystal Ball predications have him split between Ohio State and Michigan State. I expect the Buckeyes to take two or three wide receivers in 2018, and possibly another tight end, but it’s too early in the recruiting process to make a definitive guess.

2018 Depth Chart Projections:

WR#1 – Noah Brown – Senior (RS)

WR#2 – Austin Mack – Junior

WR#3 – Trevon Grimes – Sophomore

WR#4 – Paris Campbell – Senior (RS)

WR#5 – KJ Hill – Junior (RS)

WR#6 – Torrance Gibson – Junior (RS)

TE#1 – A.J. Alexander – Junior (RS)

TE#2 – Jake Hausmann – Sophomore (RS)

TE#3 – Luke Farrell – Sophomore (RS)

As always, the Buckeyes have plenty of talented playmakers at the wide receiver and tight end positions, but the challenge is developing them into good route runners and quality blockers that are the meat and potatoes of the passing game. With JT Barrett leading the way for the Buckeyes for (hopefully) the next two seasons, I see the weapons on the outside shaping up nicely as long as they stay healthy.

More on Ohio State’s 2016 Draft Class:

Spring Game Info:

https://twitter.com/BuckeyesNews/status/720061643003150336

On Urban Meyer: 

BasketBucks land 3* 

Haskell Garrett shuts down recruitment: