Four Star Athlete/Dual Threat 2017 Quarterback Bruce Judson Commits to Ohio State

Bruce Judson

While the Buckeyes were winning on the field Monday night against Oregon, they were also winning pretty big off the field. They received commitments from several top recruits and just added more talent to a team that is already overflowing with talent in almost every position. One of the recruits that committed to The Ohio State University was four star athlete/dual threat quarterback Bruce Judson. The 2017 recruit is from Cocoa, Florida and stands at 5’10”, weighs 170 pounds and runs a 40 yard time of 4.4. Although it’s quite early in his high school career, Judson is the fourth highest-rated player in the 2017 class in the state of Florida and 17th nationally in the 2017 class.

In the 2014 season he threw for 2,051 yards, 33 touchdowns and five interceptions. In the previous season, in 2013, he threw for 1,202 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions while also rushing for 1,047 yards and 15 touchdowns. Judson announced his commitment to the Buckeyes on Twitter last night around midnight. I’m sure the Buckeyes winning a national title had a little influence on his decision.

Judson is the third commitment of Ohio State’s 2017 recruiting class. Here are his freshman highlights from 2013:

Below are his highlights for his sophomore year in 2014:

To see more of his highlights, click here.

Class OF 2015: The Offensive Lineman

Now that the 2015 recruiting class (#Elite15) is about to come to a close, it is time to take a look back at which offensive linemen the Buckeyes landed this year. As we all know, O-Line Coach Ed Warriner has done an outstanding job developing his young linemen into stars. Ohio State had to replace four offensive linemen after last season (3 of which are now starting in the NFL) which is no easy task for the best coaches or teams. But yet they still earned a playoff berth which is in large part due to how Warriner was able to get the buffet busters up front ready. As of right now, he is still a coach for the Buckeyes despite rumors that he was accepting the Head Coaching position at Kansas. Now let’s take a look at the five linemen that will be attending school at The Ohio State University.

Grant Schmidt

The 3 star Tackle from Sioux Falls, South Dakota was one of the first members of the Elite15 as he committed in June of this year. According to 247 Sports, he is the 54th best Offensive Tackle in the nation. Schmidt will also be the first player from South Dakota to be a Buckeye. Measuring in at 6’6” and 275 pounds he has the height to protect our Quarterback’s blindside. Once he arrives in Columbus I expect him to put on at least 30 pounds of muscle (thanks, Coach Mick). Schmidt also considered Minnesota and Washington State before selecting the Buckeyes.

Kevin Feder

The Ramsey, New Jersey prospect is one of the under the radar guys I am most excited about for the incoming class. He stands with a huge frame at 6’9” and weighs in at 305 pounds which is just huge for any football player in general. Feder is a 3 star Offensive Tackle and rated as the 55th best OT in the country while being the 12th best player in the Garden State. Offered by such heavyweights like Tennessee, Miami, and even Michigan State (recruited by Narduzzi) it was a great get by Warriner & Co.

Matthew Burrell

The gem of the 2015 O-Line class has to be 4 star (darn close to 5 in my opinion) Offensive Tackle Matthew Burrell from Woodbridge, Virginia. He was recruited very hard by both Larry Johnson and Ed Warriner for the past year and finally committed about a month ago. Burrell is a top 100 player according to 247 Sports while being the 5th best OG in the nation. Penn State, Florida and Florida State were also in the running for his talents. He was also invited to The Opening which is a four day Nike event for top high school players held in Oregon. Burrell will participate in the Army All-American Bowl on January 3rd with other Buckeye commits Jerome Baker, Torrance Gibson, Justin Hilliard, Dre’Mont Jones, Liam McCullough, and Mike Weber.

Branden Bowen

Another underrated prospect Warriner gobbled up in late November was Branden Bowen from Draper, Utah. The 6’7” 330 pound Tackle is ranked as the 87th best in the country and the 8th best player in the state. Once committed to Utah, Urban Meyer and Ed Warriner were able to pull out their spatula for the flip. Bowen visited for the Illinois game on November 1st and was on commitment watch from that moment on- eventually committing 3 weeks later. Make no mistake, Bowen has the size to be an NFL prospect and I expect Warriner to develop him into that.

Mirko Jurkovic

The 3 star player from South Bend, Indiana (Notre Dame’s backyard) was the fifth and most likely final offensive linemen taken by the Buckeyes for the 2015 class. Ranked as the 51st best OG in the country, the potential is certainly there for good production. It was an Ohio State-Nebraska battle but his visit to Columbus for the Michigan game all but sealed it and he committed a week later.

As long as Ed Warriner is coaching football at The Ohio State University, I have full faith that the linemen we get will all be given the skills to succeed.

MotSaG Chat with 2016 Safety Vincent Calhoun

Vincent Calhoun

Vincent Calhoun is a safety from Middletown, Ohio. He stands at 5-11 and weighs 175 pounds. This past season in his junior year at Middletown High School he was first team All District and had 102 tackles, four pass breakups and three interceptions. In addition, he also played at running back and wide receiver. So far he has visited two schools, Michigan State in October and Ohio State in September. When I asked Calhoun his thoughts on his visit to Columbus, he definitely said the visit was positive.

“It was a good experience, it was my first visit. My tour guide made me feel comfortable and I really liked it there,” said Calhoun.

Calhoun also had an opportunity to talk to the coaches and gain advice from the staff. Calhoun said, “I’ve talked to coach Kerry Coombs and he told me to just keep doing what I’m doing and call to show interest.”

Calhoun currently doesn’t have any offers on the table from any schools, but he remains optimistic. He especially would love to get an offer from Ohio State, who he has been a fan of all of his life. In fact he says it’s his dream school.

“I love Ohio State football. I’ve always wanted to be a Buckeye since I was young and the football team I played on was the lil (sic) Buckeyes,” Calhoun said.

I asked him how the recruiting process has been going for him and he says it’s going quite well. He said currently the schools showing the most interest in him are Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State. While he just visited Michigan State, he doesn’t plan to visit any other schools soon. Calhoun hopes to commit to a school near the beginning of the next school year or in the summer. As for what Calhoun said you can expect from him:

“You get a great leader and someone who is going to give it their all everything they do anything and some to help teammates. And they get someone who will never back down from anything and is a team player.”

You can follow Vincent Calhoun on Twitter here: @middies_3

MotSaG Chat with 2016 Running Back Brandon Stephens

Nike Football Combine Dallas

Brandon Stephens is a running back from Plano, Texas. He stands at 6-1 and weighs 200 pounds. Over the course of 2014 in his junior season at Plano High School, he rushed 196 times for 1,268 yards and 21 touchdowns. And he’s been getting more attention as of late, visiting Baylor in November and receiving an offer from Tulsa on November 7. When I talked to Stephens I asked him how the recruiting process is going for him.

“It’s been very good, not too stressful just yet but I’ve been building many relationships with coaches, trying to get familiar with them,” said Stephens.

Stephens made his unofficial visit to Ohio State back on July 21 and was offered by Ohio State the very next day. I asked him what he thoughts of the experience and the impression he came away with from the visit.

“It was definitely amazing. Got to meet most of the coaches. The environment on and off campus was just right. It was a good visit all-around.”

Stephens was recruited by running backs coach Stan Drayton and corner backs/special teams coach Kerry Coombs (Stephens also plays corner back). I asked what he thought about the coaches and if they gave him any advice when talking to them. He said they gave him a couple of things to work on in his game and felt like they truly had his back. He really enjoyed talking to them. And when I asked him what his familiarity is with Ohio State football he simply replied: “7 Heisman winners, 7 national champions, 37 conference titles.”

Along with offers from Ohio State and Tulsa, Stephens also received an offer from Wisconsin back in June. I asked him which schools are currently showing the most interest and he replied: “Ohio State is showing a lot of interest, also LSU and Baylor.” Stephens also said he plans on visiting Wisconsin and possibly “many more,” but he isn’t completely sure. Right now he doesn’t have a list of top schools he’s considering and hopes to commit to a school by the beginning of next season.

The last question I asked Stephens about was what a team gets when they get Brandon Stephens. His response:

“A hard-working, unselfish player. I’m a player that shows resiliency. I’m also a person of leadership and character.”

You can follow Brandon Stephens on Twitter here: @BFame24

To see all of his highlights on Hudl, click here.

Buckeyes Land Big Time Recruit

I have to start out with I am sorry. I have not put up a commitment post for the last couple of recruits. I have seriously slacked in my coverage of recruiting because of a new job. Thankfully this newest commit was kind enough to commit on my day off so I have no excuse to not put up a post. So let’s make it a great one. Today’s commitment is one that seemed inevitable and then impossible and finally back to inevitable. So while today’s announcement was a foregone conclusion to many recruiting experts it is great none the less. So let’s break down this future Buckeye and see why it is such a big pick up for OSU.

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Torrance Gibson committed to become a Buckeye at his school today after his Army All-American Ceremony.

Torrance Gibson is a 6’4″ 200 lbs 5 star QB/Athlete from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Torrance is a Dual-Threat Quaterback with tremendous upside. His athletic ability alone makes some question if he would be a better WR than a QB. He has the speed to outrun the defenses and the agility to make people miss. His throwing ability is underappreciated IMHO. He has a big arm that allows for deep passes. Like many DT QBs though his short to intermediate throws need work. Why throw for 5-10 yards when as a QB you can pull it down and run for 15-20? That is the kind of thing that makes people doubt running QBs. Make no mistake though Torrance Gibson is going to OSU as a QB and will get every chance he can to earn his spot as the starting QB. I also am not a moron Coach Meyer and his staff does a great job taking guys and putting in the best spots to succeed. They turned a Fullback into a Linebacker. A Tight end into a OLman. Sam Hubbard may play every position before he leaves OSU. Torrance will compete to be a QB but has the athletic ability to succeed no matter where he plays and that is why landing him is so important.

247sports ranks Torrance a 4 star the 62nd best player in the country and the 6th best athlete in the country. Rivals ranks Torrance a 4 star and the 103rd best player in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 45th best player in the country. ESPN ranks Torrance a 5 star and the 13th best player in the country and the 2nd best athlete in the country.

Buckeyes Flip An Ohio Kid

Seems like forever since we had a commitment post for Ohio State. Truth be told with HS and College Football in full swing you rarely see a lot of kids committing in the fall. Ohio State has been looking for a tall WR to commit seemingly since Urban Meyer became the Head Coach. Today they reached into Ohio and snatched up a recruit who was formerly committed to Kentucky of the mighty SEC. What will surely anger the entire state of Kentucky has OSU fans giddy over landing a truly talented player who grew up a Buckeye fan. So lets get to know our newest member of Buckeye Nation.

Alex Stump committed to Ohio State today via his Twitter account…

Alex Stump is a 6’3″ 190 lbs 4 star WR from Lakewood, Ohio. Alex is a big time WR prospect who reminds me a lot of Brian Hartline. He runs great routes and has good speed at 4.5 Forty. He is the kind of player who can run deep or short routes and has no fear of running across the middle. Last year as a JR he had 57 catches for 987 yards and 14 TDs.

Catching Up With Austin Mack

Austin Mack is a top Wide Receiver coming out of the 2016 class. He is from Fort Wayne, Indiana and stands 6-2 weighing 205. 247 Sports has Austin as the top player coming out of Indiana in his class. He is also ranked the 20th Receiver for the class. He has offers from several top programs such as Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

When asked about the recruiting process Mack said “It’s been real good and successful.”. It is important to know that as of know he does not have a list of his top schools. “I’m keeping everything even” he explained.

Austin was able to visit Ohio State for the Cincinnati game. “It was a different night game there is pretty crazy. The whole atmosphere was nuts. And with better competition it was much more fun to watch.”. He along with several other recruits were able to share this experience. When asked about the other recruits visiting Mack stated “I talked to Gibson and that’s about it.” The two of them together on a team could be a very deadly combination.

He plans on committing  next summer at the RAS camp. He is keeping busy with visits as he will visit Notre Dame for the Stanford game. To close up my conversation with Austin he said “I’ll be playing in Columbus on 10/10 against Bishop Hartley so come out and show some love!”. With die hard Buckeye fans I am sure Mack will be satisfied with the love he will get from Buckeye Nation!

Leap Of Faith

This might seem like an odd place to talk about this, as it has nothing to do with Ohio State or the Big Ten or Brady Hoke’s waistline. This is way more important than those things. This is about kids–young athletes who just want a chance to make it in college football, an entity that has become an enormous star-making, money-printing machine powered by the passion of students, alumni, and fans.

This is about terrible people who exploit that passion, who take advantage of those kids, who make a mockery of the sport we love.

First and foremost, read this: Are There Two Fake Schools Operating On The Periphery of CFB? This was posted by reddit user /u/Honestly_ to /r/cfb on Friday. Many of you have probably seen it, but for those of you who haven’t, please go read it. You don’t have to read all the comments, but read through Honestly’s write-up and check out the links he provides. This is crazy, shocking stuff.

It’s important right now, because ESPN posted a story the same day about a new NCAA defensive record set by D-II Tusculum College. The school they set that record against is the College of Faith, one of the two schools Honestly investigated. Do we want the record books rewritten against programs that aren’t connected to legitimate institutes of higher learning?

While Honestly raises the possibility that the “student” athletes may be complicit in this (possibly getting paid since they wouldn’t be subject to any regulation,) I’m more inclined to think that’s not the case. The schools seem set up specifically to target the unsuspecting and naive, using religion as a hook in the way politicians and televangelists often do. The admissions requirements are non-existent. There are nonrefundable fees and “tuition deposits.” There are charges for adding and dropping courses. One the schedules implies that three of the games will be televised by ESPN, but this is pretty obviously a lie.

Davidson College played College of Faith on August 30th. The shutout victory was Davidson’s first win since November of 2012 and their first by more than eight points since September of 2011. Davidson plays in the Division I-FCS Pioneer League, the same conference that houses the University of Dayton’s football program. While it’s unlikely that an FBS school would schedule a game with one of these “colleges,” it’s concerning that they have managed to get on the field with a Div-I program, even one that’s not very good.

While I personally think these organizations should be thoroughly investigated and immediately shut down, I understand that’s probably unlikely. At the very least, I hope this serves as a cautionary tale for young athletes looking for an opportunity to show their stuff at the next level.

Lawrence Cager Looking to Silence the Doubters

Lawrence Cager is a top Wide Receiver coming out of the 2015 class. He holds offers from top programs in the country such as Ohio State and Alabama. Lawrence is a top Ohio State target and the Buckeyes are hot on his recruiting radar. When asked about the recruiting process Lawrence said “Not satisfied. I feel like I’m still under recruited and I’m underrated by a lot of these recruiting websites so I still have stuff to prove.” Look for Lawrence to start receiving offers from more schools. Even though he feels underrated Cager said the recruiting process has been good. “A lot of top programs have been hitting me up now in Auburn, LSU and Michigan State.”

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Cager was able to get to Ohio State for FNL where he received his Buckeye offer. When asked about his time Cager responded “Fun, when me and TG (Torrance Gibson) get together it’s always a fun time and Ohio State just felt like another home. The one thing that fascinated me is that I signed autographs, took pictures, and fans knew me there. I was shocked.” It is clear that he highly enjoyed his time at Ohio State. Cager wasn’t just taking pictures with fans the entire trip. He was also busy talking to the coaching staff. “I talked to the whole coaching staff and they said how I could become an elite wide receiver in the NFL and maybe become the next big thing.” Lawrence explained. Ohio State was his favorite school growing up and he was excited about getting an offer from them.

Lawrence is looking to to show how of an elite Wide Receiver he is this upcoming season. “We are making strides, returning players feeling more comfortable and more stable in the system. I’m expecting us to make it to the championship. My goal is to break the Calvert hall record of 99 balls caught.” said Lawrence. He plans on committing mid season on his bye week. Buckeye fans should be really excited about Cager. He is a great receiver who plays very physical. Lawrence closed up our conversation with an “O-H” to all Buckeye fans out there. I look forward to seeing what happens at the end of his recruiting process. will Lawrence receive a couple more offers from top programs and shift is interest? Or will Ohio State remain high on the radar? Time will tell!

 

Outlining the 2015 Wideout Possibilities

The Buckeyes are yet to land a Wide Receiver in this 2015 class. Even though local Canton McKinley Eric Glover-Williams who is committed to the Buckeyes could play the position if need be, most expect the 4-star to instead play on the defensive side of the ball at Cornerback when he arrives to Columbus next fall. Even though the Buckeyes have yet to secure a commitment from a Wide Receiver in this year’s class that is not something to be worried about. The Buckeyes are in on a hand full of targets which include the likes of 5-star Christian Kirk, 4-star Van Jefferson, 4-star Devante Peete, and 3-star Lawrence Cager.

imagesChristian Kirk is the biggest fish out in the market and Urban Meyer and his staff is going full out to try and land his services. Kirk is a 5-10 Receiver from Scottsdale, AZ and has offers from just about every college football team out there. He recently trimmed his list to a final six which included the Buckeyes along with Texas A&M, USC, UCLA, Arizona State, and Auburn. Kirk has been to Ohio State on two occasions with the most recent being on June 21st with his high school coach. Relationships seem to be the most important factor in Kirk’s recruitment and he has great one’s with Freshman Quarterback Kyle Allen and 2015 Quarterback commit, Kyler Murray from Texas A&M. This is one of the top reasons that A&M is perceived as the front runner to land Kirk in the 2015 cycle as they sit at 74% in the crystal ball. The Buckeyes only have 3-Star Quarterback Joe Burrow (who is greatly underrated IMO) in the fold and it is seemed as a weakness in the Kirk sweepstakes. A commitment from Quarterback/Athlete Torrance Gibson on October 20th could help vault Ohio State to the top of Kirk’s recruitment. Two things that Ohio State has going for them is Kirk’s relationship with both Urban Meyer and some of the players already at Ohio State. Kirk is good friends with fellow Wide Receiver Johnnie Dixon who is a true freshman this year and Kirk has compared his recruitment to Johnnie’s. If Ohio State could add the final piece of a top named Quarterback (ie. Torrance Gibson), then Ohio State could land the talented prospect. A team that a lot of people don’t talk about in Kirk’s recruitment and could be a dark horse is USC. The Trojans are of course closer to Arizona then the previous mentioned Buckeyes and Aggies, making it easier for Kirk’s family to attend more games. This is one reason that may help USC’s chances. Another thing that helps USC’s chances is Kirk’s relationship with Quarterback commits Ricky Town and Sam Darnold. Town is one of the top pro-style Quarterbacks in the nation and at one point was committed to Alabama before flipping to USC. Kirk’s recruitment has been and will continue to be a fun one to watch, but hopefully in the end Ohio State is where he chooses to spend his next three to four years.

downloadVan Jefferson’s recruitment has been very intriguing as well. Jefferson is 6-3 Wideout from Brentwood, TN. At one point it seemed as though Jefferson was a lock to choose the Buckeyes and then all of a sudden Jefferson decided to slow his recruitment back down and take more visits. Word is that Jefferson’s parents advised their son to look at all options to make sure the Buckeyes were the right choice. Since then Jefferson took visits to Georgia and Tennessee and both programs vaulted back into Jefferson’s leaders providing Ohio State some stiff competition for the touted player. After those visits, many experts believed that Jefferson was going to choose local Tennessee and changed their crystal ball to show accordingly (currently 50% Tennessee). However, Jefferson decided to make a return trip to Ohio State on July 16th and has since had his recruitment go silent. It seems that Ohio State is back in the thick of things, but no one really knows where Jefferson will land or even when. It will be interesting to see if it will be the hometown Vols, our Buckeyes or the dark horse Bulldogs in the end. You’ll want to keep an eye on this one.

download (1)Devante Peete has said he is very interested in the Buckeyes as he hails from pipeline high school St. Thomas Aquinas. Peete stands at 6-6 and currently has his crystal ball split 50-50 between the Buckeyes and Hurricanes. Peete has flirted with the idea of being a Buckeye often, but he is yet to even visit campus. Peete has been scheduled to visit on numerous occasions including recently on ‘Friday Night Lights’, but every time has had a reason on why he couldn’t make the trip. This recruitment is a pretty easy one to read in if Peete makes the visit to Ohio State, then Ohio State becomes the overall favorite in Peete’s recruitment, but if Peete doesn’t make the trip, then he won’t be a Buckeye and will most likely land at local Miami with his teammates Jordan Scarlett and fellow Wide Receiver Sam Bruce.

download (2)Lawrence Cager is the Wide Receiver that most experts and fans are most confident will end up in the Scarlet and Grey. Cager is a 6-5 Wideout from Towson, MD and recently earned an offer from the Buckeyes after camping at ‘Friday Night Lights’. Cager seemed to love his visit to campus as he got to bond more with Quarterback Torrance Gibson, who he originally met at The Opening. Cager has since narrowed his choices down to a final 7 in Alabama, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. He recently told me that he planned to make an official visit to Columbus for the Virginia Tech game on September 6th. There is no doubt that the offer from Ohio State was a game changer to him as it was the one he coveted the most growing up a Buckeye fan.  It won’t be surprising one bit to see Lawrence Cager to be one of the names rolled out as an Ohio State signee come National Signing Day 2015. The visit on September 6th should seal the deal.

So as you can see, Buckeye fans don’t get worked up about not having a Wide Receiver in the 2015 class just yet because Urban Meyer is on some great prospects who he has a very good chance of landing. It will just take a little bit of time to see which one’s of Kirk, Jefferson, Peete, and Cager decide to join the family at Ohio State and ultimately don the Scarlet and Grey in 2015.