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.

Class of 2015 Wide Receiver Recruiting Targets

Ohio State fans have seen things starting to pick up again for the 2015 class.  Less than a month ago, we were sitting at two commits.  Now, we are up to six and are adding more.  Let’s dive into the wide receiver recruiting for the class of 2015 and who I think will end up as Buckeyes in the end.

1. Van Jefferson- Brentwood, TN

Van has just always been high on the Buckeyes.  He visited in March and there were reports that his Dad wanted to talk to the coaches more on how the passing game would be improved.  It seemed like the questions were answered on the visit as by all accounts, the visit went very well.  It is known by many that Van Jefferson has always had the Buckeyes on top.  The school that is giving OSU the most competition in my opinion, is Tennessee.  He is a pure wide receiver.  He runs great routes, good hands, and just an overall sense of the wide receiver position.  He earned MVP at the WR position for the Birmingham NFTC and was invited to”The Opening” in Beaverton, Oregon.  I think that Ohio State is in a good position to land Jefferson.  But, if LSU offers it might be one to watch.  He does like LSU and is an offer he wants.  I do think that he will be a Buckeye, when it is all done.\

2. Christian Kirk -Saguaro, AZ

To many, Christian Kirk is the best wide receiver in this class.  The Saguaro, Arizona standout does it all at the receiver position.  He has good speed, great acceleration, and just has that “it” factor that every college coach is drooling over.  He has been to Ohio State before and loved the visit.  He knows that he could do wonders in Urban’s offense, well he could do wonders in anyone’s offense, but still.  He is visiting Ohio State this weekend and many people think that his college choice will come down to Ohio State and Texas A&M.  He has a top ten right now with schools all over the country from Pac-12 territory to SEC country.  Ohio State is on the list and I fully expect that to be there till the end.  I do not think Ohio State leads right now, but, he is visiting this upcoming weekend, and if all goes well, he very easily could become a Buckeye.   I still think there is work in this recruitment, but it is definitely not out of the question.  If he loves Ohio State again I think we have a good shot.  Stick close to this situation Buckeye fans.

3. Devante Peete- Pompano Beach, FL

Standing just about 6’6, Devante Peete’s size is what most coaches loathe more than anything about Devante Peete.  The St. Thomas Aquinas standout wide receiver, has offers from schools all across the nation.  He has good speed for a tall receiver as well.  The Crystal Balls on Peete are split down the middle 50/50 to Miami and Ohio State.  I think this will come down to the home town Hurricanes and Ohio State.  He has not been to Ohio State but there is a reason he has Ohio State at the top with Miami without even visiting.  St. Thomas has  been good to Ohio State in the past, (Joey Bosa), and I think that is going to continue with Peete as I think he will pick the Buckeyes in the end.  Just a hunch as he has not visited but loves everything about Ohio State.