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LGHL Elite 2025 linebacker includes Ohio State in top five schools
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Elite 2025 linebacker includes Ohio State in top five schools
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star linebacker Anthony Sacca via Brian Dohn, 247Sports
The Buckeyes made the cut for a 2025 four-star linebacker and continue their pursuit of five-star WR Jaime Ffrench.
With the Kansas City Chiefs earning a victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night, the football season has come to a close. Fortunately for us football junkies in Ohio, college football never ends with recruiting and the ever-evolving transfer portal.
Ohio State is one of the best programs in the country when it comes to recruiting, so even in the offseason, the Buckeyes make headlines. In case you were busy Monday or mentally exhausted from the night before and missed any of the latest news, no need to worry as Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered.
Ohio State is currently in the process of putting together a recruiting class for the ages. With the 2024 cycle officially wrapped up, the Buckeyes have placed all focus on next year’s class and the ones following.
Ohio State also had the advantage of recruiting next year’s class early, which is already paying off dividends. The Buckeyes have eight verbal commitments in 2025 thus far, which is good enough for the fourth best class right now. Even more impressive is the average rating of their commits at 95.94, trailing only USC who has just one commitment.
The Buckeyes are putting heavy focus on the defensive side of the ball for next year’s class, and they learned over the weekend that they are closer to securing one of the class’ best linebackers in four-star Anthony Sacca (Philadelphia, PA / St. Joseph’s Prep School). Sacca released his top five schools and Ohio State made the cut.
Alongside Ohio State, Sacca also included Alabama, Duke, Notre Dame and Wisconsin in his top schools.
Ohio State has long been recruiting Sacca, so it has to love that the work is paying off. Sacca first visited Ohio State last summer for a summer recruiting camp. The visit went well and Sacca made a return visit with the Buckeyes for an in-game experience for the Penn State game. Since the visits, Ohio State has remained in constant contact with Sacca and are now one of his finalists.
Expect Ohio State to continue pursuing Sacca, and try to get him back on campus again before he makes a decision. The Buckeyes making linebacker a position of importance in next year’s class, and Sacca would be an excellent addition.
The Buckeyes already hold a verbal commitment from three-star LB Eli Lee. Ohio State is also trending for four-star LB Tavros Alford. Alford is set to commit on March 30, and Ohio State is one of the favorites alongside Florida.
Sacca is the No. 21 LB and the No. 173 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 4 recruit out of Pennsylvania.
French is the No. 3 WR in next year’s class and following Nick Saban’s departure, he decommitted from Alabama. Ohio State has been heavily involved in his recruitment from even before he joined the Crimson Tide’s class, and since his de-commitment the Buckeyes appear to be making headway.
247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Tom Loy recently caught up with Ffrench, and he believes Ohio State is in a great standing. So much so, he is almost ready to cast a Crystal Ball prediction in their favor.
Continue reading...
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star linebacker Anthony Sacca via Brian Dohn, 247Sports
The Buckeyes made the cut for a 2025 four-star linebacker and continue their pursuit of five-star WR Jaime Ffrench.
With the Kansas City Chiefs earning a victory over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night, the football season has come to a close. Fortunately for us football junkies in Ohio, college football never ends with recruiting and the ever-evolving transfer portal.
Ohio State is one of the best programs in the country when it comes to recruiting, so even in the offseason, the Buckeyes make headlines. In case you were busy Monday or mentally exhausted from the night before and missed any of the latest news, no need to worry as Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered.
Ohio State in top five for 2025 LB
Ohio State is currently in the process of putting together a recruiting class for the ages. With the 2024 cycle officially wrapped up, the Buckeyes have placed all focus on next year’s class and the ones following.
Ohio State also had the advantage of recruiting next year’s class early, which is already paying off dividends. The Buckeyes have eight verbal commitments in 2025 thus far, which is good enough for the fourth best class right now. Even more impressive is the average rating of their commits at 95.94, trailing only USC who has just one commitment.
The Buckeyes are putting heavy focus on the defensive side of the ball for next year’s class, and they learned over the weekend that they are closer to securing one of the class’ best linebackers in four-star Anthony Sacca (Philadelphia, PA / St. Joseph’s Prep School). Sacca released his top five schools and Ohio State made the cut.
Alongside Ohio State, Sacca also included Alabama, Duke, Notre Dame and Wisconsin in his top schools.
Ohio State has long been recruiting Sacca, so it has to love that the work is paying off. Sacca first visited Ohio State last summer for a summer recruiting camp. The visit went well and Sacca made a return visit with the Buckeyes for an in-game experience for the Penn State game. Since the visits, Ohio State has remained in constant contact with Sacca and are now one of his finalists.
Expect Ohio State to continue pursuing Sacca, and try to get him back on campus again before he makes a decision. The Buckeyes making linebacker a position of importance in next year’s class, and Sacca would be an excellent addition.
The Buckeyes already hold a verbal commitment from three-star LB Eli Lee. Ohio State is also trending for four-star LB Tavros Alford. Alford is set to commit on March 30, and Ohio State is one of the favorites alongside Florida.
Sacca is the No. 21 LB and the No. 173 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 4 recruit out of Pennsylvania.
Quick Hits
- Ohio State continues to take advantage of the multiple coaching changes in college football this offseason. The most recent update along these lines is with former 2025 Alabama five-star WR commit Jaime Ffrench.
French is the No. 3 WR in next year’s class and following Nick Saban’s departure, he decommitted from Alabama. Ohio State has been heavily involved in his recruitment from even before he joined the Crimson Tide’s class, and since his de-commitment the Buckeyes appear to be making headway.
247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Tom Loy recently caught up with Ffrench, and he believes Ohio State is in a great standing. So much so, he is almost ready to cast a Crystal Ball prediction in their favor.
Continue reading...
LGHL How does Chip Kelly fit as Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator?
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- 0 Replies
How does Chip Kelly fit as Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator?
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Did the Buckeyes potentially upgrade by accident?
Well, Ohio State has a new offensive coordinator... Again. Less than a month after naming Bill O’Brien – an experienced head coach with NFL chops – as the Buckeyes’ OC, Ryan Day was forced to go back to the drawing board when O’Brien (smartly, rightfully, understandably?) took the head coaching gig at Boston College.
So what did Day do? He flipped through the ol’ Rolodex and found another experienced HC with NFL chops. This one just happened to be a sitting HC in the Big Ten, with whom Day has a very, very good relationship.
Of course, I am talking about Chip Kelly, now-former head honcho at UCLA. And Oregon. And Philadelphia and San Francisco in the NFL. And, oh yeah, a man who happens to be Day’s mentor and boss from a past (football) life. Talk about continuity and the stars aligning. This would be like if I hired Bill Simmons to be my podcasting coach and/or producer... Only Simmons is completely unaware of my existence, so it’s sort of like a distant, hands-off mentorship. But other than that, we’re super close and you get what I am trying to say here.
Day hiring Kelly is a rare(ish) example of the mentee hiring the mentor. The pupil hiring the teacher. The understudy hiring the star. It is even more rare that Kelly left his post at UCLA – a Power 5 school in the same conference as Ohio State (!) – to come and work for Day. However, this seems to be where we’re at with college football. Coaches are willing to essentially volunteer for a demotion if it means that they can just coach ball and not have to worry about all the otherBS stuff.
So now Kelly is in Columbus, for better or (for) worse. As in, is Chip Kelly a better or worse option/hire/OC – for OSU specifically – than Bill O’Brien? I am going to say that Kelly is both better and worse. That’s right, I’m hedging. But for very good and very specific reasons. Please allow me to explain...
When it comes to offensive acumen and simply coaching up a unit, you can’t really ask for a better candidate than Kelly. I mean, sure, you could throw Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan at me, but let’s not veer off course here. At the end of the day, Kelly knows offense. Very, very well. And he finds a way to put up points like few others can. Need a reminder of how good he has been with high-end talent? I got ya.
With Kelly calling plays at Oregon, the Ducks never averaged fewer than 38.2 points per game. Here is where they finished nationally from 2007-2012, with Kelly acting as OC and then HC: 12th, 7th, 8th, 1st, 3rd, 2nd. During his first two seasons (2013 and ’14) in Philly the Eagles finished 4th and 3rd, again referring to PPG scored.
Then the wheels fell off a little bit, but the talent at Kelly’s disposal fell off even further. In San Fran, his running backs were Carlos Hyde (beloved Buckeye, no offense) and Shaun Draughn. His top two wide receivers were Jeremy Kerley and Quinton Patton. I mean, c’mon!
Some would come back at me and say that Kelly’s best years were roughly a decade ago, but I vehemently disagree. UCLA finished in the top 20 in scoring offense each season from 2020-2022, peaking at No. 8 in ’22 — with far less talent than Ohio State has. I could keep throwing out stats from the past two decades, but my point is this: With considerable talent at his disposal, Kelly has always put up points in bunches. And the Buckeyes have considerable talent.
Kelly’s track record and/or resume is easy to point to as one reason I like the hire. And why I think he could be an upgrade over what O’Brien was supposed to be. But there are also several other reasons. In the interest of time, I will run through just a few of them quickly.
Kelly and Day obviously have great chemistry with each other, but don’t forget that they (both) also have great chemistry with Justin Frye. Frye was another mentee of the Buckeyes’ new OC, and the two helped devise one of nation’s best rushing attacks during their time together at UCLA. Speaking of rushing attacks, OSU has TreVeyon Hendreson and Quinshon Judkins on their roster... Seems relevant, seems good. Just going to let those last few sentences speak for themselves.
Frankly, I just think that the cohesiveness between Day, Kelly, and Frye will pay great dividends for Ohio State, especially in the run game. On top of that, Day trusts Kelly perhaps more than any other coach on the face of the planet, so bringing the latter in will allow the former to focus on his CEO role — even more so than if he had brought O’Brien in, with whom Day does not have nearly the same level of familiarity.
Regarding O’Brien, and why Kelly might actually be the inferior choice... Well, I will keep this brief as well. Kelly is known for his prowess in the run game, not so much for his development of quarterbacks. O’Brien, on the other hand, spent years working with Tom Brady and got the best out of guys like Deshaun Watson and Bryce Young. New Ohio State QB Will Howard could use some seasoning as a passer, and I think O’Brien would have done better in that department.
O’Brien also just has a stronger resume as a pure football coach, so I think he would have demanded greater attention from players. Not that Kelly won’t (command attention), I just prefer a “presence” such as O’Brien. Plus, I think it’s fair to ask if Day will hold Kelly accountable or get on him if need be, given their relationship. Whereas with O’Brien and Day, I think it was set to be a football relationship only, with none of the personal stuff hanging over it.
Hopefully I didn’t talk in circles there, explaining why I believe that the Kelly hiring has its positives and its negatives. But overall, I am pretty excited for this new era, and that’s all that really matters.
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Did the Buckeyes potentially upgrade by accident?
Well, Ohio State has a new offensive coordinator... Again. Less than a month after naming Bill O’Brien – an experienced head coach with NFL chops – as the Buckeyes’ OC, Ryan Day was forced to go back to the drawing board when O’Brien (smartly, rightfully, understandably?) took the head coaching gig at Boston College.
So what did Day do? He flipped through the ol’ Rolodex and found another experienced HC with NFL chops. This one just happened to be a sitting HC in the Big Ten, with whom Day has a very, very good relationship.
Of course, I am talking about Chip Kelly, now-former head honcho at UCLA. And Oregon. And Philadelphia and San Francisco in the NFL. And, oh yeah, a man who happens to be Day’s mentor and boss from a past (football) life. Talk about continuity and the stars aligning. This would be like if I hired Bill Simmons to be my podcasting coach and/or producer... Only Simmons is completely unaware of my existence, so it’s sort of like a distant, hands-off mentorship. But other than that, we’re super close and you get what I am trying to say here.
Day hiring Kelly is a rare(ish) example of the mentee hiring the mentor. The pupil hiring the teacher. The understudy hiring the star. It is even more rare that Kelly left his post at UCLA – a Power 5 school in the same conference as Ohio State (!) – to come and work for Day. However, this seems to be where we’re at with college football. Coaches are willing to essentially volunteer for a demotion if it means that they can just coach ball and not have to worry about all the other
So now Kelly is in Columbus, for better or (for) worse. As in, is Chip Kelly a better or worse option/hire/OC – for OSU specifically – than Bill O’Brien? I am going to say that Kelly is both better and worse. That’s right, I’m hedging. But for very good and very specific reasons. Please allow me to explain...
When it comes to offensive acumen and simply coaching up a unit, you can’t really ask for a better candidate than Kelly. I mean, sure, you could throw Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan at me, but let’s not veer off course here. At the end of the day, Kelly knows offense. Very, very well. And he finds a way to put up points like few others can. Need a reminder of how good he has been with high-end talent? I got ya.
With Kelly calling plays at Oregon, the Ducks never averaged fewer than 38.2 points per game. Here is where they finished nationally from 2007-2012, with Kelly acting as OC and then HC: 12th, 7th, 8th, 1st, 3rd, 2nd. During his first two seasons (2013 and ’14) in Philly the Eagles finished 4th and 3rd, again referring to PPG scored.
Then the wheels fell off a little bit, but the talent at Kelly’s disposal fell off even further. In San Fran, his running backs were Carlos Hyde (beloved Buckeye, no offense) and Shaun Draughn. His top two wide receivers were Jeremy Kerley and Quinton Patton. I mean, c’mon!
Some would come back at me and say that Kelly’s best years were roughly a decade ago, but I vehemently disagree. UCLA finished in the top 20 in scoring offense each season from 2020-2022, peaking at No. 8 in ’22 — with far less talent than Ohio State has. I could keep throwing out stats from the past two decades, but my point is this: With considerable talent at his disposal, Kelly has always put up points in bunches. And the Buckeyes have considerable talent.
Kelly’s track record and/or resume is easy to point to as one reason I like the hire. And why I think he could be an upgrade over what O’Brien was supposed to be. But there are also several other reasons. In the interest of time, I will run through just a few of them quickly.
Kelly and Day obviously have great chemistry with each other, but don’t forget that they (both) also have great chemistry with Justin Frye. Frye was another mentee of the Buckeyes’ new OC, and the two helped devise one of nation’s best rushing attacks during their time together at UCLA. Speaking of rushing attacks, OSU has TreVeyon Hendreson and Quinshon Judkins on their roster... Seems relevant, seems good. Just going to let those last few sentences speak for themselves.
Frankly, I just think that the cohesiveness between Day, Kelly, and Frye will pay great dividends for Ohio State, especially in the run game. On top of that, Day trusts Kelly perhaps more than any other coach on the face of the planet, so bringing the latter in will allow the former to focus on his CEO role — even more so than if he had brought O’Brien in, with whom Day does not have nearly the same level of familiarity.
Regarding O’Brien, and why Kelly might actually be the inferior choice... Well, I will keep this brief as well. Kelly is known for his prowess in the run game, not so much for his development of quarterbacks. O’Brien, on the other hand, spent years working with Tom Brady and got the best out of guys like Deshaun Watson and Bryce Young. New Ohio State QB Will Howard could use some seasoning as a passer, and I think O’Brien would have done better in that department.
O’Brien also just has a stronger resume as a pure football coach, so I think he would have demanded greater attention from players. Not that Kelly won’t (command attention), I just prefer a “presence” such as O’Brien. Plus, I think it’s fair to ask if Day will hold Kelly accountable or get on him if need be, given their relationship. Whereas with O’Brien and Day, I think it was set to be a football relationship only, with none of the personal stuff hanging over it.
Hopefully I didn’t talk in circles there, explaining why I believe that the Kelly hiring has its positives and its negatives. But overall, I am pretty excited for this new era, and that’s all that really matters.
Continue reading...
Ohio State at Wisconsin, Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 9 PM ET, Peacock
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Basketball
- 32 Replies
Buckeyes at No. 20 Wisconsin Tuesday Night
Ohio State starts a big week of games on Tuesday night as the Buckeyes head to Madison to take on No. 20 Wisconsin. That will be followed by a game with No. 2 Purdue at home on Sunday. Tip-off Tuesday is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock. Paul Burmeister and Robbie Hummel will call the action.- This will be the 174th all-time meeting and the Buckeyes officially lead the series 91-76. Wisconsin leads 48-31 in Madison, but the teams have split the last four meetings in the Kohl Center.
- The recent series has been close. The teams have split the last 12 meetings 6-6 and over the last six meetings, the teams are tied 3-3 and the Buckeyes have outscored Wisconsin by just two combined points, 422-420.
- Earlier this year, Wisconsin pulled-away late in a 71-60 victory in Columbus on Jan. 10. The Buckeyes used a 10-2 run to lead 56-52 with 6:19 to play, but Wisconsin closed on a 19-4 run to run away with the victory. Jamison Battle posted 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from long range. Max Klesmit scored all of his team-high 18 points in the second half to lead the Badgers.
- The Buckeyes snapped a five-game losing skid on Saturday with a hard-fought 79-75 double-overtime victory over Maryland. Point guards Bruce Thornton and Jahmir Young dueled down the stretch and it was Thornton who scored last, lifting the Buckeyes with a driving lay-up late in double-OT. Thornton finished with team-highs of 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Roddy Gayle Jr. added 17 points and played stellar defense on Young down the stretch.
- The game Saturday was Ohio State’s 19th double-overtime game in program history. They have won each of the last two and are now 10-9 in those games.
- Bruce Thornton returned to form last Saturday with 24 points in the win over Maryland. Thornton burst out of the gates this season, but his pace slowed over the last month. He got his bounce back and willed the Buckeyes to the double-OT victory, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, and plus/minus. Here’s hoping that’s a sign of good things to come down the stretch.
- Jamison Battle went 0-for-3 from long range Saturday vs. Maryland. That was his first game this season without a three-point make. So that means he’s due for a big game from deep on Tuesday, right? Interestingly, his previous game without a three-pointer also came against Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament last season.
- Wisconsin enters Tuesday on a skid. The Badgers have dropped four-consecutive games, three of which have come on the road. Wisconsin has used the same starting lineup in all 24 games and those five are five of the team’s six leading scorers. AJ Storr leads the way at 16.4 ppg.
Ohio State Can Embrace Nothing-to-Lose Mentality in Next Two Games Against No. 20 Wisconsin and No. 2 Purdue
Currently outside the NCAA Tournament bubble and considered heavy underdogs, Ohio State has nothing to lose and everything to gain from beating either Wisconsin or Purdue this week.
OHIO STATE CAN EMBRACE NOTHING-TO-LOSE MENTALITY IN NEXT TWO GAMES AGAINST NO. 20 WISCONSIN AND NO. 2 PURDUE
Ohio State almost has no choice but to play with nothing to lose.
What else is there to do but gain from here? The Buckeyes aren’t on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament at this juncture, slotted at 71st in the NET rankings with a combined 1-9 record in Quadrant 1 and 2 games.
Their only way back in is to win where nobody expects them to. And almost nobody outside the program expects Ohio State to beat No. 20 Wisconsin on the road on Tuesday or No. 2 Purdue at home on Sunday.
“I think the reality is that that can be a help at times,” Chris Holtmann said on Monday. “But you’re really just focused on learning from what we did in the Wisconsin game good that we can do better and maybe where there’s some things we need to tweak or change going into that (game). Then after that, tackling this Purdue team, figuring out the best way to put a gameplan in for those guys.”
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Wisconsin could be a more winnable game than it appears at first glance.
The Badgers are on a four-game losing streak, plummeting from No. 6 in the AP Poll to No. 20 in just two weeks. Their two most recent losses were at Michigan and at Rutgers, the teams currently placed last and fourth to last in the Big Ten.
“I know Wisconsin’s had some bumps in the road here with playing three out of four on the road and their one home game was Purdue,” Holtmann said. “They’ll certainly be hungry, we’re hungry, and it should be a great atmosphere there.”
Ohio State hung tough with a hotter Wisconsin team in Value City Arena on Jan. 10, leading 56-52 midway through the second half before the Badgers dismantled them with a 19-4 extended run to close a 71-60 victory.
Despite those trends working in the Buckeyes’ favor, the fact remains that they have been downright abysmal on the road the past two seasons. They are one game shy of equaling the school record for longest road losing streak, having lost 15 in a row in hostile environments.
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Wisconsin vs. Ohio State: How to Watch, Channel, Prediction, Odds - Feb 13 | FOX Sports
Preview the February 13 matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Ohio State Buckeyes with how to watch, tv channel info, predictions, odds, over/under, spread, betting lines and more.
www.foxsports.com
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State: 2023-24 Stats Comparison
| WISCONSIN | OHIO STATE | |
|---|---|---|
| Points Scored Per Game (Rank) | 74.3 (171) | 75.3 (146) |
| Points Allowed (Rank) | 68.4 (93) | 70 (126) |
| Rebounds (Rank) | 8.7 (190) | 9.6 (107) |
| 3pt Made (Rank) | 6.8 (243) | 7.1 (215) |
| Assists (Rank) | 12 (284) | 13.7 (140) |
| Turnovers (Rank) | 9.6 (39) | 9.8 (47) |
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State Prediction
- Pick ATS: Ohio State (+9)
- Pick OU: Over (139.5)
- Prediction: Wisconsin 76, Ohio State 68
Ohio State vs Wisconsin Prediction College Basketball Picks 2/13/24
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State 2/13/24: College Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
pickdawgz.com
Ohio State vs Wisconsin Betting Prediction
