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LGHL Ohio State misses out on four-star DB, trending poorly for pair of OL

Ohio State misses out on four-star DB, trending poorly for pair of OL
Gene Ross
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Four-star 2025 safety Messiah Delhomme | 247Sports

The Buckeyes have had a less than stellar last few weeks on the recruiting trail.

Ohio State still lays claim to the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2025, but the Buckeyes’ chances of holding onto that lead come National Signing Day have become a lot slimmer after a tough few weeks on the trail.

On Saturday, Ohio State missed out on four-star safety Messiah Delhomme, who announced his commitment to Maryland. Delhomme, the No. 16 safety and No. 192 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite, chose the Terrapins out of a final six schools list that also included the Buckeyes alongside Alabama, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech.


Glad to say I’m part of the terps family ❤️@CoachLocks @ZSpavital @Latrell__Scott @Rivals @Coach_D_Moody pic.twitter.com/hWaEjfkEaR

— Messiah Delhomme (@DelhommeMessiah) August 11, 2024

It seemed as though Delhomme would become a much bigger target for Ohio State after in-state safety Trey McNutt announced his commitment Oregon, but it doesn’t sound like any sort of late push took place for the Buckeyes. Instead, position coach Matt Guerrieri will settle on a three-man class at the position that includes Faheem Delane (No. 2 safety), Cody Haddad (No. 20), and Deshawn Stewart (No. 26).

Elsewhere, Ohio State appears headed for bad news in regards to the top two offensive linemen remaining on its board. The big one, of course, being five-star offensive tackle David Sanders. Jr., who is now trending towards Tennessee.


Logged an On3 RPM in favor of Tennessee for them to land the nation's No. 1 OT David Sanders Jr. The buzz behind the prediction here: https://t.co/9WCe363RHN pic.twitter.com/DrAWykpEsZ

— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong_) August 9, 2024

It has long felt like a two-school battle between Ohio State and Tennessee for the nation’s No. 1 OT and No. 2 overall player, but the closer-to-home Volunteers now have all the momentum with just a few days remaining under Sanders’ Aug. 17 commitment date. The lone 247Sports Crystal Ball as well as all four On3 RPM’s sit with Tennessee, and while these predictions aren’t the end-all be-all, they are more often than not a good indication of the final result.

Elsewhere, the Buckeyes had seemingly come on strong of late for fellow five-star offensive lineman Josh Petty, but the Georgia native is now trending heavily towards Georgia Tech.


On3’s @SWiltfong_ and @ChadSimmons_ have logged expert predictions for Georgia Tech to land 5-star IOL Josh Petty

Petty ranks No. 29 NATL. (No. 2 IOL) in the 2025 class‼️

Read: https://t.co/titxn2Mv7Y pic.twitter.com/7DnQnLgUTf

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) August 8, 2024

Petty, the No. 2 OT and No. 14 player overall per 247Sports’ rankings, is set to announce his decision on Monday between a final five of Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Stanford and Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets appear to be his most likely destination, as all four Crystal Balls and three RPM’s favorite the in-state program.

As far as things go for Ohio State, this is a pretty disastrous outcome. The Buckeyes had virtually all of their eggs in the Sanders basket, outside of the late push for Petty, and now come away with just two offensive linemen committed in the 2025 class and with few other options still out there. There no other uncommitted offensive tackles with OSU offers outside of Sanders and Petty, and the only interior prospect still on the board is three-star Maryland native Jayvon McFadden.

Even if they are to land McFadden, which is a big ‘if’ at this point with how the rest of the recruiting at this position has gone, a two or three-man class with only one blue chip prospect in four-star Ohio native Carter Lowe is pretty much a nightmare scenario for the Buckeyes, who will almost certainly be losing at least three if not four of the five starters this season to the NFL Draft and graduation.

It is tough to imagine that position coach Justin Frye isn’t on the hot seat, who came in to try and fix the recruiting woes caused by Greg Studrawa, and has instead replicated them. Ohio State is simply not casting a wide enough net when it comes to recruiting offensive linemen, only offering 29 OL in this cycle (19 tackles and 10 IOL), compared to schools like Alabama (37), Georgia (46) and Michigan (44). Whether it's poor process or just plain laziness, that type of effort isn’t going to get the job done at the highest level.

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LGHL Cody Simon embracing leadership role at linebacker for Ohio State

Cody Simon embracing leadership role at linebacker for Ohio State
Brett Ludwiczak
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ohio State v Purdue

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Ahead of final season in Columbus, Simon is getting rave reviews from his linebackers coach

Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Akron.



Over the last couple decades, Ohio State has built a nice little pipeline finding recruits from the state of New Jersey. It started with Malcolm Jenkins in the class of 2005 and has picked up steam since then. Notable recruits from the Garden State have been Eli Apple, Jordan Fuller, and Noah Brown. Currently on the roster is Cody Simon, who came to Columbus via St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City. Simon was the third-ranked player in the state of New Jersey in the class of 2020, making him the fourth top-five prospect from the state to come to Ohio State from 2018 to 2020. The others during that span were Tyler Friday, Ronnie Hickman, and Luke Wypler.

It didn’t take Simon long to get on the field once he arrived on campus, as he played six games as a true freshman in 2020, mainly contributing on special teams and adding to depth at linebacker. While the times when Simon was on the field might have not been in the most important circumstances, the work he put in allowed him to gain the trust of the coaching staff so they could put more on his plate in the following years.

As a sophomore, Simon started to see his workload increase in 2021, as he registered 54 tackles in 10 starts for the Buckeyes. In a win early in the season over Akron, Simon recorded the first, and so far only, interception in his career. Unfortunately for Simon, he was unable to play in the 2022 Rose Bowl against Utah after being sidelined due to an injury that would also keep him off the field for spring practices a few months later.

After sitting out spring practices, Simon was ready to go when Ohio State kicked off their 2022 season against Notre Dame. Unfortunately for Simon, it felt like missing out on those practices to become more familiar with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense contributed to a subpar junior season for the linebacker. Simon finished seventh on the team with 32 tackles, but on the positive side, Simon was getting in the backfield more, registering two sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.

The 2023 season saw Simon regain the form we saw from him as a sophomore, finishing the season with a career-high 57 tackles. While Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers were the starters at linebacker for Ohio State, Simon was a big part of the Buckeye defense, especially when Eichenberg was injured late in the season. While the offense was dreadful in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri, Simon played the best game of his college career, finishing with a career-high 12 tackles against the tackles. The performance set the table for Simon returning for one more season in Columbus, where he would undoubtedly be one of the starters at linebacker entering the season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OCT 14 Ohio State at Purdue
Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Along with being a starter in 2024, new linebackers coach James Laurinaitis said Simon is the “unquestioned leader” of the Ohio State linebacker room. With Sonny Styles moving from safety to linebacker, C.J. Hicks trying to live up to the hype that surrounded him coming out of high school, and a number of younger linebackers trying to make a name for themselves, Simon is going to be looked at as the steadying force of the group because of the experience he brings to the table.

While some players shy away from being leaders, Simon is embracing the role, saying he has been preparing to be in a position like this his whole life. Even though Simon will have a lot of help at the other levels of the defense with the ridiculous amount of talent Ohio State has returning on that side of the football, we have seen just how dangerous the Buckeye defense can be when they get competent play from their linebackers. Simon is definitely smart enough to take on the role of the quarterback of the linebackers, and he has shown he has the physical tools to make the plays necessary. If there is anyone on the defense who deserves a Big Ten title and a deep run in the College Football Playoff, it is Cody Simon.

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Google Ohio State Freshman Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith Ignoring Hype, Ready To Show Capabilities With Buckeyes - Buckeye Sports Bulletin

Ohio State Freshman Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith Ignoring Hype, Ready To Show Capabilities With Buckeyes - Buckeye Sports Bulletin
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".

Ohio State Freshman Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith Ignoring Hype, Ready To Show Capabilities With Buckeyes Buckeye Sports Bulletin

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