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LGHL Buckeyes playing waiting game for elite transfer portal target Darrion Williams
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Buckeyes playing waiting game for elite transfer portal target Darrion Williams
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Ohio State is playing the long game in hopes of landing an elite Texas Tech transfer.
April was a good month for the Ohio State men’s basketball program. After missing the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, Jake Diebler and his staff set out to make sure they were able to bring back the most productive players from last season’s team and then reinforce it with experienced transfer players that addressed weaknesses from last season.
In about a two-week span, they were able to check both of those boxes.
From March 27 to April 15, Ohio State was able to make public the returns of Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal, and John Mobley Jr. – a trio of starters who combined to score 44.4 points per game last season. In addition, former Wright State forward Brandon Noel and former Santa Clara center Christoph Tilly both announced that they would transfer to Ohio State. That pair of frontcourt transfers combined to score 31.5 points per game last season at their respective schools.
Since then, it’s been pretty much radio silence from the men’s basketball program. Sean Stewart hit the transfer portal hours before the deadline, but the soon-to-be junior forward was not projected to retain his starting spot he had last season. His departure isn’t nothing, but it does seem negligible if Noel and Tilly prove to be as good as expected.
Ohio State’s inactivity in the transfer market over the past three weeks could be the result of an inability to “land the big one.” The Buckeyes are rumored to be on the lookout for a starting-caliber guard as well a backup center, and had been involved with multiple big-time backcourt pieces, including former Southern Illinois guard Kennard Davis Jr. and former Howard guard Blake Harper.
Davis Jr. announced last week that he would be transferring to BYU, while Harper announced that he would transfer to Creighton for the upcoming season.
While Ohio State may have just whiffed on each of those recruits, it’s starting to look more likely that Diebler and his staff are actually waiting out another player – former Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams.
At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Williams was listed as a forward on Texas Tech’s official roster but has racked up nearly 300 assists in his collegiate career and was second on TTU last season with 3.6 assists per game. He’s also a 37.9% three-point shooter and averaged 15.1 points per game as a junior. He is allegedly considering Ohio State, Kansas, and North Carolina State for next season, as well as possible other suitors that have yet to be publicly linked.
The only issue – well, the biggest issue – is that Williams is hoping that he’ll be playing in the NBA next season, not college.
Williams entered the NBA Draft on April 6, and put his name into the NCAA Transfer portal the same day. On Friday afternoon, Williams, along with 74 other players, was invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine from May 11-18 in Chicago.
A combine invite is promising for a player’s draft stock, and will give the two-time All-Big 12 honoree ample opportunity to improve his draft stock. At the moment, Williams is looking like a mid-to-late second round pick – Tankathon has him going 47th overall, The Athletic has him at 39, and Yahoo Sports has him pegged as the 41st overall pick.
If Williams doesn’t get a first-round guarantee from a team at the NBA Combine next week, there’s a good chance he decides to play one more year of college. He would almost be guaranteed to earn more in NIL compensation at the college level (anywhere from $2-$4 Million) than he would as a middle of the second round selection.
Last season, the 39th pick in the draft – Jaylen Wells – signed a 4-year, $7.9-million dollar deal with the Grizzlies, with an average salary of $1.9-million.
The 47th pick in last year’s draft – Antonio Reeves – signed a 3-year, $5.4-million dollar contract with the Pelicans.
In 2023, the 47th overall pick – Mojave King – was drafted by the Lakers and traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he played a partial season for the G-League Indiana Mad Ants. The average salary for a G-League player is $40,000 If they aren’t on a two-way deal.
Ohio State has not been publicly linked with any other guards/small forwards over the last few weeks, making it seem like the program may be waiting out Williams as he goes through the draft process. On April 25, Diebler told Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch that fans may need to be “prepared to wait a bit” before any more players are added to the roster.
Is this the smart move? The NBA Draft Combine ends May 18, but Williams will have until June 15 to make a decision if he wants to stay in the draft or not. The Buckeyes could come up completely empty-handed if they wait, but is Diebler flipping the old idiom and deciding that two birds in the bush is worth more than the one in his hand?
In other words – is it worth the risk of not recruiting any other starting-caliber players and selling out for someone who (statistically speaking) is more likely to end up on some other team—whether that’s an NBA or college team — come June?
It seems like the answer to that – at least as of now – is yes. They can afford to gamble because Ohio State is returning more production from last year’s team than basically any other Big Ten program.
With Thornton, Royal, and Mobley back, Ohio State is one of just two Big Ten teams – along with Purdue – that will return at least three double-digit scorers. It’s also one of just three Big Ten teams – Purdue and UCLA being the other two – to return three of its top four scorers from a season ago.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25983738/usa_today_25592725.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Colorado at Texas Tech")
Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images
If the Buckeyes wait out Williams and don’t get a commitment, they seem fairly comfortable with what they’ve assembled to this point. But adding an All-American caliber player like Williams would be a huge boost to the team and should make them a consensus top-25 squad next season, as well as a serious contender in the Big Ten.
At this moment, it looks like if Ohio State is going to add another starter to the team via the transfer portal, it will be Darrion Williams. If that doesn’t shake out the way Diebler and his staff hope it does, many of the other available options will likely be off the board by the time he makes a decision. It looks like the coaching staff is fine with that.
And so we wait.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Ohio State is playing the long game in hopes of landing an elite Texas Tech transfer.
April was a good month for the Ohio State men’s basketball program. After missing the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, Jake Diebler and his staff set out to make sure they were able to bring back the most productive players from last season’s team and then reinforce it with experienced transfer players that addressed weaknesses from last season.
In about a two-week span, they were able to check both of those boxes.
From March 27 to April 15, Ohio State was able to make public the returns of Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal, and John Mobley Jr. – a trio of starters who combined to score 44.4 points per game last season. In addition, former Wright State forward Brandon Noel and former Santa Clara center Christoph Tilly both announced that they would transfer to Ohio State. That pair of frontcourt transfers combined to score 31.5 points per game last season at their respective schools.
Since then, it’s been pretty much radio silence from the men’s basketball program. Sean Stewart hit the transfer portal hours before the deadline, but the soon-to-be junior forward was not projected to retain his starting spot he had last season. His departure isn’t nothing, but it does seem negligible if Noel and Tilly prove to be as good as expected.
Ohio State’s inactivity in the transfer market over the past three weeks could be the result of an inability to “land the big one.” The Buckeyes are rumored to be on the lookout for a starting-caliber guard as well a backup center, and had been involved with multiple big-time backcourt pieces, including former Southern Illinois guard Kennard Davis Jr. and former Howard guard Blake Harper.
Davis Jr. announced last week that he would be transferring to BYU, while Harper announced that he would transfer to Creighton for the upcoming season.
While Ohio State may have just whiffed on each of those recruits, it’s starting to look more likely that Diebler and his staff are actually waiting out another player – former Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams.
At 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Williams was listed as a forward on Texas Tech’s official roster but has racked up nearly 300 assists in his collegiate career and was second on TTU last season with 3.6 assists per game. He’s also a 37.9% three-point shooter and averaged 15.1 points per game as a junior. He is allegedly considering Ohio State, Kansas, and North Carolina State for next season, as well as possible other suitors that have yet to be publicly linked.
The only issue – well, the biggest issue – is that Williams is hoping that he’ll be playing in the NBA next season, not college.
Williams entered the NBA Draft on April 6, and put his name into the NCAA Transfer portal the same day. On Friday afternoon, Williams, along with 74 other players, was invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine from May 11-18 in Chicago.
A combine invite is promising for a player’s draft stock, and will give the two-time All-Big 12 honoree ample opportunity to improve his draft stock. At the moment, Williams is looking like a mid-to-late second round pick – Tankathon has him going 47th overall, The Athletic has him at 39, and Yahoo Sports has him pegged as the 41st overall pick.
If Williams doesn’t get a first-round guarantee from a team at the NBA Combine next week, there’s a good chance he decides to play one more year of college. He would almost be guaranteed to earn more in NIL compensation at the college level (anywhere from $2-$4 Million) than he would as a middle of the second round selection.
Last season, the 39th pick in the draft – Jaylen Wells – signed a 4-year, $7.9-million dollar deal with the Grizzlies, with an average salary of $1.9-million.
The 47th pick in last year’s draft – Antonio Reeves – signed a 3-year, $5.4-million dollar contract with the Pelicans.
In 2023, the 47th overall pick – Mojave King – was drafted by the Lakers and traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he played a partial season for the G-League Indiana Mad Ants. The average salary for a G-League player is $40,000 If they aren’t on a two-way deal.
Ohio State has not been publicly linked with any other guards/small forwards over the last few weeks, making it seem like the program may be waiting out Williams as he goes through the draft process. On April 25, Diebler told Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch that fans may need to be “prepared to wait a bit” before any more players are added to the roster.
Is this the smart move? The NBA Draft Combine ends May 18, but Williams will have until June 15 to make a decision if he wants to stay in the draft or not. The Buckeyes could come up completely empty-handed if they wait, but is Diebler flipping the old idiom and deciding that two birds in the bush is worth more than the one in his hand?
In other words – is it worth the risk of not recruiting any other starting-caliber players and selling out for someone who (statistically speaking) is more likely to end up on some other team—whether that’s an NBA or college team — come June?
It seems like the answer to that – at least as of now – is yes. They can afford to gamble because Ohio State is returning more production from last year’s team than basically any other Big Ten program.
With Thornton, Royal, and Mobley back, Ohio State is one of just two Big Ten teams – along with Purdue – that will return at least three double-digit scorers. It’s also one of just three Big Ten teams – Purdue and UCLA being the other two – to return three of its top four scorers from a season ago.
If the Buckeyes wait out Williams and don’t get a commitment, they seem fairly comfortable with what they’ve assembled to this point. But adding an All-American caliber player like Williams would be a huge boost to the team and should make them a consensus top-25 squad next season, as well as a serious contender in the Big Ten.
At this moment, it looks like if Ohio State is going to add another starter to the team via the transfer portal, it will be Darrion Williams. If that doesn’t shake out the way Diebler and his staff hope it does, many of the other available options will likely be off the board by the time he makes a decision. It looks like the coaching staff is fine with that.
And so we wait.
Continue reading...
2025 College Football Polls
- By ScriptOhio
- College Football
- 11 Replies
College football rankings: Ohio State, Texas, Penn State lead post-spring top 25 ahead of 2025 season
Looking ahead to the top teams entering the 2025 season as spring practices wrap and the transfer portal closes
www.cbssports.com
College football rankings: Ohio State, Texas, Penn State lead post-spring top 25 ahead of 2025 season
Looking ahead to the top teams entering the 2025 season as spring practices wrap and the transfer portal closes
1. Ohio State2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Clemson
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Notre Dame
8. LSU
9. Alabama
10. Florida
11. Miami
12. Illinois
13. Kansas State
14. BYU
15. TCU
16. Michigan
17. Arizona State
18. Oklahoma
19. Iowa State
20. Tennessee
21. Texas Tech
22. South Carolina
23. Louisville
24. SMU
25. Auburn
Joel Klatt is taking another Big Ten team over the Ohio State Buckeyes in his latest college football rankings for 2025 season
Following the spring football period, Fox analyst Joel Klatt has another Big Ten team ranked ahead of the Buckeyes. Klatt lists Penn State at No. 1, followed by Texas at No. 2, with Ohio State coming in at No. 3. Oregon and Clemson round out the top five at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.Login to view embedded media
Other Big Ten teams in Klatt’s rankings include Illinois (No. 10), Michigan (No. 12), Indiana (No. 21), and Iowa (No. 23).
Penn State returns quarterback Drew Allar along with many starters from a team that made the College Football Playoff last season. The Nittany Lions also added wide receivers through the transfer portal, including Trebor Pena from Syracuse. Additionally, Jim Knowles made a lateral move to become Penn State’s new defensive coordinator.
Julian Sayin’s performance—assuming he earns the QB1 spot—will be a major factor in determining just how good Ohio State can be in 2025. The defense may take a step back, so the offense will need to carry more of the load. While Ohio State has recently had the upper hand against Penn State, a matchup between these two teams in their current projected rankings would be highly anticipated.
Regardless, the Big Ten is once again shaping up to be a powerhouse in 2025. Even a program like USC appears to be trending upward.
2026 AL DL Emanuel Ruffin (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 7 Replies
247
Rivals
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HudL
Class: 2026
Position: DT
School: Bessemer(AL) Bessemer City
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 290lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2026
Position: DT
School: Bessemer(AL) Bessemer City
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 290lbs
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2027 TX DL Zane Rowe (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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Class: 2027
Position: DE
School: Denton(TX) Guyer
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 240lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2027
Position: DE
School: Denton(TX) Guyer
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 240lbs
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2027 AL DL Donivan Moore (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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247
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Class: 2027
School: Hueytown(AL) Hueytown
Position: DT
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 280lbs
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HudL
Class: 2027
School: Hueytown(AL) Hueytown
Position: DT
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 280lbs
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LGHL Ohio State sends out trio of new offers on Monday
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Ohio State sends out trio of new offers on Monday
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2027 four-star DT Donivan Moore | via Shotgun Spratling | USCfootball.com, 247Sports
The Buckeyes offered a four-star running back and a pair of defensive tackles.
Ohio State saw 14 former Buckeyes be selected in the NFL Draft just a couple weeks ago. One of the bigger position groups the Buckeyes sent to the NFL this year was along the defensive line, with Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton all being selected.
This success in developing talent along the defensive line has already had multiple impacts on the Buckeyes moving forward. The first being this is an incredible recruiting tool for Ohio State and Larry Johnson. The second is Johnson is going to have to use this tool as the Buckeyes will need to replenish their depth at the position for years to come.
Defensive tackle is especially a weak spot for the Buckeyes. There has been much talk recently about the position as Ohio State was unable to secure more depth along the defensive front in the transfer portal. This despite Ryan Day and the Buckeyes making it a priority. Now, the Buckeyes will need to look to recruiting to rebuild the group.
Day, Johnson and the Buckeyes are making quick work on this as Ohio State dished out scholarship offers to two defensive tackles on Monday, including to 2027 high four-star Donivan Moore (Hueytown, AL / Hueytown).
Moore may still have two years of high school football remaining, but he has already shown great potential on the field. Because of this, Ohio State has some stiff competition for him as he also holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, USC, West Virginia and more.
Ohio State will need to get him on campus numerous time is it is going to be able to pry him out of SEC Country, but Moore has shown enough potential that the Buckeyes will put in all of the necessary work as long as they believe they are in it.
Moore is the No. 3 DL recruit in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 46 overall recruit. He is also the No. 1 recruit in Alabama.
The other defensive tackle recruit to receive a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes was 2026 three-star Emanuel Ruffin (Bessemer, AL / Bessemer).
Like Moore, Ruffin is from SEC Country but being in this year’s class, he is much further along in his recruitment than Moore. Ruffin holds nearly 30 scholarship offers and already has official visits scheduled with LSU, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama.
Ohio State has plenty of ground work to make up in Ruffin’s recruitment and will have to act quick if they are going to become real contenders.
Ruffin is the No. 48 DL recruit in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and he is the No. 451 overall recruit. He is also the No. 18 recruit out of Alabama.
Ohio State wasn’t only looking at defensive tackles Monday, as the Buckeyes also dished out a scholarship offer to 2027 four-star running back Cade Waye (McDonough, GA / Ola).
It may be early in his recruitment but Waye is already receiving interest from multiple of the nation’s top schools including Arkansas, Duke, Michigan State, Oregon, South Carolina, USC, Wisconsin and Clemson. Of this group, South Carolina and Oregon appear to be the Buckeyes biggest competition for Waye.
Waye is the No. 13 RB in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and he is the No. 149 overall recruit. He is also the No. 18 recruit from the talent-rich state of Georgia.
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
2027 four-star DT Donivan Moore | via Shotgun Spratling | USCfootball.com, 247Sports
The Buckeyes offered a four-star running back and a pair of defensive tackles.
Ohio State saw 14 former Buckeyes be selected in the NFL Draft just a couple weeks ago. One of the bigger position groups the Buckeyes sent to the NFL this year was along the defensive line, with Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton all being selected.
This success in developing talent along the defensive line has already had multiple impacts on the Buckeyes moving forward. The first being this is an incredible recruiting tool for Ohio State and Larry Johnson. The second is Johnson is going to have to use this tool as the Buckeyes will need to replenish their depth at the position for years to come.
Defensive tackle is especially a weak spot for the Buckeyes. There has been much talk recently about the position as Ohio State was unable to secure more depth along the defensive front in the transfer portal. This despite Ryan Day and the Buckeyes making it a priority. Now, the Buckeyes will need to look to recruiting to rebuild the group.
Day, Johnson and the Buckeyes are making quick work on this as Ohio State dished out scholarship offers to two defensive tackles on Monday, including to 2027 high four-star Donivan Moore (Hueytown, AL / Hueytown).
Blessed to receive a ️ffer from @OhioStateFB @CoachM_Patrick @R2X_Rushmen1 @ryandaytime pic.twitter.com/O09Eeadmhh
—️Donivan Moore (@DonivanMoore1) May 5, 2025
Moore may still have two years of high school football remaining, but he has already shown great potential on the field. Because of this, Ohio State has some stiff competition for him as he also holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, USC, West Virginia and more.
Ohio State will need to get him on campus numerous time is it is going to be able to pry him out of SEC Country, but Moore has shown enough potential that the Buckeyes will put in all of the necessary work as long as they believe they are in it.
Moore is the No. 3 DL recruit in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 46 overall recruit. He is also the No. 1 recruit in Alabama.
The other defensive tackle recruit to receive a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes was 2026 three-star Emanuel Ruffin (Bessemer, AL / Bessemer).
AGTG Blessed to Receive an️ffer from @OhioStateFB @R2X_Rushmen1 @CoachM_Patrick @ScoutFball @DemetricDWarren @On3Recruits @HallTechSports1 @TheUCReport @UANextFootball @DownSouthFb1 @coachanelson @coachswift64 pic.twitter.com/XQ34AJ5E6a
— Emanuel Ruffin 4
Like Moore, Ruffin is from SEC Country but being in this year’s class, he is much further along in his recruitment than Moore. Ruffin holds nearly 30 scholarship offers and already has official visits scheduled with LSU, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama.
Ohio State has plenty of ground work to make up in Ruffin’s recruitment and will have to act quick if they are going to become real contenders.
Ruffin is the No. 48 DL recruit in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and he is the No. 451 overall recruit. He is also the No. 18 recruit out of Alabama.
Ohio State offers four-star RB
Ohio State wasn’t only looking at defensive tackles Monday, as the Buckeyes also dished out a scholarship offer to 2027 four-star running back Cade Waye (McDonough, GA / Ola).
It may be early in his recruitment but Waye is already receiving interest from multiple of the nation’s top schools including Arkansas, Duke, Michigan State, Oregon, South Carolina, USC, Wisconsin and Clemson. Of this group, South Carolina and Oregon appear to be the Buckeyes biggest competition for Waye.
Waye is the No. 13 RB in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and he is the No. 149 overall recruit. He is also the No. 18 recruit from the talent-rich state of Georgia.
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