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LGHL BOOOOM! Four-star DL Damari Simeon commits to Ohio State
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BOOOOM! Four-star DL Damari Simeon commits to Ohio State
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Four-star DL Damari Simeon | via @Damari_Simeon on Twitter
The Buckeyes land their 18th member of the 2026 class with four-star defensive tackle, Damari Simeon.
BOOM! Ohio State started the weekend off with some big time news, landing the 18th member of its 2026 class by way of New Jersey native, Damari Simeon.
Announcing Friday evening, Simeon gives position coach Larry Johnson his first defensive tackle commit of the cycle, and fills a void this coaching staff will continue to address moving forward.
A 6-foot-3, 275 pound defensive lineman out of St. Augustine Prep, the Buckeyes add a four-star talent thought to be the No. 201 player nationally and 26th-best at his position per the 247Sports Composite. Holding nearly 40 offers to his name, Simeon narrowed it down to a final four of Michigan, Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State, and the Buckeyes landed a major addition to a class that is taking off lately.
Ohio State may only have two commits along the defensive line right now, but with several targets set to decide in the near future, it does look as if LJ is starting to heat up and prove he still has what it takes to battle the other top programs in the country for these highly touted defensive line prospects so many schools are after. Simeon sits just outside the top-200 nationally, and his list of potential suitors show he is a true big-time player.
Receiving his offer from Ohio State back in February, it didn’t take long for the coaching staff to shoot up the ranks of top suitors. Though his recruitment wasn’t part of a very long lasting relationship, it clearly was a meaningful one.
Taking official visits to his top four schools starting in late May, Simeon started with Michigan, but gave the Buckeyes the last visit. Ohio State did enough to win out in the end.
From here, Johnson and the rest of the coaching staff will keep hard at work to ensure they add more top targets to their defensive line haul in the 2026 class, but it cannot be overstated how important landing Simeon is for this current cycle. A player with a great motor and plenty of skills to be technically sound up front, the Buckeyes are adding a guy that can rush the passer, but also be stout in the run game.
Simeon joins four-star EDGE Khary Wilder as the first two commits along the defensive line for Ohio State in this cycle, with both having joined the fold this month. The Buckeyes are also a heavy favorite to flip three-star DL Jamir Perez — a Glenville native — from Florida, and remain in the running for a number of other big names including Carter Meadows, KJ Ford, Landon Barnes, Emanuel Ruffin and a few others.
Continue reading...
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Four-star DL Damari Simeon | via @Damari_Simeon on Twitter
The Buckeyes land their 18th member of the 2026 class with four-star defensive tackle, Damari Simeon.
BOOM! Ohio State started the weekend off with some big time news, landing the 18th member of its 2026 class by way of New Jersey native, Damari Simeon.
Announcing Friday evening, Simeon gives position coach Larry Johnson his first defensive tackle commit of the cycle, and fills a void this coaching staff will continue to address moving forward.
A 6-foot-3, 275 pound defensive lineman out of St. Augustine Prep, the Buckeyes add a four-star talent thought to be the No. 201 player nationally and 26th-best at his position per the 247Sports Composite. Holding nearly 40 offers to his name, Simeon narrowed it down to a final four of Michigan, Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State, and the Buckeyes landed a major addition to a class that is taking off lately.
Ohio State may only have two commits along the defensive line right now, but with several targets set to decide in the near future, it does look as if LJ is starting to heat up and prove he still has what it takes to battle the other top programs in the country for these highly touted defensive line prospects so many schools are after. Simeon sits just outside the top-200 nationally, and his list of potential suitors show he is a true big-time player.
Receiving his offer from Ohio State back in February, it didn’t take long for the coaching staff to shoot up the ranks of top suitors. Though his recruitment wasn’t part of a very long lasting relationship, it clearly was a meaningful one.
Taking official visits to his top four schools starting in late May, Simeon started with Michigan, but gave the Buckeyes the last visit. Ohio State did enough to win out in the end.
From here, Johnson and the rest of the coaching staff will keep hard at work to ensure they add more top targets to their defensive line haul in the 2026 class, but it cannot be overstated how important landing Simeon is for this current cycle. A player with a great motor and plenty of skills to be technically sound up front, the Buckeyes are adding a guy that can rush the passer, but also be stout in the run game.
Simeon joins four-star EDGE Khary Wilder as the first two commits along the defensive line for Ohio State in this cycle, with both having joined the fold this month. The Buckeyes are also a heavy favorite to flip three-star DL Jamir Perez — a Glenville native — from Florida, and remain in the running for a number of other big names including Carter Meadows, KJ Ford, Landon Barnes, Emanuel Ruffin and a few others.
Continue reading...
LGHL Unreasonable Expectations: Bruce Thornton will break Dennis Hopson’s scoring record
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Unreasonable Expectations: Bruce Thornton will break Dennis Hopson’s scoring record
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The three-time captain is 610 points away from passing Dennis Hopson on the all-time scoring list.
To cap off Land-Grant Holy Land’s Unreasonable Expectations week, let’s talk about a guy whose Ohio State legacy will completely hinge on how the final 30-35 games of his career go.
The first 102 games of Bruce Thornton’s career can be compared to many Ohio State greats, but unfortunately something is missing that has dropped Thornton to a tier below guys like William Buford, Jim Jackson, and Evan Turner — winning. The players I listed won meaningful games for Ohio State, and they’re remembered fondly because of it. Thornton, to no fault of his own, really, has not played in a postseason game yet.
Thornton’s final season will dictate his legacy at Ohio State, fair or not. If he can get the Buckeyes back to the NCAA Tournament, Thornton could be remembered as one of the best guards in program history — maybe even the best. If not, his cumulative stats will always be accompanied by a “but” and a reminder that his gaudy stats never resulted in program success.
His legacy will be even cloudier if Thornton finds a way to set the Ohio State program scoring record this season. A record that I believe Thornton will break at some point this season.
At 1,487 career points, Thornton currently sits at No. 21 on the all-time scoring list. Assuming health, the soon-to-be four-time captain will pass Turner, Terence Dials, and Jon Diebler in November alone and climb into the top-15. By the turn of the New Year, Thornton will likely ascend to the top-10.
Thornton averaged 17.7 points per game last season. If he ups that a tiny bit to 18 points per game — which might be underselling him a little bit — then he’d need to play 34 games next season to claim the all-time scoring record. Last season, Ohio State played 32 games, including a one-and-done showing in the Big Ten Tournament and zero NCAA Tournament games. With even modest improvement as a team from last year, Thornton should get those 34 games.
But if Thornton basically just needs to continue the status quo of what he did last season with a few extra games, would him passing Dennis Hopson’s record of 2,096 points really be all that unreasonable? Statistically, not really.
But if we zoom out and look at the record from a wider lens, it’s quite an accomplishment. With immediate eligibility in college basketball and the transfer portal flipping players from program to program every summer, the odds of getting another Ohio State player to stick around for four years, stay healthy all four years, and play at a high level for four straight years the way Thornton has is not too likely. Hopson set the scoring record 38 years ago — how long will it be until we see another Buckeye even eclipse the 2,000-point mark while wearing the scarlet and gray? In this new age of college basketball, Thornton could be the last of his kind.
Last season, Thornton averaged 17.7 points per game and shot 42.4% from three-point range. It was a continuation of what we have seen from Thornton since he arrived in Columbus in 2022 — aside from missing one game due to a migraine in February of 2024, Bruce has started every single one of Ohio State’s games, and he’s gotten better every year.
Being able to talk yourself into Thornton breaking Hopson’s record this season with just a modest improvement over last season goes to show how good he’s been. It’s going to be odd if Ohio State doesn’t make the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and the program’s all-time leading scorer isn’t considered one of the program’s all-time best players.
But if Ohio State does make the big dance — and if we want to go crazy, win a few games there — Thornton will be remembered as one of the best to wear the jersey.
The loyalty Thornton has shown to the Ohio State men’s basketball program is unheard of in college sports these days. I encourage Buckeye fans to not take that for granted, and enjoy watching Bruce lace it up this season on the way to rewriting the program history books.
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
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The three-time captain is 610 points away from passing Dennis Hopson on the all-time scoring list.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Unreasonable Expectations. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Unreasonable Expectations here.
To cap off Land-Grant Holy Land’s Unreasonable Expectations week, let’s talk about a guy whose Ohio State legacy will completely hinge on how the final 30-35 games of his career go.
The first 102 games of Bruce Thornton’s career can be compared to many Ohio State greats, but unfortunately something is missing that has dropped Thornton to a tier below guys like William Buford, Jim Jackson, and Evan Turner — winning. The players I listed won meaningful games for Ohio State, and they’re remembered fondly because of it. Thornton, to no fault of his own, really, has not played in a postseason game yet.
Thornton’s final season will dictate his legacy at Ohio State, fair or not. If he can get the Buckeyes back to the NCAA Tournament, Thornton could be remembered as one of the best guards in program history — maybe even the best. If not, his cumulative stats will always be accompanied by a “but” and a reminder that his gaudy stats never resulted in program success.
His legacy will be even cloudier if Thornton finds a way to set the Ohio State program scoring record this season. A record that I believe Thornton will break at some point this season.
At 1,487 career points, Thornton currently sits at No. 21 on the all-time scoring list. Assuming health, the soon-to-be four-time captain will pass Turner, Terence Dials, and Jon Diebler in November alone and climb into the top-15. By the turn of the New Year, Thornton will likely ascend to the top-10.
BRUCE THORNTON IS THAT GUY. BANK IS OPENpic.twitter.com/3eYXWANziC
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 7, 2025
Thornton averaged 17.7 points per game last season. If he ups that a tiny bit to 18 points per game — which might be underselling him a little bit — then he’d need to play 34 games next season to claim the all-time scoring record. Last season, Ohio State played 32 games, including a one-and-done showing in the Big Ten Tournament and zero NCAA Tournament games. With even modest improvement as a team from last year, Thornton should get those 34 games.
But if Thornton basically just needs to continue the status quo of what he did last season with a few extra games, would him passing Dennis Hopson’s record of 2,096 points really be all that unreasonable? Statistically, not really.
But if we zoom out and look at the record from a wider lens, it’s quite an accomplishment. With immediate eligibility in college basketball and the transfer portal flipping players from program to program every summer, the odds of getting another Ohio State player to stick around for four years, stay healthy all four years, and play at a high level for four straight years the way Thornton has is not too likely. Hopson set the scoring record 38 years ago — how long will it be until we see another Buckeye even eclipse the 2,000-point mark while wearing the scarlet and gray? In this new age of college basketball, Thornton could be the last of his kind.
Last season, Thornton averaged 17.7 points per game and shot 42.4% from three-point range. It was a continuation of what we have seen from Thornton since he arrived in Columbus in 2022 — aside from missing one game due to a migraine in February of 2024, Bruce has started every single one of Ohio State’s games, and he’s gotten better every year.
Being able to talk yourself into Thornton breaking Hopson’s record this season with just a modest improvement over last season goes to show how good he’s been. It’s going to be odd if Ohio State doesn’t make the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and the program’s all-time leading scorer isn’t considered one of the program’s all-time best players.
But if Ohio State does make the big dance — and if we want to go crazy, win a few games there — Thornton will be remembered as one of the best to wear the jersey.
The loyalty Thornton has shown to the Ohio State men’s basketball program is unheard of in college sports these days. I encourage Buckeye fans to not take that for granted, and enjoy watching Bruce lace it up this season on the way to rewriting the program history books.
Continue reading...
2027 AL RB CJ Crowley (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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247
Rivals
Twitter
HudL
Class: 2027
Position: RB
School: Hoover(AL) Hoover
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 190lbs
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Rivals
HudL
Class: 2027
Position: RB
School: Hoover(AL) Hoover
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 190lbs
Login to view embedded media
