U.S. Office of Civil Rights investigating Ohio State’s handling of Strauss abuse allegations
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The OCR will work to ensure that OSU is promptly responding to allegations in line with Title IX requirements.

On Thursday, the Ohio State University announced that the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has begun investigating the allegations that former OSU physician Dr. Richard Strauss, who died in 2005, sexually abused students in his care.

The OCR oversees enforcement of Title IX, and is therefore looking to ensure that the university is “responding promptly and equitably to complaints and reports by former students.” The OCR’s Cleveland regional office will lead the investigation.

Strauss was employed at Ohio State from the mid-1970s through the 1990s, and reportedly abused hundreds of former students, including many student-athletes, predominantly wrestlers. The OCR will also be investigating whether OSU employees, including coaches, “knew or should have known” about the alleged misconduct.

Gates Garrity-Rokous, vice president and chief compliance officer for Ohio State said in a statement on Thursday, “We welcome the involvement and careful oversight of OCR and look forward to providing any information we can.”


In April, the university announced that an independent investigation into the allegations against Strauss would be led by international law firm Perkins Coie LLP. According to the university, that inquiry is progressing, and additional updates will be presented to the Board of Trustees later this month.

Ohio State also announced that they had retained Columbus law firm Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP to handle litigation concerning three lawsuits brought against the university concerning sexual abuse allegations against Strauss and former diving instructor William Bohonyi.

To read the full statement from the university, click here.

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Next Man Up: Defensive Tackle - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Next Man Up: Defensive Tackle
247Sports
Ohio State kicked off fall camp on Friday, August 3. As the Buckeyes prepare for their season opener against Oregon State from a Xs and Os standpoint, they're also trying to figure out some personnel openings left by departed players from last year's team.


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Oregon State vs. Ohio State Buckeyes: Beavers' top 10 all-time football upsets - OregonLive.com
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Oregon State vs. Ohio State Buckeyes: Beavers' top 10 all-time football upsets
OregonLive.com
Oregon State heads into the Sept. 1 2018 season opener against Ohio State somewhere in the neighborhood of a 35-point underdog. The Buckeyes are No. 3 in coaches' preseason poll, and likely top five in the upcoming Associated Press rankings. A win in ...

and more »

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Joe Blundo: Art show by former Buckeyes set to open in Worthington - The Columbus Dispatch
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Joe Blundo: Art show by former Buckeyes set to open in Worthington
The Columbus Dispatch
An art show of work by former Buckeye athletes is set to open in Worthington. One of the artists is a former tennis player, who says painting helped him better manage his mental illness. Jeff Sparr, a former Ohio State tennis player, explains his ...


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Ohio State has the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big Ten for 2019. Can they keep it that way?
Geoff Hammersley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes are currently the top team for 2019, but how close behind is the competition in the B1G.

We’ve hit a little bit of a recruiting lull for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Commitments have slowed down, and top lists have cooled off. Whether or not it’s related to the ongoing investigation of Urban Meyer remains to be seen. Fortunately, though, the Scarlet and Gray have a stacked class for 2019.

There may be more additions in the coming weeks and months, but right now, it’s OSU on top of the Big Ten, again. But it’s always good to look over the shoulder and see what others in the conference are doing.

Who’s Chasing the Bucks?


Behind Ohio State in the conference recruiting rankings are Michigan and Penn State.

The Wolverines are No. 2, but things are deceiving; they are there because of quantity—not quality. Michigan has 20 total recruits in the ‘19 class, with 12 of them picking up three-star designation. In comparison, OSU has 15 recruits. Of those 15, 10 of them are four-star prospects.

Chris Hinton, a defensive lineman, is UM’s only five-star recruit. Jim Harbaugh and Co. were able to pull him out of Georgia, and he’s currently the crown jewel for their ‘19 class. After Hinton, seven four-star prospects are verbally committed to the school up north.

Penn State sits behind Michigan, but they have a bevy of talent. Eleven members of the PSU ‘19 class are four-star status, and linebacker Brandon Smith is the lone five-star commit. Smith is the No. 2 inside linebacker in the country, so it was a big win when James Franklin was able to secure a verbal from him.

While Ohio State leads these two schools right now, the commitment of Columbus native Zach Harrison could change everything. If everything stays equal, and Harrison commits to either PSU or UM, it’ll be enough to push his school of choice into the No. 1 spot in the conference.

Harrison was seen as a lock to be a Buckeye, but Michigan and Penn State made pushes for the No. 4 prospect in the entire class. His birth date (Aug. 14) appeared to be the day he’d commit, but things changed. Losing out on Harrison would be a major blow to OSU’s in-state recruiting efforts. Just last class, offensive tackle Jackson Carman (the top player in Ohio for 2018) committed to Clemson over Ohio State. Getting the top recruit in the Buckeye State has been a problem for the Buckeyes in recent years. If they can’t get Harrison, who, literally, goes to school right up the road from the OSU campus, expect more struggles for OSU recruiting in their own backyard.

Nine Buckeyes make Rivals250 listing


Speaking of the 2019 class, a nice bunch of OSU recruits cracked the top-250, according to Rivals.com’s metrics.

Nine verbal commits for the Scarlet and Gray showed up on the list of the top 250 recruits, with offensive guard Harry Miller showing up as best Buckeye commit at No. 43. Right behind him is wide receiver Garrett Wilson at No. 44.

Quarterback Dwan Mathis found himself at No. 90, and capped off a trio of OSU commits in the top 100.

Defensive end Cade Stover appeared at No. 140, and OG Doug Nester wasn’t too far away, resting at No. 145. Running back Sampson James was at No. 172, safety Jordan Battle at No. 189, and athlete Ronnie Hickman was the last current Buckeye commit at No. 193.

If you want to see the whole list, you can check it out here.

It’s worth mentioning that all nine of these prospects were graded as four-star recruits by Rivals. At 247sports, Miller and Wilson both had five-star status. While the stars can be discussed until the end of time, one thing is for certain: this 2019 Ohio State class is loaded with talent.

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Skull Session: Buckeyes in the 2019 Draft, Jeff Snook Doubles Down, and Nick Bosa Ranked Best in College Football - Eleven Warriors
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Skull Session: Buckeyes in the 2019 Draft, Jeff Snook Doubles Down, and Nick Bosa Ranked Best in College Football
Eleven Warriors
There's a lot of actual football to be played beforehand but it's an absolute certainty that the Buckeyes will have multiple players drafted following the season, so Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports took an early look at Ohio State's 2019 Draft prospects ...


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Kurelic: More for Wilson to like; commit in interesting position - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Kurelic: More for Wilson to like; commit in interesting position
247Sports
Jacoby had close to two dozen scholarship offers including Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, West Virginia, Virginia, Oregon, Northwestern, Kentucky, Purdue and Iowa State before committing to the Buckeyes. Jacoby is a 4-star prospect in the ...


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Ohio State Football: More good news at QB for the Buckeyes - Scarlet and Game
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Ohio State Football: More good news at QB for the Buckeyes
Scarlet and Game
More good news for the Buckeyes at the quarterback position as a graduate transfer will be joining the Ohio State football team. It has been reported that former West Virginia quarterback Chris Chugunov will join the Ohio State football team. Chugunov ...
Report: WVU's Chugunov joining Buckeyes as grad transferGwinnett Prep Sports
Ohio State has one of the top receiver groups in the countryLand-Grant Holy Land
Ohio State's Freshman Class Should Have Immediate Impact At Several PositionsEleven Warriors
Lettermen Row -Buckeye Wire
all 14 news articles »

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Nick Bosa’s hype could help Ohio State teammate Dre’Mont Jones
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Also, how will the length of Urban Meyer’s ansence impact the team?

“Bosa and defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones may have something to say about Clemson’s claim to having the nation’s best defensive line by season’s end. The younger brother of Chargers centerpiece Joey Bosa led the Buckeyes with 8.5 sacks last season.”

-Sports Illustrated


The expectations for what Nick Bosa can achieve during his third (and almost certainly final) season in Columbus are through the roof. However, in being selected as OSU’s only Sports Illustrated Preseason first-team All-American, it just reconfirms the fact that defenses will be focusing a lot of attention on the “smaller bear,” meaning that other players, including Dre’Mont Jones, will have opportunities to succeed.


Despite eventually being the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, Joey Bosa was not the leader in either tackles nor sacks by an OSU defensive lineman during his final season as a Buckeye in 2015. Those honors both went to the other starting defensive end, Tyquan Lewis. While the numbers were close (54 tackles, 8 sacks for Lewis; 51 tackles, and 5 sacks for Bosa), all of the hype was on Bosa’s shrugging shoulders, allowing Lewis to thrive without the double (or triple) teams that Bosa regularly received.

The same could end up being true for Jones this season. In 2017, Nick Bosa accounted for 34 tackles, 16 for loss, and 8.5 sacks, while Jones went for just 20, 5, and 1 after missing three games due to a still unexplained nail to the leg injury that resulted in stitches. Despite being a potential first-round pick, Jones returned for his redshirt junior season, and along with Bosa could prove to be the most dominant bookends in college football this year.

Buckeye cornerback Damon Arnette was named to SI’s second team.


Griffith alluded to one of the biggest on-field unknowns concerning the investigation of Urban Meyer’s handling of allegations of domestic abuse against former assistant Zach Smith. While we should have an announced resolution to the independent working group’s investigation some time in the next week, it will likely take longer to determine if, and how, the head coach’s absence (either temporary or permanent) will impact the team’s performance on the field.

With the incredible recruiting success that Meyer and his staff have had in recent years, it’s no surprise that the Buckeyes have the best talent in the Big Ten East. The team is projected to not only be one of the best teams in the country, but are a favorite to make the College Football Playoff.

However, many of those predictions are predicated on the fact that Meyer, one of the greatest coaches of the modern era, would be calling the shots. He has already missed nearly two weeks of fall camp, and should the university allow him to return immediately, that time away from his team likely won’t have a tremendous impact on the season.

But, should the administration decide to part ways with Meyer, that will obviously have a monstrous effect on the team, as losing one of the greatest coaching minds of a generation will obviously be a net negative.

However, what is most interesting to me— on an intellectual level— is how would the team and remaining coaches adjust to Meyer receiving a suspension of three or more games? That would mean that he would be unavailable to communicate with players and coaches until after the Buckeyes play TCU in Week 3. Obviously they would then welcome him back with open arms, but what type of readjustment period would there need to be? Especially when breaking in a new starting QB?

These are obviously questions that we can’t— and might not ever need— to answer, but as the university begins to answer the most important questions while wrapping up its investigation, others lay just around the corner.

-Billy Gomila, And the Valley Shook!


When Joe Burrow announced that he would be leaving Ohio State earlier this year and would be continuing his college career at LSU, the expectation was that he would have a legitimate shot to compete for the starting quarterback position, despite being new to the program.

Well, consider that competition over, as within the past day, two Tiger QBs have announced their intentions to leave the program. Apparently seeing the writing on the wall, both Lowell Narcisse and Justin McMillan have decided to look for playing time elsewhere. Congrats to Burrow for apparently winning the job, and we wish him the best of luck... unless he squares off against the Buckeyes, of course.


-Nate Ulrich, ohio.com

Back in April, our own Alexis Chassen asked “Why is Johnathan Hankins still a free agent?” Unfortunately for the former Ohio State star, no one’s really been able to answer that question, nor remedy the situation either. However, it looks like Big Bank Hank might be getting an opportunity to come back to the Buckeye state.

The Browns defensive line has been beat up a bit with Trevon Coley and Caleb Brantley suffering ankle injuries in recent weeks, so they could use an interior defensive lineman ready to compete at the NFL level.


-BigTen.org

On Wednesday, it was announced that 2017 national runners-up, the Indiana Hoosiers were the unanimous pick to win the Big Ten men’s soccer championship this season. The Buckeyes were picked to tie for sixth with Penn State.

Three Ohio State athletes were selected to the pre-season honors list; midfielder Brady Blackwel, defenseman Will Hirschman, and goalkeeper Parker Siegfried.

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How Big is the World's Largest Buckeye? - columbusunderground
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How Big is the World's Largest Buckeye?
columbusunderground
History was (most likely) made today at the Ohio State Fair as another special attraction was made. The World's Largest Buckeye was officially weighed today. The piece of buckeye candy was created by Marsha's Homemade Buckeyes of Perrysburg, Ohio ...
World's largest buckeye weighed at the Ohio State FairDayton Daily News

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Steele: 14 Buckeyes on All-B1G team | OSU favorite in conference - 247Sports
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Steele: 14 Buckeyes on All-B1G team | OSU favorite in conference
247Sports
(Which is an interesting selection because there is a good chance Campbell won't return kicks for the Buckeyes this year and that job will go to Demario McCall.) Five Ohio State players were named second-team All-Big Ten choices by Steele. They include:.
Watch: 'It's the Buckeyes Against the World, Men' | The-OzoneThe Ozone
Ohio State's Freshman Class Should Have Immediate Impact At ...Eleven Warriors
Ohio State has one of the top receiver groups in the country - Land ...Land-Grant Holy Land
cleveland.com
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Two Buckeyes make Sports Illustrated preseason All-America Teams - 247Sports
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Two Buckeyes make Sports Illustrated preseason All-America Teams
247Sports
Sports Illustrated released its preseason teams on Wednesday and two Buckeyes made the company's selection. The first player, defensive end Nick Bosa, is an obvious choice as an All-American. In fact, he was obvious enough that every member of Sports ...
Nick Bosa and Damon Arnette Make Sports Illustrated Preseason All-American TeamsEleven Warriors

all 6 news articles »

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Some things never change...

Bucknuts Recruiting Radio: Buckeyes the 'Beasts of the East'? - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Bucknuts Recruiting Radio: Buckeyes the 'Beasts of the East'?
247Sports
If you're on Bucknuts, you're likely a fan of the "Bucknuts Morning 5", our daily radio show/podcast that talks all things Ohio State football, basketball, recruiting, and more. You're also probably familiar with the "Bucknuts Roundtable" during the ...


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Buckeyes' Diving Club asking for claims to be dismissed - FOXSports.com
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Buckeyes' Diving Club asking for claims to be dismissed
FOXSports.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio State University Diving Club is asking a federal court to dismiss claims against it in a lawsuit over allegations that a former coach sexually abused young divers. The club argues in a court filing that as part of the ...

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Ohio State has one of the top receiver groups in the country
Chad Peltier via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Even more receivers data!

When various national previews started counting Ohio State’s receivers group as one of the best in the country, I was a little skeptical at first. Sure, the group has a lot of solid contributors and returns everyone, but were we overvaluing returning production at the expense of elite talent?

But after looking at the group’s marginal efficiency and marginal explosiveness ratings from Bill C’s preview, I could better understand the hype for the group, especially with Dwayne Haskins taking over at quarterback.

However, what we were really still missing was the national context. Despite seeing how the receivers compare with one another, we didn’t have a sense for how they compared to receivers across the country.

Thanks to Bill’s recently published receivers data, we can do that now. So here are a ton of charts about the 2017 receivers. In the charts below, the national average is based on all receivers only (no tight ends or running backs) who had 30+ targets last season. All six of Ohio State’s top receiving targets had at least 30 targets last season, so it made a convenient cutoff so that the averages wouldn’t be influenced by outliers.

Success rates



All of Ohio State’s top receivers, and Marcus Baugh, had a success rate higher than the national average of 47.4%. Parris Campbell and Austin Mack, who project as the top targets in 2018, had the best success rates last season amongst the group.

This also brings up why Terry McLaurin didn’t play a more prominent role last season, despite being third among receivers in success rate.

Catch rate vs. yards per catch



This chart helps get at which receivers were the most sure-handed vs. which ones had the biggest gains when they did catch the ball. It’s also a non-opponent-adjusted way of looking at efficiency vs. explosiveness.

The results aren’t too surprising. The two slot receivers, Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill, who often catch passes closer to the line of scrimmage, had the highest catch rates. Campbell had a signficantly higher average yards per catch, though.

And unsurprisingly, Johnnie Dixon outpaced the rest of the receivers in yards per catch, averaging 23.4. Dixon was also more boom-or-bust than most of the rest of the room, catching just 52.9% of his passes, which was under the national average of 60.6%.

The only other receiver with a lower catch rate than Dixon was Binjimen Victor, who caught 51.1% of his passes, but also averaged 15.2 yards per catch, which was within the range of the other receivers on the roster.

This chart also doesn’t make Austin Mack— who arguably shows the most promise in terms of being an NFL receiver— look much different than the national average in either catch rate or average yards per catch.

Distribution of targets



This chart captures why the receivers appear more or less interchangeable at first glance — the passing targets were distributed fairly evenly among the top seven targets, with no one getting more than 22% or less than 10% of targets, including Baugh.

We should expect this to change with Haskins coming in, especially if he develops a rapport with certain receivers, or if Brian Hartline changes the rotation in and out of games.

Marginal efficiency and marginal explosiveness



I also looked at marginal efficiency and marginal explosiveness in my last article on the receivers, but this time I included the national averages for comparable receiving targets.


Here is the definition for those two terms:


These give a much better sense for efficiency and explosiveness than just catch rate and yards per catch, because they factor in expected efficiency and explosiveness based on down, distance, and yard line.

Here, Victor’s low catch rate is eased by above-average marginal efficiency, while Dixon still looks ridiculously explosive. In fact, as discussed before, all Ohio State receivers were marginally more efficient than the national average. However, Mack and Hill were less explosive than the national average, too.

Clemson vs. Ohio State



I thought it might be valuable to not only compare the Ohio State receivers with the national average as a single data point, but also with a similarly elite group of receivers. Phil Steele ranks Clemson with the 8th-best group of receivers heading in to 2018.

Overall, comparing the units is pretty favorable to Ohio State. Tee Higgins might end up the best receiver of the two groups, and there might be more potential on the Tigers’ roster, but in 2017 the Buckeyes had comparable or better receivers in both marginal efficiency and explosiveness.

Buckeyes vs. all receivers



This final chart isn’t the best visualization, but it contains marginal efficiency and marginal explosiveness data for all receivers with at least 30 targets in 2017. It also includes a trend line, although it’s deceptive given that the correlation coefficient between marginal efficiency and marginal explosiveness is only -.02 — i.e., it’s hardly there.

Holy moly was Johnnie Dixon explosive! Only four receivers had a higher marginal explosiveness rating than Dixon’s 1.23.

Really, compared with the national average, the Ohio State receiving corps was solidly efficient, which is really an offense’s top priority. The group as a whole could definitely use an upgrade in explosiveness, but another year in the Ryan Day/Kevin Wilson passing offense, as well as better ball placement from Haskins could allow for increased yards after catch. Further, Haskins might be more willing to push the ball downfield, or to target downfield receivers on lower percentage throws or in smaller windows.

That brings up a wider point about how these numbers are significantly impacted by the quarterback — an elite passer can certainly make the receivers look much better. But it’s certainly fair to say that the Buckeye receiving corps is solid enough to expect big things from the passing game in 2018 assuming that Haskins lives up to expectations.

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Despite controversy, ESPN The Magazine still bullish on Buckeyes - 247Sports
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Despite controversy, ESPN The Magazine still bullish on Buckeyes
247Sports
Last week, Sports Illustrated shared its preseason college football preview magazine with the venerable weekly placing Ohio State a distant ninth in its top 25 rankings. Ohio State fans got some better news this week as ESPN The Magazine arrived in ...
Watch: 'It's the Buckeyes Against the World, Men'The Ozone
2018 Season Preview: Ohio State Loaded With Experience, Depth At Wide ReceiverEleven Warriors
Ohio State's Brian Hartline hoping to find right rotation for wide receiversLand-Grant Holy Land
cleveland.com
all 7 news articles »

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Ohio State's 10 most wanted recruits for 2019 - 247Sports
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Ohio State's 10 most wanted recruits for 2019
247Sports
Despite all of that, recruiting hasn't stopped for the Buckeyes, who currently have the eighth ranked class nationally, and the top group in the Big Ten. OSU holds verbal pledges from 15 prospects, in a class that will likely number somewhere from 22 ...

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The Football Fever: 5-star Texas receiver still committed to Buckeyes amid investigation - ABC6OnYourSide.com
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The Football Fever: 5-star Texas receiver still committed to Buckeyes amid investigation
ABC6OnYourSide.com
AUSTIN, TX -- 5-star Texas receiver Garrett Wilson is sticking with the Buckeyes amid the university's investigation of head coach Urban Meyer. "Welcome to life,” Wilson said of a conversation he had with his Mother. “Some things go wrong, not ...

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Mark Dantonio on rivalry with OSU | How often he talks to Tress - 247Sports
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Mark Dantonio on rivalry with OSU | How often he talks to Tress
247Sports
Dantonio was the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator under Tressel from 2001-03, and still to this day Dantonio gets a good share of credit for the Buckeyes' capturing the 2002 national championship. Furthermore, it appeared as though Dantonio and Tressel ...

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How does the 2019 class finish for Ohio State?
Patrick Mayhorn via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


It could be a wild couple of months for the Buckeyes.

Every year, it feels like the recruiting cycle goes by faster and faster. We’re already in mid August, meaning that in just over four months, 2019 recruits will be able to sign with their schools during the Early Signing Period. That also means, as it relates to Ohio State, that the Buckeyes have some work to do on the recruiting trail for the next couple months.

Ohio State currently has 15 commitments in the 2019 class, putting them at eighth in the national team rankings. They want anywhere from 22 to 25 members in this class, so we could see as many as 10 more commitments in this class. I think eight more additions is the more likely option though, and with the talent left on the board, Ohio State may still be headed for a top five class.

Obviously it’s too early to call all of this, with plenty of official visits and other developments yet to happen, but we’ve got a pretty good idea of who those final eight to ten commitments may be. Let’s take a look at who could be finishing out the 2019 class for Ohio State.

Peyton Powell, ATH: While he may have postponed his early August scheduled commitment earlier this month, Peyton Powell is still very much an option for Ohio State. The Odessa, Texas product may not have a true position on the field, but he certainly does have a spot in this class if he wants it, likely as a defensive back.

Oklahoma extending an offer earlier this month complicated things a bit, but I think that Ohio State is still the team to beat in this one.

Jameson Williams, WR: Williams is one of the commitments on this list that I don’t think will happen until at least after the high school season, but I do eventually see him as a Buckeye. While his fellow St. Louis receiver friend Marcus Washington is likely headed to Missouri, not Ohio State, I do think that Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline can get this one done.

Williams is one of two or three more receivers in this class (more on that later), and if the Buckeyes finish at wideout with what I expect them to, it’ll be a huge deal for Hartline and the whole staff.

Elijah Higgins, WR: Continuing on the theme of wide receivers, Elijah Higgins may be the biggest long shot in this entire list. The Texas native has a ton of top schools on his list, including the homestate Longhorns, Stanford, and Florida, while Ohio State is relatively new to the chase. Hartline is more interested in Higgins than his predecessor was, and because of that, Ohio State has made up some ground here.

I don’t think they lead yet, but his friendship with Garrett Wilson, and another potential visit this fall could make this recruitment very interesting. Ultimately, I think the Buckeyes make Higgins their third receiver in the class, along with Williams and Wilson. That means that there’s one more spot, and I think it goes to a familiar face.

David Bell, WR: The last receiver in the class is somebody who has been on and off the recruiting board at Ohio State for more than a year now. The Indianapolis product was once considered a heavy Buckeye lean, but the sides seemed to move apart earlier this year. However, like with Higgins, Hartline is a big fan of Bell. That means that he’s in play again for the Buckeyes.

He hasn’t scheduled one yet, but I do expect him to visit Ohio State for a game this fall. I wouldn’t be surprised if he joined the class shortly after that.

Tyler Davis, DL: It’s not a great year for defensive linemen. The 2019 class is relatively weak on big guys, and most of the best ones are either already committed or not really looking at Ohio State. However, there are two on this list that I think land in Columbus, and the first of them is Florida tackle Tyler Davis.

Davis isn’t talked about a ton, and I’m not entirely sure that the Buckeyes lead right now (I think Florida State does), but I do think he eventually lands in Columbus. They need a couple more linemen in this class, and he’s one of the best ones left on their board.

Zach Harrison, DE: Easily the biggest recruit left for Ohio State in 2019, Zach Harrison doesn’t really need an introduction. Ohio State fans know how important it is for Ohio State to land him. Ohio State knows how important it is for them to land him. He’s a massive deal, and there are plenty of worried people around this commitment, for good reason.

Harrison could still go any way. Michigan is still an option, as is Penn State. He is in no way a lock to any school. However, my pick is still Ohio State for the Olentangy Orange star.

Kaiir Elam, DB: Ohio State doesn’t really need a ton more in the defensive backfield. They’ve recruited it super well over the past few years, and they have several talented safeties and corners committed already in 2019. However, I think they may want to add a true lockdown corner, and in Florida corner Kaiir Elam, they’d have that.

He won’t be easy to take from Dan Mullen and the Gators, but if Ohio State goes all in, I think they get him.

Noah Cain, RB: I’m not at all confident in this one. I don’t think Ohio State is pursuing Cain all that much at this point, because they’ve got several good backs in the class already. With that in mind, we do know that Urban Meyer* almost always has a signing day trick up his sleeve, or a late cycle recruit that he pushes for and steals at the last second. I think Cain may be that guy in 2019, and while I wouldn’t be willing to back that with any kind of confidence, I do think it’s a possibility. Darnell Wright, Brenton Strange or Jakai Moore are also candidates for this spot.

*All of this should be taken with the qualifier that Urban Meyer does remain the head coach at Ohio State. If he’s out, the game changes completely, and most of these guys would no longer be options. That also applies to a large amount of the current commits.

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Skull Session: Archie Griffin's Buckeye Breakdown, Tate Martell's Role, and Joe Burrow Makes Competition Rage Quit - Eleven Warriors
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Skull Session: Archie Griffin's Buckeye Breakdown, Tate Martell's Role, and Joe Burrow Makes Competition Rage Quit
Eleven Warriors
Today, I am moving out of the campus apartment where I've lived the past four years. It's bittersweet, but mostly sweet because I legitimately cannot imagine spending another month here. It's small, old, smells bad, is falling apart everywhere, hasn't ...


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Zach Smith's lawyer: Client answered investigators' question - ESPN
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Zach Smith's lawyer: Client answered investigators' question
ESPN
Former Ohio State assistant football coach Zach Smith met Tuesday with investigators working on behalf of the university, Smith's attorney told ESPN's Dan Murphy. Smith was fired from his position as the Buckeyes' wide receivers coach on July 23 after ...
Ohio State football | Archie Griffin impressed with Buckeyes' work despite the distractionsThe Columbus Dispatch
Kurelic: OSU commits start tough; Buckeyes have a beast DE; more247Sports
The Football Fever: 5-star Texas receiver still committed to Buckeyes amid investigationABC6OnYourSide.com
Scarlet and Game -Eleven Warriors -AP News -AP News
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Fired Buckeyes coach had DUI arrest in '13 - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
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Fired Buckeyes coach had DUI arrest in '13
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Former Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith, who was fired last month after a history of domestic violence allegations became public, was arrested on a drunken-driving charge in 2013 but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Documents ...
Zach Smith kept OVI arrest secret from MeyerESPN (press release) (blog)
Ex-Buckeyes coach Smith arrested in 2013 on suspected drunk drivingIronton Tribune
Wide Receiver Garrett Wilson Reaffirms Commitment While Athlete Peyton Powell Sets New Announcement DateEleven Warriors
USA TODAY -Lyndy's Sports Annuals -ESPN -Toledo Blade
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