Elite recruits include Ohio State in final schools
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Elite recruits continue to include the Buckeyes in their lists of final schools — and Ohio State is putting a focus on the offensive line.
Elite DB lists Ohio State in top 12
In the last few years, Ohio State has been able to send an incredible amount of elite DBs Four-star DB to the NFL. After losing three more members of the secondary, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State coaching staff are looking towards recruiting to replace the lost talent.
The program got one step closer when four-star safety
Isheem Young (Philadelphia, PA / Imhotep Institute) included the Buckeyes in his top 12 schools. Along with Ohio State, Young included Florida State, Penn State, LSU, Clemson, Baylor, West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia and Temple in his list of schools he will focus on going forward in his recruitment.
Young is currently viewed as the No. 62 overall recruit in next year’s class,
according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is seen as the No. 6 safety.
Currently, hometown school Penn State is seen as the favorite but Columbus is not that far away so look for the coaching staff to try and get him on campus at least once this coming season.
Blue-chip OT includes Ohio State in top 12
It is well known that a football team is only as good as its offensive and defensive lines. More often than not, games are won in the battle in up front. This is especially true in an Urban Meyer offense that favors a mobile quarterback and puts a focus on being able to run the ball.
Meyer and the Buckeyes coaching staff seem to be aware of this and have been placing a heavy focus on recruiting offensive linemen in the next class. The hard work appears to be paying off as the program moved one step closer in securing a commitment for a rising offensive tackle.
Three-star OT
John Campbell (Orlando, FL / Dr. Phillips) included Ohio State in his list of top 12 schools Monday evening. And while the three-star rating may question some of Buckeye Nation, the program will be competing with some of the country’s best for Campbell.
Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, UNC, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee and Georgia will all be competing with the Buckeyes to earn a commitment from Campbell.
Having the measurables needed to succeed at the college level, Campbell stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 284 pounds. If he is able to build on his junior campaign, Campbell will likely see an increase in his rankings.
Ohio State offers offensive linemen brothers
Keeping with the focus up front, Ohio State offered two offensive linemen yesterday— and they are brothers.
Barton Simmons of 247Sports was first to report that Ohio State had sent scholarship offers to both
Max Wray and his brother
Jake Wray. The two hail from Franklin, TN and while Max is preparing to enter his senior season, Jake has only one season of high school ball under him.
A top-five offensive tackle, according to multiple recruiting databases, Max Wray is a four-star prospect and
247Sports has him slated as the No. 55 best recruit in the country as well as the third best in Tennessee for the 2018 recruiting class. He recently decommitted from Georgia after successful visits to both Alabama and Clemson.
The 6-foot-6, 287-pounder has accumulated 17 scholarship offers from some of the best programs in the country including the likes of Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson, LSU, USC, Miami, Texas and Georgia.
While his brother, Jake, is still in the early stages of his recruitment, he has still received almost just as many offers as Max. Despite three years of high school remaining, top programs like Alabama, Louisville, LSU, Clemson, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas have all offered the young OT.
It will be important for the Buckeyes to get the two on campus sometime this season if they are wanting to remain in the mix for either of the brothers.
Elite OLB wants to visit Ohio State soon
One of the keys to why Urban Meyer has become one of the best recruiters in college football is his ability to look ahead. This has been true with four-star outside linebacker
Owen Pappoe (Loganville, GA / Grayson), who is seen as one of the top recruits in the 2019 class.
Pappoe was originally slated to visit Ohio State this past season for “The Game” against Michigan, but was, unfortunately, unable to attend. However, the Ohio State coaching staff has continued to be in constant contact with Pappoe and it seems to be paying off. On Monday,
Alex Gleitman of 247Sports reported the blue-chip OLB wants to visit the campus sometime in the coming season.
He is seen as the country’s No. 2 overall recruit in 2019, according to 247Sports, and is the top OLB. He has proven to be a nightmare for opposing QB’s as he not only has a knack for finding the ball, he also has a knack for finding the QB behind the line of scrimmage. He also has the measurements of a prototypical OLB, standing at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds.
As is with any highly-touted recruit, Ohio State will be competing with the best schools in the country for Pappoe’s commitment. Schools like Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Auburn, Tennessee, Clemson, Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, UNC, Oregon and plenty of others have all offered Pappoe.
For better or for worse, Pappoe likely won’t be making a decision any time soon, so the Buckeyes will have plenty of time to win him over.
Future Buckeyes impressing at The Opening Los Angeles
The Opening Los Angeles regional camp took place this past weekend and Buckeye Nation has a reason to be excited.
Ohio State DB commit
Jaiden Woodbey (Fontana, CA / St. John Bosco) impressed at the camp, succeeding as both a cornerback and a safety. While Woodbey didn’t earn an invitation to The Opening Finals after the camp,
247Sports was in attendance at the camp and slated him as the second best defensive recruit to attend the event.
One of the wide receivers to line up opposite of Woodbey was Ohio State WR target,
Amon-Ra St. Brown (Anaheim, CA / Mater Dei).
247Sports listed the five-star WR recruit as the top performer at the camp as he consistently created big play after big play. Along with Ohio State, Notre Dame, Stanford and USC are seen as favorites to land one of the top WRs in next year’s recruiting class.
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