Ben van Ooyen
Guest
Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 9/26/2016
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Welcome to your tri-weekly look at all things Ohio State recruiting. Let’s get started!
Top DT Target Releases Top 7:
One of the highest ranking players left on Ohio States 2017 recruiting Big Board would have to be Jay Tufele, a 4-star defensive tackle out of South Jordan, Utah. He released his top 7 last week and it included the Buckeyes as well as arch-rival Michigan along with five west-coast teams. Tufele is the #1 player from the state of Utah, and is the #3 overall defensive tackle in the class of 2017 and would be a nice pickup for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes if her were to commit.
The Buckeyes currently have Jerron Cage and Haskell Garrett committed at the position, but adding an elite tackle like Tufele would be icing on the cake. The Buckeyes have limited spots left in this class, but I think if Tufele wanted to hop on board, the staff would be more than happy to find a way to get him in this class.
Tufele was recently selected as a U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant and will play in that game on January 7th, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. Tufele has not set a commitment date, and the Buckeyes would love to get him on campus for an official visit to try and seal the deal.
#1 RB in 2018 gets a visitor:
The top rated running back in the class of 2018 lives a bit down the road from me in Laurinburg, North Carolina in Zamir White. I plan on getting down there to see a game sometime this season to see how dynamic a player he is. Tony Alford beat me down there as he made the trek from Ohio to see White play last Friday night. White did not disappoint as he went for 201 yards on ten carries and four touchdowns leading his Scotland County team past Glenn.
@zeus1_34 3rd td of tonight. This run is one for the books. @tarheelchaplain pic.twitter.com/WvKBbtLsMa
— Rob Shoemake (@shoeheel1) September 24, 2016
White currently holds 24 offers and his crystal ball projections are split between Georgia, Clemson and North Carolina at the moment. He recently has visited South Carolina for the East Carolina game, and has made other unofficials to Notre Dame, NC State, and UNC. The Buckeyes have their work cut out for them if they want to land this 5-star back out of ACC/SEC country as almost every team from the area would love to add the talent of Zamir White to their backfield.
2017 to be a One Quarterback Class?
When Tate Martell jumped on board in May the Buckeyes had an interesting problem, the Quarterback room was overflowing with talent. With J.T. Barrett possibly returning next season, along with Stephen Collier, Joe Burrow, Dwayne Haskins and then Tate Martell and long-time commitment Danny Clark would all be trying to secure the starting spot when camp opens in 2017. A lot has been made of Clark’s commitment as he made the pledge back in December of 2013, and has not backed off since. It has been rumored that the Buckeyes have talked to Clark about possibly grey-shirting, but that has not been confirmed and Clark has said that is not the case.
Why do we bring up Danny Clark today? Yesterday three crystal ball projections came in for Clark, and they were for the Kentucky Wildcats. Clark made an interesting visit to Alabama back in April, and a lot was speculated then about his commitment. He then came to Friday Night Lights in July and seemed to perform better than Martell did, trying to prove a point that he was the better quarterback. Danny has not backed down from the competition aspect of it saying that he is willing to come in and battle for playing time at Ohio State, but to me it seems that the writing is on the wall on this one. The kid who has a Block O tattooed on his arm might be headed elsewhere when all is said and done. Will Clark stick it out and try and become a Buckeye or will he defect and try and get a better chance at playing time at another big time school?
Les Miles and the LSU Fallout:
The major news to hit yesterday in the college football world was that long-time LSU head coach Les Miles had been fired after 12 seasons at the helm. Miles avoided getting fired last year by winning late and having hardly anyone leave for the NFL off a talented roster. It was thought that the Tigers would be competing with Alabama for the SEC title this season, and after four games it just didn’t look like it was in the cards. An early stunning loss to Wisconsin and then Saturday the loss to Auburn by less than a second of game play led to Miles outing. What does this mean for Ohio State? I am going to guess not much, but it will have an effect on LSU’s recruiting as I expect to see some decommitments from the #4 overall ranked class. SEC Country reached out to recruits and some of them said they would stay committed to LSU, but others weren’t so sure.
Patrick Queen, 4-star LB: “It’s crazy. He did a lot for us. Much love and respect to him. Best of luck to him wherever he goes. They could have let him finish the year out. It won’t be the same.”
Mannie Netherly, 4-star WR: “Les is LSU.”
Thoughts from SEC assistant after Les Miles' firing. "It'll be open season with #LSU's recruits," the coach said. "Their class was so good."
— Jeremy Crabtree (@jeremycrabtree) September 25, 2016
The Buckeyes had offers to JaCoby Stevens, a 5-star Safety out of Tennessee who committed to LSU in August. If he were to reopen his recruitment, it would be likely that Georgia and Alabama would be tops for his services with Tennessee possibly on the outside looking in. Kary Vincent is another current LSU commitment that had a Buckeye offer. He committed to LSU back in July and although the Buckeyes got an unofficial visit in June, they were never really in the mix.
While the Buckeyes may not benefit from the turmoil in Baton Rouge, it is likely that unless LSU makes a home run hire, that this recruiting class might fall apart with most of the kids probably heading to rival schools in the SEC.
The post Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 9/26/2016 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Welcome to your tri-weekly look at all things Ohio State recruiting. Let’s get started!
Top DT Target Releases Top 7:
One of the highest ranking players left on Ohio States 2017 recruiting Big Board would have to be Jay Tufele, a 4-star defensive tackle out of South Jordan, Utah. He released his top 7 last week and it included the Buckeyes as well as arch-rival Michigan along with five west-coast teams. Tufele is the #1 player from the state of Utah, and is the #3 overall defensive tackle in the class of 2017 and would be a nice pickup for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes if her were to commit.
The Buckeyes currently have Jerron Cage and Haskell Garrett committed at the position, but adding an elite tackle like Tufele would be icing on the cake. The Buckeyes have limited spots left in this class, but I think if Tufele wanted to hop on board, the staff would be more than happy to find a way to get him in this class.
Tufele was recently selected as a U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant and will play in that game on January 7th, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. Tufele has not set a commitment date, and the Buckeyes would love to get him on campus for an official visit to try and seal the deal.
#1 RB in 2018 gets a visitor:
The top rated running back in the class of 2018 lives a bit down the road from me in Laurinburg, North Carolina in Zamir White. I plan on getting down there to see a game sometime this season to see how dynamic a player he is. Tony Alford beat me down there as he made the trek from Ohio to see White play last Friday night. White did not disappoint as he went for 201 yards on ten carries and four touchdowns leading his Scotland County team past Glenn.
@zeus1_34 3rd td of tonight. This run is one for the books. @tarheelchaplain pic.twitter.com/WvKBbtLsMa
— Rob Shoemake (@shoeheel1) September 24, 2016
White currently holds 24 offers and his crystal ball projections are split between Georgia, Clemson and North Carolina at the moment. He recently has visited South Carolina for the East Carolina game, and has made other unofficials to Notre Dame, NC State, and UNC. The Buckeyes have their work cut out for them if they want to land this 5-star back out of ACC/SEC country as almost every team from the area would love to add the talent of Zamir White to their backfield.
2017 to be a One Quarterback Class?
When Tate Martell jumped on board in May the Buckeyes had an interesting problem, the Quarterback room was overflowing with talent. With J.T. Barrett possibly returning next season, along with Stephen Collier, Joe Burrow, Dwayne Haskins and then Tate Martell and long-time commitment Danny Clark would all be trying to secure the starting spot when camp opens in 2017. A lot has been made of Clark’s commitment as he made the pledge back in December of 2013, and has not backed off since. It has been rumored that the Buckeyes have talked to Clark about possibly grey-shirting, but that has not been confirmed and Clark has said that is not the case.
Why do we bring up Danny Clark today? Yesterday three crystal ball projections came in for Clark, and they were for the Kentucky Wildcats. Clark made an interesting visit to Alabama back in April, and a lot was speculated then about his commitment. He then came to Friday Night Lights in July and seemed to perform better than Martell did, trying to prove a point that he was the better quarterback. Danny has not backed down from the competition aspect of it saying that he is willing to come in and battle for playing time at Ohio State, but to me it seems that the writing is on the wall on this one. The kid who has a Block O tattooed on his arm might be headed elsewhere when all is said and done. Will Clark stick it out and try and become a Buckeye or will he defect and try and get a better chance at playing time at another big time school?
Les Miles and the LSU Fallout:
The major news to hit yesterday in the college football world was that long-time LSU head coach Les Miles had been fired after 12 seasons at the helm. Miles avoided getting fired last year by winning late and having hardly anyone leave for the NFL off a talented roster. It was thought that the Tigers would be competing with Alabama for the SEC title this season, and after four games it just didn’t look like it was in the cards. An early stunning loss to Wisconsin and then Saturday the loss to Auburn by less than a second of game play led to Miles outing. What does this mean for Ohio State? I am going to guess not much, but it will have an effect on LSU’s recruiting as I expect to see some decommitments from the #4 overall ranked class. SEC Country reached out to recruits and some of them said they would stay committed to LSU, but others weren’t so sure.
Patrick Queen, 4-star LB: “It’s crazy. He did a lot for us. Much love and respect to him. Best of luck to him wherever he goes. They could have let him finish the year out. It won’t be the same.”
Mannie Netherly, 4-star WR: “Les is LSU.”
Thoughts from SEC assistant after Les Miles' firing. "It'll be open season with #LSU's recruits," the coach said. "Their class was so good."
— Jeremy Crabtree (@jeremycrabtree) September 25, 2016
The Buckeyes had offers to JaCoby Stevens, a 5-star Safety out of Tennessee who committed to LSU in August. If he were to reopen his recruitment, it would be likely that Georgia and Alabama would be tops for his services with Tennessee possibly on the outside looking in. Kary Vincent is another current LSU commitment that had a Buckeye offer. He committed to LSU back in July and although the Buckeyes got an unofficial visit in June, they were never really in the mix.
While the Buckeyes may not benefit from the turmoil in Baton Rouge, it is likely that unless LSU makes a home run hire, that this recruiting class might fall apart with most of the kids probably heading to rival schools in the SEC.
The post Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 9/26/2016 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...