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2023 MA OL Samson Okunlola (Miami Signee)

Back in the day, Woody used to recruit tackles, and if they didn't pan out, he'd plug them in as IOLs. Worked pretty well then....but today, seems to be more specialization, and as we all know, what works for a kid in HS doesn't necessarily translate well to the college ranks. Love to see tOSU recruit so well in the skill positions, but mostly watch the trenchs to see who is joining up. See Bama grabbing the #1 and #2 OT pretty much every other (?) year. Don't follow enough afterwards to see how they end up, only follow tOSU. Maybe I'm underestimating the quality of our tackles (certainly hope so), but that and QB are hardest positions to project. Lindy's seems to always rank tOSU's OLine as a top ten each and every year, so there's that. After so many years with Stud, am excited (quietly anxious) to see how Frye impacts the OL play. Am reading how Coach Mick is espousing a 'be tough' attitude for all of our players, but always thought that was his mantra every year. Finally, thought that the OL performed very well against ND DL, and they were very highly ranked (again Lindy's). PS, tOSU DL exceeded my expectations against ND's OL. Guess I'll just sit back and enjoy instead of over-thinking it. Go Bucks!

One thing I will say is it is easier to get a tackle to play inside than to get a guard to play tackle, so I think Woody had the right idea and it seemed UFM and his staff had the same mentality. I can't speak to Frye and Day yet...OL recruiting under Stud was underwhelming for the most part by OSU standards but not really because of not targeting OTs, but because he missed on many of his top targets at OT.

On Bama, they do typically land top OTs and a lot of them turn into 1st/2nd round draft picks (which in turn leads to recruiting success with OTs by pointing to draft results). Really I think the only area we have lagged behind Bama somewhat is at the OT position recruiting, but it hasn't been horrible as some seem to think (just off the top of my head NPF, Munford, Parris Johnson, Dawand, maybe Tshabola are all either highly rated and/or have turned into highly ranked prospects). My hope is Frye improves us in both OL recruiting and development some, but no idea yet other than I do think the OL has looked pretty good in 2 games so far....ND may not be good as a whole, but I do think their DL was tough. If we keep seeing good results at OL and PJ Jr/Dawand start looking like early round draft picks, then I could see us possibly getting a guy like Samson. I am hoping Samson doesn't sign early, as I think our chances are better the longer his recruitment goes.
 
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Back in the day, Woody used to recruit tackles, and if they didn't pan out, he'd plug them in as IOLs. Worked pretty well then....but today, seems to be more specialization, and as we all know, what works for a kid in HS doesn't necessarily translate well to the college ranks. Love to see tOSU recruit so well in the skill positions, but mostly watch the trenchs to see who is joining up. See Bama grabbing the #1 and #2 OT pretty much every other (?) year. Don't follow enough afterwards to see how they end up, only follow tOSU. Maybe I'm underestimating the quality of our tackles (certainly hope so), but that and QB are hardest positions to project. Lindy's seems to always rank tOSU's OLine as a top ten each and every year, so there's that. After so many years with Stud, am excited (quietly anxious) to see how Frye impacts the OL play. Am reading how Coach Mick is espousing a 'be tough' attitude for all of our players, but always thought that was his mantra every year. Finally, thought that the OL performed very well against ND DL, and they were very highly ranked (again Lindy's). PS, tOSU DL exceeded my expectations against ND's OL. Guess I'll just sit back and enjoy instead of over-thinking it. Go Bucks!

I'd venture to say there wasn't much difference between OTs and IOL in Woody's day due to the run-heavy scheme. We played OTs at OG last year and the lack of push was glaring
 
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I'd venture to say there wasn't much difference between OTs and IOL in Woody's day due to the run-heavy scheme. We played OTs at OG last year and the lack of push was glaring

And back in Woodys day he passed the ball 5 times all game, bringing him up as a comparison in this day in age is like apples to hamburgers.
Okunla is a luxury to the class and not a necessity. But Would still absolutely love him in this class
 
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SAMSON OKUNLOLA
Frequent Heat Check readers will know Okunlola’s section usually reads the same month after month. It’ll go something along the lines of Ohio State is still interested, but a visit has to happen before any serious consideration is given. Well, that much holds true again this month. Still, within recent weeks, there’s been cautious optimism coming from Ohio State that Okunlola is actually going to make an official visit to Ohio State on Nov. 26 for the Michigan game. However, that visit is not set in stone. A source told Eleven Warriors that Okunlola’s recruitment will have “a lot of factors” to it but that he has still been responsive in communicating with OSU. The matchup with Michigan will be significant for many reasons, of course, but that day will also offer a preview on if the Buckeyes will have an opportunity to secure a premier offensive tackle for their 2023 class.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...p-spot-on-ohio-states-recruiting-board-as-the
 
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WILL SAMSON OKUNLOLA OR CALEB DOWNS BE AMONG THOSE IN ATTENDANCE?
By now, if you’re a regular follower of Ohio State recruiting, you may have fatigue from reading about the uncertainty regarding whether or not five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola will take an official visit to Columbus on Nov. 26 or not. But as the Michigan game draws closer, it becomes all the more intriguing to find out just how real of a shot the Buckeyes have of getting the Massachusetts product on campus and, in turn, landing him.

Ohio State has probably at least benefited from some primary challengers for Okunlola (Miami and Michigan State come to mind) looking like dumpster fires in the 2022 season. Okunlola is precisely the type of premier offensive tackle prospect the Buckeyes have sought to cap off their 2023 recruiting class, and considering the tackle depth next season for the Buckeyes, he’d have a chance to start as a freshman. If the Buckeyes can pull this one out, it would be a tremendous recruiting victory for Justin Frye in his first season on the job.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...recruiting-in-november-as-the-game-approaches
 
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pnuts, work your magic....we need the stud (not discounting Montgomery) on the OL. We'll lose both tackles and one guard to graduation/NFL this year. See two 'sure-things', but not all three. Would be great if this visit pans out.
 
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pnuts, work your magic....we need the stud (not discounting Montgomery) on the OL. We'll lose both tackles and one guard to graduation/NFL this year. See two 'sure-things', but not all three. Would be great if this visit pans out.
Just need the visit to come through. Then let Day/Frye and staff paint a picture for PT and life after football. Then hope that the collectives work their magic and can show him a vision to market himself. He's already started his brand, with the Pancake nickname, so I'm sure a local Pancake restaurant or even IHOP can step in and help with a deal. First step, is just sealing the visit.

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Get the big fella on campus....... and blow his mind.
Especially on a kid where I feel like most are absolutely guessing on where he'll go. Get him on campus for the CFB's game of the year and put all hands on deck to land him.
This kid doesn’t strike me as a kid who really cares about college atmosphere. OSU wins this battle by showing him his path to :cash: in the program. Especially since OSU isn’t putting up, up front money. The fact that he’s waited this long to take a visit, and still has Miami in front speaks quite loud. NIL will be primary, PT second , and then his benefits after his career will be third, IMO. This is a business decision for Okunla, yelling from fans won’t impress him. If it did, then this recruitment would’ve gone in a very different direction
 
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