Caleb Houser
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Ohio State inks 26th member of 2025 class, but fails to flip two top tackle targets
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Doug Engle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Buckeyes hang tough and sign defensive line commit Jarquez Carter.
Signing 25 guys on Wednesday, the Buckeyes saw their fair share of news as they added two players to the fold, but also lost one of major importance. For the most part though, Wednesday went as planned and that makes for some easier planning moving forward.
Thursday helping cement the class with the one commit left making it official, and now the 2025 class is basically in the rearview mirror. The College Football Playoff and the transfer portal being the next areas to focus heavily on, Ohio State has zero downtime in the coming weeks as they’ll not only look to right their regular season ending wrongs, but also take care of roster management that is crucial if this team wants to be successful next fall.
Without further hesitation, here’s what Thursday had to bring on the recruiting front both good and bad.
As mentioned, basically all of the work the Buckeyes needed to complete for this 2025 class was taken care of on Wednesday thanks to 25 members signing with Ohio State. Waiting for the 26th commit to join the fold, the staff didn’t receive the signature of Florida native defensive line commit, Jarquez Carter on Wednesday like the others.
The No. 277 player nationally and 28th best defensive lineman in the class per the 247Sports Composite, making sure Carter remained in the fold was a huge priority for the Buckeyes knowing their crucial need for depth in his position group. Maybe not a major threat to leave the class, the reasoning for Carter’s delay was due to his signing ceremony being on Thursday rather than Wednesday. That said, seeing the four other hats on the table during his presentation and knowing other programs were trying to flip him late still caused plenty of reason for concern.
Fortunately, Ohio State avoided disaster when Carter stuck with his Buckeye commitment and made it official with his signature. The final commit for this class, it does look as if the Buckeyes are done with high school recruits and will now shift their focus solely to the transfer portal. With plenty of needs to be met, the attrition already being seen has to be taken care of. Sure, the playoff game(s) are top priority, but if this staff knows what’s good for them they will attack the portal harder than they ever have, and especially when it comes to the trenches on both sides of the ball.
When Ohio State had the surprise visit of David Sanders Jr. for the Indiana game, it was not only a shock, but also a chance for the Buckeyes to potentially get back into the mix for the No. 5 player nationally and top tackle in the 2025 class per the 247Sports Composite. The claim all along was that this wasn’t a money grab from the Sanders camp and that there really was a reason to visit Columbus this late in the process, but of course that remained to be seen considering he was still very much committed to Tennessee.
On Wednesday, the hope was there for some slight chance at flipping Sanders away from the Vols when news broke that he would not be signing that day, but Thursday’s update felt par for the course this recruiting cycle as once again the hope was gone thanks to Sanders Jr. officially signing with Tennessee and keeping his commitment with the Vols.
Regardless of reason, this feels like it was his family’s chance at increasing the NIL potential, and if that’s the case that’s just the college football landscape currently. Losing out as the runner-up earlier this fall for the top offensive tackle in the country was hard enough, and seeing him stick with his commitment is just as tough to go through.
As if the Sanders Jr. signing wasnt enough, the recruitment of Josh Petty reared it’s head again as he too had some late antics that saw him not sign with Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
The No. 52 player nationally and eighth best offensive tackle in the class per the 247Sports Composite, Petty was reportedly hearing from multiple programs up until the final minutes, and Thursday he chose to like Sanders Jr. stick with his original decision and sign with Georgia Tech.
Two misses for the Buckeyes this cycle, it goes back to the theme that has become apparent the last couple of cycles. Ohio State does have good players that they’ve landed on the offensive line, but the top national targets seem to always go elsewhere regardless of who the position coach is.
Further proof to the transfer portal needing to be watched closer than ever, these next few weeks will be very telling as to where this program is headed from a trenches stance.
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
Doug Engle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Buckeyes hang tough and sign defensive line commit Jarquez Carter.
Signing 25 guys on Wednesday, the Buckeyes saw their fair share of news as they added two players to the fold, but also lost one of major importance. For the most part though, Wednesday went as planned and that makes for some easier planning moving forward.
Thursday helping cement the class with the one commit left making it official, and now the 2025 class is basically in the rearview mirror. The College Football Playoff and the transfer portal being the next areas to focus heavily on, Ohio State has zero downtime in the coming weeks as they’ll not only look to right their regular season ending wrongs, but also take care of roster management that is crucial if this team wants to be successful next fall.
Without further hesitation, here’s what Thursday had to bring on the recruiting front both good and bad.
26th member makes it official for Ohio State
As mentioned, basically all of the work the Buckeyes needed to complete for this 2025 class was taken care of on Wednesday thanks to 25 members signing with Ohio State. Waiting for the 26th commit to join the fold, the staff didn’t receive the signature of Florida native defensive line commit, Jarquez Carter on Wednesday like the others.
The No. 277 player nationally and 28th best defensive lineman in the class per the 247Sports Composite, making sure Carter remained in the fold was a huge priority for the Buckeyes knowing their crucial need for depth in his position group. Maybe not a major threat to leave the class, the reasoning for Carter’s delay was due to his signing ceremony being on Thursday rather than Wednesday. That said, seeing the four other hats on the table during his presentation and knowing other programs were trying to flip him late still caused plenty of reason for concern.
Fortunately, Ohio State avoided disaster when Carter stuck with his Buckeye commitment and made it official with his signature. The final commit for this class, it does look as if the Buckeyes are done with high school recruits and will now shift their focus solely to the transfer portal. With plenty of needs to be met, the attrition already being seen has to be taken care of. Sure, the playoff game(s) are top priority, but if this staff knows what’s good for them they will attack the portal harder than they ever have, and especially when it comes to the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Strike one and two for late heroics on the offensive line
When Ohio State had the surprise visit of David Sanders Jr. for the Indiana game, it was not only a shock, but also a chance for the Buckeyes to potentially get back into the mix for the No. 5 player nationally and top tackle in the 2025 class per the 247Sports Composite. The claim all along was that this wasn’t a money grab from the Sanders camp and that there really was a reason to visit Columbus this late in the process, but of course that remained to be seen considering he was still very much committed to Tennessee.
On Wednesday, the hope was there for some slight chance at flipping Sanders away from the Vols when news broke that he would not be signing that day, but Thursday’s update felt par for the course this recruiting cycle as once again the hope was gone thanks to Sanders Jr. officially signing with Tennessee and keeping his commitment with the Vols.
Regardless of reason, this feels like it was his family’s chance at increasing the NIL potential, and if that’s the case that’s just the college football landscape currently. Losing out as the runner-up earlier this fall for the top offensive tackle in the country was hard enough, and seeing him stick with his commitment is just as tough to go through.
As if the Sanders Jr. signing wasnt enough, the recruitment of Josh Petty reared it’s head again as he too had some late antics that saw him not sign with Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
The No. 52 player nationally and eighth best offensive tackle in the class per the 247Sports Composite, Petty was reportedly hearing from multiple programs up until the final minutes, and Thursday he chose to like Sanders Jr. stick with his original decision and sign with Georgia Tech.
Two misses for the Buckeyes this cycle, it goes back to the theme that has become apparent the last couple of cycles. Ohio State does have good players that they’ve landed on the offensive line, but the top national targets seem to always go elsewhere regardless of who the position coach is.
Further proof to the transfer portal needing to be watched closer than ever, these next few weeks will be very telling as to where this program is headed from a trenches stance.
Continue reading...