Gene Ross
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Ohio State misses out on four-star DB, trending poorly for pair of OL
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Four-star 2025 safety Messiah Delhomme | 247Sports
The Buckeyes have had a less than stellar last few weeks on the recruiting trail.
Ohio State still lays claim to the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2025, but the Buckeyes’ chances of holding onto that lead come National Signing Day have become a lot slimmer after a tough few weeks on the trail.
On Saturday, Ohio State missed out on four-star safety Messiah Delhomme, who announced his commitment to Maryland. Delhomme, the No. 16 safety and No. 192 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite, chose the Terrapins out of a final six schools list that also included the Buckeyes alongside Alabama, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
It seemed as though Delhomme would become a much bigger target for Ohio State after in-state safety Trey McNutt announced his commitment Oregon, but it doesn’t sound like any sort of late push took place for the Buckeyes. Instead, position coach Matt Guerrieri will settle on a three-man class at the position that includes Faheem Delane (No. 2 safety), Cody Haddad (No. 20), and Deshawn Stewart (No. 26).
Elsewhere, Ohio State appears headed for bad news in regards to the top two offensive linemen remaining on its board. The big one, of course, being five-star offensive tackle David Sanders. Jr., who is now trending towards Tennessee.
It has long felt like a two-school battle between Ohio State and Tennessee for the nation’s No. 1 OT and No. 2 overall player, but the closer-to-home Volunteers now have all the momentum with just a few days remaining under Sanders’ Aug. 17 commitment date. The lone 247Sports Crystal Ball as well as all four On3 RPM’s sit with Tennessee, and while these predictions aren’t the end-all be-all, they are more often than not a good indication of the final result.
Elsewhere, the Buckeyes had seemingly come on strong of late for fellow five-star offensive lineman Josh Petty, but the Georgia native is now trending heavily towards Georgia Tech.
Petty, the No. 2 OT and No. 14 player overall per 247Sports’ rankings, is set to announce his decision on Monday between a final five of Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Stanford and Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets appear to be his most likely destination, as all four Crystal Balls and three RPM’s favorite the in-state program.
As far as things go for Ohio State, this is a pretty disastrous outcome. The Buckeyes had virtually all of their eggs in the Sanders basket, outside of the late push for Petty, and now come away with just two offensive linemen committed in the 2025 class and with few other options still out there. There no other uncommitted offensive tackles with OSU offers outside of Sanders and Petty, and the only interior prospect still on the board is three-star Maryland native Jayvon McFadden.
Even if they are to land McFadden, which is a big ‘if’ at this point with how the rest of the recruiting at this position has gone, a two or three-man class with only one blue chip prospect in four-star Ohio native Carter Lowe is pretty much a nightmare scenario for the Buckeyes, who will almost certainly be losing at least three if not four of the five starters this season to the NFL Draft and graduation.
It is tough to imagine that position coach Justin Frye isn’t on the hot seat, who came in to try and fix the recruiting woes caused by Greg Studrawa, and has instead replicated them. Ohio State is simply not casting a wide enough net when it comes to recruiting offensive linemen, only offering 29 OL in this cycle (19 tackles and 10 IOL), compared to schools like Alabama (37), Georgia (46) and Michigan (44). Whether it's poor process or just plain laziness, that type of effort isn’t going to get the job done at the highest level.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Four-star 2025 safety Messiah Delhomme | 247Sports
The Buckeyes have had a less than stellar last few weeks on the recruiting trail.
Ohio State still lays claim to the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2025, but the Buckeyes’ chances of holding onto that lead come National Signing Day have become a lot slimmer after a tough few weeks on the trail.
On Saturday, Ohio State missed out on four-star safety Messiah Delhomme, who announced his commitment to Maryland. Delhomme, the No. 16 safety and No. 192 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite, chose the Terrapins out of a final six schools list that also included the Buckeyes alongside Alabama, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Glad to say I’m part of the terps family@CoachLocks @ZSpavital @Latrell__Scott @Rivals @Coach_D_Moody pic.twitter.com/hWaEjfkEaR
— Messiah Delhomme (@DelhommeMessiah) August 11, 2024
It seemed as though Delhomme would become a much bigger target for Ohio State after in-state safety Trey McNutt announced his commitment Oregon, but it doesn’t sound like any sort of late push took place for the Buckeyes. Instead, position coach Matt Guerrieri will settle on a three-man class at the position that includes Faheem Delane (No. 2 safety), Cody Haddad (No. 20), and Deshawn Stewart (No. 26).
Elsewhere, Ohio State appears headed for bad news in regards to the top two offensive linemen remaining on its board. The big one, of course, being five-star offensive tackle David Sanders. Jr., who is now trending towards Tennessee.
It has long felt like a two-school battle between Ohio State and Tennessee for the nation’s No. 1 OT and No. 2 overall player, but the closer-to-home Volunteers now have all the momentum with just a few days remaining under Sanders’ Aug. 17 commitment date. The lone 247Sports Crystal Ball as well as all four On3 RPM’s sit with Tennessee, and while these predictions aren’t the end-all be-all, they are more often than not a good indication of the final result.
Elsewhere, the Buckeyes had seemingly come on strong of late for fellow five-star offensive lineman Josh Petty, but the Georgia native is now trending heavily towards Georgia Tech.
On3’s @SWiltfong_ and @ChadSimmons_ have logged expert predictions for Georgia Tech to land 5-star IOL Josh Petty
Petty ranks No. 29 NATL. (No. 2 IOL) in the 2025 class
Read: https://t.co/titxn2Mv7Y pic.twitter.com/7DnQnLgUTf
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) August 8, 2024
Petty, the No. 2 OT and No. 14 player overall per 247Sports’ rankings, is set to announce his decision on Monday between a final five of Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Stanford and Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets appear to be his most likely destination, as all four Crystal Balls and three RPM’s favorite the in-state program.
As far as things go for Ohio State, this is a pretty disastrous outcome. The Buckeyes had virtually all of their eggs in the Sanders basket, outside of the late push for Petty, and now come away with just two offensive linemen committed in the 2025 class and with few other options still out there. There no other uncommitted offensive tackles with OSU offers outside of Sanders and Petty, and the only interior prospect still on the board is three-star Maryland native Jayvon McFadden.
Even if they are to land McFadden, which is a big ‘if’ at this point with how the rest of the recruiting at this position has gone, a two or three-man class with only one blue chip prospect in four-star Ohio native Carter Lowe is pretty much a nightmare scenario for the Buckeyes, who will almost certainly be losing at least three if not four of the five starters this season to the NFL Draft and graduation.
It is tough to imagine that position coach Justin Frye isn’t on the hot seat, who came in to try and fix the recruiting woes caused by Greg Studrawa, and has instead replicated them. Ohio State is simply not casting a wide enough net when it comes to recruiting offensive linemen, only offering 29 OL in this cycle (19 tackles and 10 IOL), compared to schools like Alabama (37), Georgia (46) and Michigan (44). Whether it's poor process or just plain laziness, that type of effort isn’t going to get the job done at the highest level.
Continue reading...