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tOSU Recruiting Discussion

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As a Cincinnati Buckeye, I like this. Very, very much.

A disconnect between Ohio State and Cincinnati? If one ever existed, Justin Hilliard's commitment shows that it's gone: Buckeyes recruiting
CINCINNATI, Ohio – You would have expected the crowded room at Cincinnati St. Xavier to explode when Justin Hilliard announced his college commitment regardless of his destination.

So when Hilliard put on the Ohio State hat, everyone screamed. Predictable.

But that's not what was telling.

Moments later, when four-star defensive end Jashon Cornell of St. Paul (Minn.) Cretin-Derham Hall also picked the Buckeyes, the room exploded again.

"It was an Ohio State room," Hilliard told cleveland.com shortly after his announcement.

There was a time, maybe not too long ago, where it wouldn't have been.

It wasn't long ago when some felt a disconnect between Jim Tressel's Ohio State football program and the top high school programs of Cincinnati. Notre Dame, in actuality, was more successful pulling Cincinnati prospects than the in-state Buckeyes.

Cincinnati was in Ohio, but it wasn't Buckeye Territory.

"It has changed a little bit with Urban Meyer's approach," St. X coach Steve Specht said.

Meyer has preached incessantly about putting a border around Ohio, to not allow any premier prospects within the state choose other top programs out of the area. But Hilliard, Rivals.com's top-rated inside linebacker, was Meyer's first real test to back it up.

Meyer did, but it wasn't easy to buck the trend.

During Tressel's Ohio State tenure that spanned from 2002-11, he signed 39 players from the Cleveland area, a time during which the Buckeyes offered 22 Cincinnati-area players before signing only eight. By comparison, Ohio State signed signed 21 Glenville prospects as part of its last 12 recruiting classes, which more than doubles the entire Cincinnati area.

That's changing. With assistant coach Kerry Coombs, a longtime high school head coach at Cincinnati Colerain now in charge of the Buckeyes' Queen City territory, the Buckeyes don't plan to allow Cincinnati prospects to escape. Hilliard is staying home.

"At first, I didn't care if Justin left the state for college," said Carl Hilliard, the prospect's father. "Then I met Coach Meyer and he was so accessible, so caring. He's going to take care of Justin, and at that point started to feel that Ohio State was home. Ohio State is the in-state program, and they made it clear that home was the best place for Justin. And we believe it is."

Coombs has been in charge of planting Ohio State's flag in Cincinnati, and that has gone well. Ohio State signed a prospect from the Cincinnati area in each of Meyer's first two classes in Taft defensive end Adolphus Washington in 2012 and athlete Jalin Marshall of Middletown, Ohio, a year later. In 2014, the Buckeyes brought in top linebacker Sam Hubbard.

Now it's four classes in a row.

"Urban coached me my senior year at St. X, so I have known him a long time," Specht said. "He's fiery. If Coach Meyer wants somebody, Coach Meyer is going to get that somebody. I enjoyed talking to Coach, and I enjoy the whole staff at Ohio State. I coached against Coach Coombs for years, but Coach Meyer, boy, he's cut from a different cloth. He's a special individual."

Notre Dame still has a presence in Cincinnati, though. Hilliard and Cornell were a package deal, and many thought the Fighting Irish were the team to beat because Cornell's high school is known as a Notre Dame pipeline.

So Meyer was fighting off Notre Dame from multiple angles, especially the Cincinnati connection where the Irish program is often compared to the Catholic high schools in Southwest Ohio.

"Notre Dame was the hardest one to get past while making my decision," Hilliard said. "That was the other one that really made it tough."

Hilliard was aware of the disconnect between Columbus and Cincinnati, and he even admitted he was looking out of state despite growing up an Ohio State fan.

But as his relationships with Meyer and Coombs continued to grow, it became apparent that home was for him. Cincinnati is in Ohio.

"It's big for Cincinnati, but it's big for me personally," Hilliard said. "Ohio State is just where I belong, and I hope that I can help them continue to recruit the best players in the country, whether that's Cincinnati or anywhere else."
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OK, I'll admit it. My toes are no longer 'over the ledge' in fact, my heels are firmly against the wall. Also my hair is a bit grayer than it was (what there is left of it), and with the avalanche of 4-5* recruits heading the Buckeye's way, I guess I can exhale my held breath.....but only for a little while. Then I'll start worrying about how to fit in under the 15-20 available schollie cap. Recruiting is a roller coaster for certain sure, and UFM and crew certainly make the journey interesting. Go Bucks!
 
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Nice to see the Bucks continuing to build connections with the top flight high school programs around the state and nation. You've got St. X, St. Ignatius, Cretin-Derham Hall, DeMatha, and Don Bosco Prep on board. In addition to that, possibilities exist at Cass Tech and St. Thomas Aquinas among others. Granted you grab the best players you can get no matter where they are from, but usually when you get someone from these type of schools, you get a kid who's been around football at a high level for a sustained period of time. Helps to ease the transition to the college game.
 
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Any thoughts on Baker committing earlier than expected as two of the three LB 'holes' are filled (Connor and Hilliard) and mayhaps UFM has told Shamar Kirby and Baker that first one in gets the spot. Maybe with Harris as well? Idle speculation on my part, and Mods can delete if desired. Kinda believe that the avalanche has started, and more to come quickly, as the numbers crunch gets tighter. Also believe that if a kid wants to wait until signing day to commit the tOSU ship might have already left port. I'm convinced that the UFM is for real. Go Bucks.
 
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calibuck said:
Any thoughts on Baker committing earlier than expected as two of the three LB 'holes' are filled (Connor and Hilliard) and mayhaps UFM has told Shamar Kirby and Baker that first one in gets the spot. Maybe with Harris as well? Idle speculation on my part, and Mods can delete if desired. Kinda believe that the avalanche has started, and more to come quickly, as the numbers crunch gets tighter. Also believe that if a kid wants to wait until signing day to commit the tOSU ship might have already left port. I'm convinced that the UFM is for real. Go Bucks.
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Baker is announcing on the 11th.
 
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calibuck said:
Any thoughts on Baker committing earlier than expected as two of the three LB 'holes' are filled (Connor and Hilliard) and mayhaps UFM has told Shamar Kirby and Baker that first one in gets the spot. Maybe with Harris as well? Idle speculation on my part, and Mods can delete if desired. Kinda believe that the avalanche has started, and more to come quickly, as the numbers crunch gets tighter. Also believe that if a kid wants to wait until signing day to commit the tOSU ship might have already left port. I'm convinced that the UFM is for real. Go Bucks.
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Shamar Kirby has committed to FSU. I also doubt Urban would say no to one of the top players in OH. Baker's spot is safe for him to take.
 
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calibuck said:
Any thoughts on Baker committing earlier than expected as two of the three LB 'holes' are filled (Connor and Hilliard) and mayhaps UFM has told Shamar Kirby and Baker that first one in gets the spot. Maybe with Harris as well? Idle speculation on my part, and Mods can delete if desired. Kinda believe that the avalanche has started, and more to come quickly, as the numbers crunch gets tighter. Also believe that if a kid wants to wait until signing day to commit the tOSU ship might have already left port. I'm convinced that the UFM is for real. Go Bucks.
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For some of the high rated kids that Urban is after, if they wait until NSD, they're spot will still be there.
 
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sparcboxbuck said:
Encore?
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Hilliard and Cornell (and Tyler Green) are going to be working on Damien Harris, Josh Sweat, Matthew Burrell, and Christian Kirk at The Opening starting this weekend.

Other notable names that will be there are CJ Conrad, Van Jefferson, Neville Gallimore, Drew Richmond, Andre James, Torrance Gibson, Malik Jefferson, Jacques Patrick, Chris Clark, Shawn Burgess-Becker, Shaun Crawford, Mike Weber, and Tim Settle among others.
 
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Buckeye86 said:
Hilliard and Cornell (and Tyler Green) are going to be working on Damien Harris, Josh Sweat, Matthew Burrell, and Christian Kirk at The Opening starting this weekend.

Other notable names that will be there are CJ Conrad, Van Jefferson, Neville Gallimore, Drew Richmond, Andre James, Torrance Gibson, Malik Jefferson, Jacques Patrick, Chris Clark, Shawn Burgess-Becker, Shaun Crawford, Mike Weber, and Tim Settle among others.
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Are those our only 3 guys at the opening?
 
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