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BTSBuckeye
Senior
2 elite defensive prospect commits and pictures of Bijan wearing Ohio State schwag during his visit to a kids football camp.
That'll put a pep in a Buckeyes step for the weekend.
That'll put a pep in a Buckeyes step for the weekend.
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ShowMeBuck
You know what? Chicken butt.
It’s about time for some updated full class projections from the board gurus.
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Buckeye86
I do not choose to discuss it
To toot my own horn, I feel like this projection is holding up nicely thus far.
A few updates- it looks like Mitchell Melton will be in the class, possibly bumping Cowan for the extra DL spot.
The number of TE prospects has been reduced to Royer with Large probably going to Wisconsin.
The confidence with Knighton comes from Bill Greene saying Ohio State is still in it based on his South Florida sources, but that is far from the same level of confidence as the others on the list.
Other options for the second RB/APB seem like Sam Adams, EJ Smith and ???
I’ve also seen speculation that Martinez might be a safety and Paige might get bumped due to space limitations in the class.
I think they have most of these locked up already (Royer, Martinez, Williams, Ransom, Cooper and Fryar are “in” I think and Robinson is real close if he isn’t also in already) and will spend the final months swinging for the fences on guys like Elias Ricks and probably some surprises.
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Believe I'd take the above, even if not in top 5 of 2020 classes.....seems to fill the 'holes' nicely, and anticipating graduations/transfers/portal players, etc. Gives the coaching staff a chance to earn their big bucks. Hopefully (on D), the third change of defensive philosophy will work out, and/or the innate talent of the kids on D will take over. On O, simply more of the same, plus any tweaks needed to compensate for different types of players. No pressure, Justin.....Go Bucks!
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Well, with 15 commitments in the books and maybe 10 more slots available, it's getting pretty easy to project the full class. I give a lot of credit to guys like @HotMic who try to make these projections in January and February.
Anyway, here's my projection (bold scarlet = commitment; normal scarlet = lean/lock; normal black = strong possibility):
QB: Jack Miller
RB: Bijan Robinson
WR: Julian Fleming
WR: Gee Scott Jr.
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
HB: Mookie Cooper
TE: Joe Royer
OL: Paris Johnson Jr.
OL: Luke Wypler
OL: Grant Toutant
OL: Jakob James
OL: Trey Leroux
OL: Josh Fryar
DL: Darrion Henry
DL: Ty Hamilton
DL: Mitchell Melton
DL: Kedrick Bingley-Jones
DL: Jacolbe Cowan
LB: Cody Simon
LB: Kourt Williams II
DB: Lejond Cavazos
DB: Clark Phillips III
DB: Lathan Ransom
ATH: Cameron Martinez
PK: Jake Seibert
I am really close to placing Bijan Robinson in the "lean/lock" category. If he's "in", then we're done at RB. If Bijan Robinson does not commit to Ohio State, then look for the staff to make a strong push for Sam Adams II and/or E.J. Smith. Adams is more of a traditional every down back, he has already made an official visit to Ohio State, and he is high school teammates with current Buckeye verbal Gee Scott Jr., so that's whom I would pursue.
I can't see Ohio State taking 4 WR and 2 RB, so instead I see 3 WR, one RB, and one HB in the class. The debate is between Mookie Cooper and Jaylan Knighton. Cooper clearly likes Ohio State, but he hasn't made an official visit yet, so it's really hard to gauge his true interest level. Jaylan Knighton has made an official visit, but there is no indication that Ohio State leads for him, and his other finalist(s) are Florida State and maybe Miami, each of which is a home-state school for him. I think that Cooper is the more dynamic player and more likely to commit, so I have him "in" and Knighton "out".
I said back on June 24th that Ohio State would take only one TE; that it would be Joe Royer; and that Cameron Large probably ends up at Wisconsin. I will stick with that prediction for now.
Josh Fryar looks to be "in" if Ohio State wants him. I think Ohio State should take 6 OL in this class, and apparently the staff likes his versatility. We should find out in a few days.
Mitchell Melton is scheduled to announce on July 3rd, and it looks like Ohio State has come from behind to beat Michigan in this battle. It also looks like Melton will be a DE of the "speed rusher" variety.
I said earlier that I didn't think the Buckeyes would take Darrion Henry and Jacolbe Cowan and Kedrick Bingley-Jones, because they are are pretty much carbon copies of each other. My feelings on that have changed. Ohio State likes versatile DL, and each of those guys could play anywhere along the line except for speed rusher. Taking 5 DL in this class is probably one too many, but (1) Ohio State's defense has relied upon a deep DL rotation, so they might as well keep the numbers up; and (2) I'd rather use a scholarship on a solid DL prospect whom I don't really need than on a marginal LB/DB prospect who will likely never help me out. If I could take only one of Cowan and Bingley-Jones, I would opt for the latter.
If the Buckeyes do take 5 DL, then that likely leaves DB Makari Paige "out" of this class. I'd like to find room for him because we could use the help at the safety position, but I don't know if I turn down a stud DL to make room. Maybe the staff can slow pay him until closer to Signing Day to see how the rest of the class shakes out.
Kourt Williams II and Lathan Ransom and Cameron Martinez should all be Buckeyes sooner or later (probably sooner). I have Martinez as an "athlete", probably a DB due to need, possibly on offense as an HB because he can be dynamic with the ball in his hands.
Some combination of the 15 prospects detailed above should fill out the balance of the class of 2020.
A few other names to consider (at least briefly):
CB Kelee Ringo is and always has been an extreme long shot. I doubt that he even ends up visiting Ohio State despite placing the Buckeyes in his top 5.
CB Elias Ricks is one to watch. IF he make his scheduled official visit on November 23rd (Penn State), then maybe Ohio State has a legit chance for him. The staff will definitely make room for him somehow.
DL Vernon Broughton will likely stay close to his home (Houston), which means that Ohio State is probably "out".
WR L.V. Bunkley-Shelton seems to be a Plan B guy right now, maybe someone the staff pursues if they miss out on both Mookie Cooper and Jaylan Knighton. He is currently scheduled to make an official visit to Ohio State on November 23rd (Penn State). I'm guessing that visit never happens.
Recruit X. It seems like there is always some prospect who emerges late in the process (Enokk Vimahi last year), usually a late bloomer who blows up during his senior season, sometimes a kid who decommits due to a coaching change or some such thing. It's impossible to predict who this year's Recruit X will be, but he's likely out there somewhere....
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HotMic’s Hunch July Edition
QB: Jack Miller
RB: Bijan Robinson
H-Back: Jaylan Knighton
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR: Gee Scott Jr.
WR: Julian Fleming
WR: Mookie Cooper
TE: Joe Royer
OL: Paris Johnson
OL: Grant Toutant
OL: Trey Leroux
OL: Jakob James
OL: Luke Wypler
OL: Josh Fryar
DL: Darrion Henry
DL: Ty Hamilton
DL: Kedrick Bingley-Jones
DL: Jacolbe Cowan
DL/LB: Mitchell Melton
LB: Cody Simon
Bullet: Kourt Williams II
CB: Lejond Cavazos
CB: Clark Phillips III
S: Makari Paige
S: Lathan Ransom
ATH: Cameron Martinez
K: Jake Seibert (Grayshirt)
It’s crazy to that they’ll basically have the class locked up by the end of summer. Knighton, Royer, Melton, Kourt, Ransom and Martinez are all for sure in July, while Robinson, Cooper and Fryar could go any time this summer.
I think they’ll chase Ricks until the end.
QB: Jack Miller
RB: Bijan Robinson
H-Back: Jaylan Knighton
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR: Gee Scott Jr.
WR: Julian Fleming
WR: Mookie Cooper
TE: Joe Royer
OL: Paris Johnson
OL: Grant Toutant
OL: Trey Leroux
OL: Jakob James
OL: Luke Wypler
OL: Josh Fryar
DL: Darrion Henry
DL: Ty Hamilton
DL: Kedrick Bingley-Jones
DL: Jacolbe Cowan
DL/LB: Mitchell Melton
LB: Cody Simon
Bullet: Kourt Williams II
CB: Lejond Cavazos
CB: Clark Phillips III
S: Makari Paige
S: Lathan Ransom
ATH: Cameron Martinez
K: Jake Seibert (Grayshirt)
It’s crazy to that they’ll basically have the class locked up by the end of summer. Knighton, Royer, Melton, Kourt, Ransom and Martinez are all for sure in July, while Robinson, Cooper and Fryar could go any time this summer.
I think they’ll chase Ricks until the end.
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mendensa
Legend
Hotmic, I love the list. The class is really starting to take shape with more defensive players finally coming off the board.
I do think though, if they get the guys they really want, there may not be room for all of Jones, Cowan, and/or Paige. I think they finish with 24-25.
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OregonBuckeye
Semper Fi Buckeyes
The demise of Ohio State recruiting post-Meyer appears to have been greatly exaggerated. It's almost as if we were a blueblood without Urban too.
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This makes me chuckle. When I looked at Michigan's prospects their highest rated remaining target for which they had any "CBs" was a kid who might get bumped from our class due to space limitations.
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I know it. It was just tough imagine anyone recruiting to the level Urban did here. So far, Day and the staff have absolutely killed it. That being said, many of the 2020 commits were strong leans that Urban and/or the remaining staff had a big hand in. None of that matters really, except that I do think we need a strong on the field showing this year to keep it rolling. And it's amazing to me as I think Hotmic was alluding to that we have such a killer class almost locked in before the season before recruits have got a chance to see the results.
All this is to say that Day is one heck of a recruiter and we can gladly eat crow on any recruiting shortfalls that we thought were in the pipes. My 2020 class prediction is coming soon, it looks pretty similar to the others though.
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