Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 11/14/2016

Welcome to your tri-weekly look at all things Ohio State recruiting. Let’s get started!

Enter Sandman?:

It was a weekend of Buckeye commitments visiting other programs, and we will start with Shaun Wade because why not? Wade has been seen all over since his initial commitment to Ohio State back in January of 2015. He has visited Alabama, Notre Dame, Alabama some more and he fit in a visit to see the Buckeyes last week when they hosted Nebraska. Wade continues to say that he is 100% committed to the Buckeyes, but we all know that doesn’t mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. Plenty of kids are 100% committed to a school, only to flip to another school down the line.

Shaun was in Blacksburg, Virginia this weekend to watch the Hokies play Georgia Tech in a game that the Hokies lost 30-20. Wade is good friends with current Hokie Isaiah Ford who also attended Trinity High School, and this visit was likely just a free trip and nothing more. When all is said and done this is a two team battle between Ohio State and Alabama to land the #4 cornerback in the country. Wade will visit Alabama again on the 26th when the Tide take on Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

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Dantonio to Flip an OSU Commit?

Possibly the biggest news to come out of the weekend was that Antjuan Simmons was on a trip to Michigan State that apparently he did not tell the Ohio State coaching staff about. There were rumors earlier that Simmons was potentially not going to stick with the 2017 recruiting class, but it was not because the Buckeyes don’t want him.

The Buckeyes are still in the running for 5-star linebackers Baron Browning and Anthony Hines out of Texas, but it is likely they don’t get both so there is still room for Simmons in this class. I am sure that after the coaching staff found out about the visit they reached out to Simmons to find out what the visit was about and let him know that letting them know beforehand is common courtesy.

When all is said and done I think we will see Simmons on the outside of this class, possibly staying in his home state, but with all of the talk swirling around him lately it is hard to see him in Scarlet and Grey next season.

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Anything to Worry About?

The last Ohio State commit to go on a visit elsewhere was 5-star defensive end Chase Young out of Maryland. He was on hand to watch the Buckeyes demolish the Terrapins on Saturday, albeit on the sidelines of Maryland and not Ohio State. Unlike Simmons he informed the Buckeye coaching staff of his visit prior to going and they know that he is all Buckeye and nothing to worry about.

Young spoke with Jeremy Birmingham of Landof10.com about the reason for his visit, and it was strictly to hang out with some of his teammates that were also visiting Maryland on Saturday.

Young will be back in Columbus when the Buckeyes take on the Wolverines on November 26th for his official visit along with a ton of other prospects committed to or considering the Buckeyes.

Buckeyes Close to Flipping PSU Prospect?

Another visitor during the Maryland – Ohio State game was 5-star defensive end from the class of 2018, Micah Parsons. Parsons was on hand last weekend when the Buckeyes manhandled Nebraska, and apparently his visit to Maryland was to also see the Buckeyes play.

According to Bill Kurlic at Bucknuts.com ($) Maryland knew that Parsons wasn’t there to see the Maryland program but they still did everything in their power to welcome him on the visit. Kurlic also pointed out that while Parsons isn’t currently a threat to flip his commitment to Ohio State, it is trending for the good guys when he has made it a point to see the program up close two weekends in a row. The Buckeyes have their main man Urban Meyer handling Parsons recruitment, so keep an eye out on this one.

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