Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 11/21/2016

Heard Around the ‘Shoe will only appear today due to travel for the week. Things will get back to normal after the holiday. Let’s get started!

4-Star Linebacker Sets Final 6, Decision Date:

COMMITTING ON FRIDAY DEC. 2ND @ PESH 12:00 PM !!! BE THERE !!!(Edit by @Hayesfawcett3 ) pic.twitter.com/NLXPzX29B8

— Anthony Hines III (@TheAntHines_Era) November 21, 2016

Anthony Hines out of Plano, Texas set his final six schools on Sunday and announced that he would be making his decision on December 2nd. Florida, Penn State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, TCU and UCLA are the schools that have made the cut, and most projections have him selecting the Aggies and staying close to home. Hines has visited all but TCU officially over the past few months, so I would expect them to be on the outside looking in.

He visited Ohio State back on November 5th for the Buckeyes win over Nebraska and looked to have a great time while in Columbus. Even though Texas A&M is the likely landing spot for Hines, Penn State and Ohio State are also contenders for the #2 inside linebacker in the country.

All eyes will be on Plano East High School on December 2nd, when he makes his announcement.

Great Visit with great people at THE Ohio State University !!! #GoBucks 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/z5ayAf2U3J

— Anthony Hines III (@TheAntHines_Era) November 6, 2016

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Bama Bound Baron Browning?:

Baron Browning, the 5-star linebacker out of Kennedale, Texas recently announced his top six schools which included the Buckeyes. Browning will make his official visit this weekend when the Buckeyes host the Wolverines. He then is set to make his decision public on November 29th. While he lists six teams, it is likely that this will come down to Alabama and Ohio State, as Texas has been dropped from consideration. There has been a lot of speculation recently that Alabama is his destination of choice, as crystal ball projections have been rolling in for the Tide recently.

The Buckeyes will look to pull out all the stops this weekend when he visits, as he will be among quite a collection of talent visiting this weekend. When Urban Meyer has the last shot with a recruit, you never count out Ohio State.  I still think this one ends up in Ohio State’s favor.

https://twitter.com/baronbrwnng/status/799749098010279936

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Akers Away:

At one time the Buckeyes looked to be the destination of choice for 5-star running back out of Mississippi Cam Akers. However things have swayed quite a bit on this one, and it looks like the Buckeyes might be out of the running. Akers was supposed to visit Michigan last week and canceled that trip, and he was supposed to visit the Buckeyes this week and it appears as though that trip is off as well. Akers did visit Florida State back in October, and it appears that they might have taken the lead in his recruitment.

Ole Miss is still the school leading the crystal ball race, and it is likely going to come down to staying home and playing there or going to Florida State and taking over for Dalvin Cook. There is still an outside shot that Akers makes a visit to Ohio State at somepoint, but if the interest has wained then the visit will not happen. Expect J.K. Dobbins to be the only back in the class of 2017 for the Buckeyes.

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Duck Commit Visits UM, Gets Buckeye Offer:

Rutger Reitmaier, a 3-star defensive tackle out of Nashville, Tennessee received an offer from the Buckeyes last week. Reitmaier is an Oregon Duck commitment since June, however he still is looking at all his options before settling on his final destination. Reitmaier visited Michigan this past weekend for the game against Indiana and has visited Tennessee as well.

The Buckeyes are heavily pursuing a defensive tackle in this class, and still have their eyes set on Jay Tufele, with an outside shot at Marvin Wilson, but offering Reitmaier shows that they might not be as confident as they once were with Tufele.

Reitmaier is the 11th ranked prospect in the state of Tennessee, and the 23rd overall defensive tackle in the nation. He currently has 20 offers, and his main recruiter at Oregon is Brady Hoke.

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