There hasn’t been much action on the recruiting front over the past week, so I am going to list the players I think are the most likely to become a part of this, most likely at the top, least likely at the bottom.
Pretty simple, I know, but it’s better than nothing for the week.
Buckeyes, but when?
TE Nick Vannett
His choice was made for him last week when Ben Koyack committed to Notre Dame. Duane Long thinks he will be a Buckeye within the next week.
DL Michael Bennett
He is down to Northwestern and Ohio State. It would be a monumental recruiting coup if Northwestern pulled this one off. Academics are obviously important to him.
On that front I would just like to say that Craig Krenzel got a degree in molecular genetics from OSU, he is now making a living doing commercials and on the radio in Columbus. Some people may think that diminishes his degree, but Krenzel is obviously making a comfortable living for himself based entirely on being a Buckeye.
The point is, there are benefits to being a Buckeye that go beyond the classroom, and the classroom is pretty damn good and getting better every day.
S Ron Tanner
Another recruit where academics will have an impact on the destination. In the end it would be a huge surprise if he wasn’t a Buckeye.
Also, I repeat what I said up above, Ohio State’s academic reputation is getting better every year, and there are benefits that Ohio State gives you that more than makes up for what it lacks in academic ‘prestige’.
QB Braxton Miller
It seems like a lot of people are a little anxious about whether or not Miller will be a Buckeye. I have not read a single thing about Miller than makes me think he will go anywhere else, and he is likely to commit soon.
OL Aundrey Walker
He is all Buckeye, and he will commit late in the process like all Glenville kids.
WR Shane Wynn
See above.
Probably Buckeyes, but less of a surprise if they go elsewhere.
WR Evan Spencer
A legacy and one of the few WRs we are targeting in this class. His recruitment has actually been relatively quiet, but it would be a mild surprise if he doesn’t end up at Ohio State.
CB Doran Grant
He has consistently named Ohio State as his leader, even after taking official visits to other schools.
Unfortunately, he plans on announcing at a nationally televised all star game, and all of the mind games and drama that goes along with that is not something that I look forward to.
50/50 Buckeye, please don’t go to Alabama.
LB Trey DePriest
The best linebacker in Ohio. Jordan Hicks’ shadow looms large in this one, and Alabama and there National Championship will be a tough nut to crack. This one is 50/50 between Ohio State and Alabama until further notice.
Ohio State will get a few, but certainly not all of them.
CB Dondi Kirby
A Penn CB with great size that there hasn’t really been a lot of buzz about. He is from the same high school as current Buckeyes Dorian Bell and CB Corey Brown. He plans on waiting until later in the process to make a decision.
LB Conner Crowell
He came away extremely impressed by the spring game visit but he may be tough to draw away from the east coast.
CB Jabari Gorman
A Florida prospect that likes Ohio State a lot. He values early playing time. Have I mentioned that both our starting corners are seniors?
He will likely decide between OSU and Miami FL.
DL Kevin McReynolds
Lots of positive buzz lately, he was very impressed with his spring game visit. I would still be surprised if he left the east coast, but it could happen.
DL Joel Hale
This one seems like a three way battle between Ohio State, Penn State, and Florida at this point. He can’t really go wrong with anyone on that list (personal biases aside) so we will see what happens.
OL/DL Angelo Mangiro
Another player with a lot of positive Ohio State buzz. It is still tough to see him heading any further west than Happy Valley. We’ve got a shot though.
S Wayne Lyons
Another Florida player. The longer this one drags on the less likely it is he will be heading north. He may take another official visit to Columbus, which will obviously improve our chances, if he doesn’t it is over.
Glenville kids that will be Buckeyes with an offer.
QB Cardale Jones
He may have some grade issues that need to be resolved. Duane Long thinks he will eventually get an offer. We will see what happens.
DL Andre Sturdivant
Also could have some grade issues, rumored to have a ‘verbal’ offer at this point, once again, we will see what happens.
Ect.
Depending on how things go with DePriest, there are probably some other LBs out there that will come into the picture. None of them have much buzz at the moment so I left them off.
Also, I would like to give my weekly shout out to A.J. Sebastiano since he wants to be a Buckeye so much.
I think we end up getting one between McReynolds/Hale/Mangiro (if we miss on all three I think Sturdivant gets that spot), one or both of Gorman/Kirby, and one or two linebackers, one of them being DePriest (hopefully).
That puts us right at (or even a little bit over) the scholarship limit for this class (which as far as I can tell is around 22). That probably explains Jones and Sturdivant waiting for offers at this point.
I think there is a little bit of wiggle room in there, especially at linebacker. If we get some surprise commits we may only take one, and maybe even no LBs if DePriest heads south.
The number of scholarships available seems to be getting pretty tight at this point, but who knows what will happen.
I say it a lot, but it is all you can do when it comes to recruiting, we will see what happens.
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