Jacobs Makes Fifteen
Both Rivals and 247 Sports reported yesterday that Forestville (MD) Suitland ATH Taivon Jacobs was down to three schools and would be making his announcement shortly. That announcement came moments ago, as the 5-10/165 prospect made the decision to become the fifteenth member of the Ohio State Buckeyes' recruiting class of 2013.
Jacobs, who chose OSU over finalists Maryland and West Virginia, starts for Suitland as a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner. He is being recruited as an athlete by the Buckeyes, but it is expected he will end up at wide receiver, where there is a need for speed.
Having speed is definitely not an issue for Taivon, as when he was in Columbus for summer camp in late June he reportedly ran a hand-timed 4.35 second 40-yard dash. He's used that speed and athleticism to dominate the competition on the field and rack up offers from Florida State, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Notre Dame, UNC, Nebraska, and others in addition to his three finalists.
Jacobs likely joins Jalin Marshall as the two wide receivers in this class, with one more likely on the way. He gives Urban Meyer's team versatility on both sides of the ball, as well as in the special teams game, something Meyer holds of great importance.
Stay tuned to 11W as we will try to catch up with Jacobs soon and continue bring you all the info you need as the Buckeyes try to close out their class of 2013.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Comments
Welcome to Buckeye Nation, Taivon!
Cheers, Taivon! Good to have you aboard!
+1
I'm excited to see all this talent come together in the coming years.
"Attack the Strong, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead!"
-Former OSU S&C Coach Lichter
Johnny Utah??
-The Aristocrats!
Awesome. Three-star kid with four-star offers. Quick, shifty athlete with speed to burn. The exact kind of player Urban likes in his offense. Welcome to the club, Taivon.
The North remembers.
Welcome aboard Taivon!!
"I'm One Bad Buckeye, and I approve this message."
Great pickup. A tremendous amount of speed and quickness. His stride and style remind me a lot of Ted Ginn.
That is exactly what I was thinking watching him stride down the side line.
GO BUCKS!
It is the size of the fight in the dog. Taivon is the real deal.
crabcakes and football, welcome aboard taivon.
Had a feeling if the offer was committable he would be a Buckeye over UMD and WVU...wasn't sure of that yesterday, but obviously that is the case
I stand corrected...read an article that he was a Maryland lean Tuesday...thought for sure he'd go to Maryland. Well this should help with that lack supposed lack of speed;-)
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
^^^ = good post
^^^ = not so good post
The kickoff in the second clip in that highlight...wow. I'm hoping that was a squib gone wrong.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
hahaha, i got a good chuckle from this
1. Speed is crazy, but also when you can outrun everyone, no need for routes.
2. I love that his school has the And1 DJ as the announcer
"Stay tuned to 11W as we will try to catch up with Jacobs soon"
Yeah...good luck catching up with this guy.
“Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.” - Woody
^^^^ Very funny!
Nice!
GO BUCKS!
Size will be fine. Looks very natural. Nothing looks forced and can he ever accelerate! Love the pickup and the gray box of goodness. Welcome Taivon!
160 pounds...hes going to have to add at least 20lbs to be able to survive FBS football...one thing Big 10 defenses do is hit you in the mouth....Chris Rainey at Florida was 5-8 180, Percy Harvin, 180 lbs as a freshman... Jalin is already at 180... guess we will have to see what happens but wow hes a bit too tiny to be playing in the slot, some LB is going to put him on a stretcher
He has another year of high school left, then Coach Mick will get a hold of him. I'm not too concerned.
Agreed - he'll be just fine.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Santo Holmes was 170 as a frosh flanker. Can't hit you in the mouth if they can't catch you.
Says he is 165lbs. going into his senior of HS. He will be brought up to whatever weight the staff feels he needs to be. At 5'10" he could add 15 lbs easily once the nutritionists and Marotti work with him and he matures a little. Many guys are on the small side at that age. Think he will be fine.
Teddy was 170 when he made the trip down 71 to Columbus. But yeah somebody get this kid a steak dinner!
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Theodore-Ginn,%2...
This is being discussed all over this site, in multiple spots, but his current size doesn't matter. First of all, they'll bulk him up if he needs it, and probably add at least 10 pounds just from the strength program. Second of all, he never absorbs a hit straight on. That does a lot to negate any downside of being on the small side. I'm not being ridiculous and saying "you can't hit him if you can't catch him", but he has that neverending shiftiness that some players have where they never seem to take hard hits. They always have one last move at the end that eases up the contact.
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Everyone takes a full, straight-on hit eventually... but I see your point. And we'll all collectively hold our breath when he does.
Agreed, I shouldn't have said never. I just meant, it's not like he's running around like Adrian Peterson looking to kill people (or even Percy Harvin for that matter, he always finds contact)
When told OSU set school record for 50+ games this year, UFM said "That's good. We're gonna break that next year."
Marshall is around 195 or so no?
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Yeah, he's pretty solid. Great physical condition
All you need to do to realize the ability of Mickey Mariotti is look at the transformation of WR Michael Thomas. Dude was really skinny and now he's jacked.
"Because we couldn't go for three"
Marshall is around 195-200 no?
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
as a senior at Utah, Steve Smith was 5-8 / 180. I think we will be ok here.
2 inches shorter, 20 pounds heavier...stouter figure...can take more hits, not saying this kid will for sure get smashed or that he wont put on a lot of size...but considering the spots left, just not so sure the scholarship was used wisely...time will tell
Six eggs for breakfast, a protein shake in the afternoon, six eggs in the evening, in addition to dinner, and hit the weights like a wild banshee.
It's what the doctor ordered.
"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston(1924-2008)
It takes more than extra protein to gain size and strength. More healthy carbs and fats will enhance his growth process.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
Nice speed. I feel bad for the kids in MD. I've seen better youth football facilities than those in the video.
WOW. Was not expecting this today!
Great way to start the day. Welcome to the Bucks!
Are you kidding me?!?!?! Every single play he touched the ball he scored n the first 6 minutes of that video!! THAT is impressive. Welcome to the Buckeye Nation Taivon!!!
The best thing about Pastafarianism? It is not only acceptable, but advisable, to be heavily sauced
Woohoo! Been waiting for the gray box with a WR in it! (Insert obligatory comment about how I've been saying all along that Jacobs was better than any WR that doesn't commit to us.)
#speed #kills
Can we call him, Elliot and Marshall the Slash Brothers?
Looks like Gibson and Foster might be on the outside looking in with this commit. No?
vacuuming sucks
Jacobs and Marshall both strike me as slot guys...Foster is in if he wants it, he's got the wanted blend of size/strength/speed. I think that was the Gibson/Whitfield spot though.
Happy gray box!
Dude has some burners. Strides like Ginn Jr. a bit.
"We get paid to score touchdowns, not kick field goals"
-- Urban Meyer
One more WR/Athelete?
I think w/this commit it possibly leaves both Whitfield, and Gibson looking in, but not Foster.
Urban makes it pretty clear what he values in commitments. Speed and quickness.
Time and change will surely show how firm they friendship... O-HI-O.
Amazing how recruiting changes so quickly. 2 months ago how many people would have had Mike Mitchell, Darron Lee, Tyquan Lewis and Taivon Jacobs in this class? Welcome aboard sir!!
I love it! Unexpected gems.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Skilled football player who has Home Run hitting ability. WANTS to be a Buckeye and not play recruiting games. I'll take him every time.
Follow me @jaythesportsguy
Kid has very good hands and great speed. I wholeheartedly welcome this kid to Buckeye nation. If he puts in the needed work to bulk up a bit I think he could be a big time performer for us. Despite the drab facilitites some high schools have, they play good football in the Washington, DC metro area. I think it's an area that's been slightly underrated by previous tOSU staffs.
Taivon is clearly the fastest player on the field in every clip. I dont know anything about the level of football in the Forestville Maryland area but the setting looks similar to pee-wee games in Ohio. Welcome aboard Taivon!
I lived 10 years in the DC metro area, and there is definitely a funding issue with some of the Maryland schools. The facilities are not great some places, but the level of competition is not to be discounted. I think Taivon will come out of high school adequately tested by the competition in the area.
Pleasantly surprised! I understand that his brother will play for Maryland, and Taivon seems close to his family. I thought he'd decide to be a Terp. It looks like he's up for the challenges of competing with the best and growing up away from home. Congratulations and good luck to you, Taivon.
One other thing -- to be in the same conversation about speed with Ted Ginn is an incredible compliment. I don't know about anyone else, but with regard to Teddy Ginn, I've never seen anyone so fast that he makes everybody else look so slow. For me, watching him run in full stride is one of the most beautiful things to see in all of athletics.
I agree!! Watching Teddy run full speed fills me up with joy!! Off to youtube I go to watch some Teddy highlights lol.
35 catches for 921 yards as a Junior? 26.3 yards per catch! Yikes!
Welcome! Don't know much about this prospect but let's hope he's not another Lamar Thomas, James Jackson, James Louis 5'10 4.3 speed but doesn't end up playing her type.
Sorry for the negativity.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I think this new offense would suit those other guys' strengths better too. The old offense needed more pure route runners (unless you are just faster than everyone and go by the name of Ginn). So those guys had speed but couldn't get open in the same way a top flight reciever would. Also Jacobs seems to have good shiftiness (see those returns in the vid) so that may be a place where he excells where they didn't. We'll see, he has yet to play a down of football as a senior in hs, so a lot can still change.
Interesting that ESPN has him listed as a 4star.
For reference, the fastest official time for a WR at this year's NFL combine was 4.36. So 4.35, albeit unofficial, would put him in elite company. Ted Ginn's combine time (with a gimpy foot) was 4.37.
Great pick-up! I love that he went out of state because he wants to win a championship...great mind-set. They'll put on some size in that weightroom to avoid injury & he'll be good to go!
"You win with people." - Woody Hayes
I don't blame them..it's tough to survive in a Bollman/Tressel offense.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I never trust high school 40 times, but from watching his highlight reel it's clear that he is always the fastest guy on the field. Has a bit of shiftiness too. Nice pick up.
Really love to see a kid who goes up to get the ball.
vacuuming sucks
WOW. This just screwed up everyones predictions about the remainder of the class. It only took watching one play for him to remind me of TG2 but I think its his gait more than just his speed. Welcome aboard Taivon and GO BUCKS!
And finally the "having a brother on the team already" helps us, because it seems like its been killing us here recently.
Kind of still wish this would've happened with Diggs
Welcome aboard Taivon!!! This kid has speed to burn!!!
Check out the last line in this article about his commitment!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/recruiting-insider/post/suitland-wr-taivon-jacobs-chooses-ohio-state-over-maryland/2012/07/19/gJQAPNo2vW_blog.html
I actually read that exact same thing in an ESPN $ article yesterday.
The separation is what strikes me. Gobbles up yards in a hurry. Great slot addition.
Alex, how does this affect our other WR targets in your opinion?
Looks like a young Desean Jackson to me, and that's a good thing.
Not sure what makes this kid a 3* on two sites, and a 2* on one, while Gibson is a consensus 4*. Jacobs is faster, neither are polished pass catchers, and Jacobs shows more route running abilities.
I'm with you on the skewed rankings. I don't get it. He's listed as a 2* on Scout as a WR. He's listed as a 3* on Rivals as a WR. ESPn has him as a 4* WR. 247 has him listed as a 3* Athlete.
Here's a quote on a free Scout article
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/1203657.html
Gibson plays against better competition so his accompishments are more valid to scouts I guess
"I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault."
--Jack Tatum
Well as we have seen, there are kids who have speed and then there are those that have speed and vision. From what I saw in that highlight, he has excellent vision and can see where he needs to go. Seems really good at breaking tackles too! This team already has the sizable possession type of receivers. Now with Marshall and Taivon, OSU has the quick speed guys.
1.) I might be wrong, but I think you have to take the next WR that wants to commit. I don't think you can sit around and wait on Foster. There is no gaurantee that he will commit to us. I'd like a bigger receiver, but I don't mind 6 feet tall running a 4.4 or quicker.
2.) I know a guy that played football at UT Knoxville back in the late 90s. He said he was 160lbs when he stepped on campus. By the end of his 1st semester he weighed 185lbs. I'm not worried about putting weight on the kid. It is going to happen.
3.) Is it just me or does it seem like Meyer is not only putting together a team that will completely dominate the B1G, but also a team that will mirror SEC teams? He's built a ridiculous defense in just 2 recruiting classes. He is also recruiting very fast athletes that he can mold in the position he wants. I like what I'm seeing.
I have no doubt that we will be very good and contend for titles every year. But let's not totally discount the group up north, they have a great class coming in and seem likely to be neck and neck with us. PSU even has a good class and if the NCAA leaves them alone, BOB could be a shot in the arm that program needed. That said, I am excited about this class and last year's class, but honestly the 2014 group could be even better since he has had even longer to build relationships with top guys.
I'd love Foster, but I don't think we need a "bigger" receiver in this class. We just got guys like Thomas, Epitropolous and Southward. And we could end up getting Mark Andrews in the 2014 class.
I wouldn't cheer for Michigan if they were playing the Taliban.
hello, percy.
hgvyt54trtfvt56
I like the kids tape a lot! That is some serious speed right there & only a junior...whooa. Welcome aboard Taivon - have a milkshake or two & we'll see you next year.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Everyone seems to like this kid so I certainly wont go against that as I dont know much about him but Im not excited like I thought I'd be after these last 3-4 commits. I guess its just cuz I think Urban Meyer has superhuman powers and can get whoever he wants on our board. Anyone not named Green, Foster, Bell (or an O-Lineman) then Im bummed, I just love those 3 guys.
He kinda can get whoever he wants. Because he wants Jacobs. So maybe we should trust a proven staff to recognize the players that will make this team great, and not just want the guys who are rated high and in the spotlight.
Im pretty sure the 3 guys I mentioned are rated high for a reason, not because of rivals or scout but because of their game tape. go watch some, you sound like you need to. Why are you so negative all the time? I bet if you were a movie critic you would have posted a "rotten" review of The Dark Knight Rises. Go away troll.
Oh geez, not this again. I didn't even notice who I was replying to, but next time I'll look before I accidently bump the baby's crib.
Lol "bump the baby's crib" classic!
If I'm reading this correctly you are calling out Buck I.8 for being negative shortly after you said "I'm not excited about him." Forgive me if I've forgotten what negative means but wouldn't I.8's post of "trust the staff" be the more positive post. Just sayin.
P.S. - Shady, just because he has a different opinion than you a lot doesn't make him a troll. He has a point. There are plenty of recruits out there not named Bell, Foster, or Green that have potential to prove extremely valuable.
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Thanks Triv, but it's really just a waste of time anymore. Everyone takes the time to back me up whenever this kid starts something, and I appreciate that, but it appears the butthurt will never fade. Thanks again though.
@Triv Not trying to be a dikk but No you did not read it correctly. I never said "not excited about him" i said the last 3-4 recruits as a whole. Wouldnt you say they werent what you expected? Somewhat similar to the Tracy Sprinkle commit, again Im not saying they are bad in any way, just not the top tier names that Im sure alot of us would rather have. Like Foster, Bell, and Green over Darron Lee, Jacobs and Hill. Urban does not get anyone he wants, no one does, not Saban, Not Belichick if he coached at USC, not Vince Lombardi if he was at Notre Dame (way back when), they dont even get half of the people they desperately want. And Ive said I "trust Meyer completely" in the past more times that Buck-I-8 can probably count (somewhere in the double digits).
@Buck-I-H8. Nothing.
But my main point is your post is more negative than the post you called out for being negative....
And I understand you would like to see those big name guys, but I'd figure you'd be happy with anyone with the talent to get an offer from Urban while also realizing that we are more than likely top 3 for each of those guys you mentioned. Also, lee (star) hill (DT) and Jacobs (slot) are 3 separate positions from green (RB), bell (S), and foster (pure WR). Each of the three committed were positions that urban has decided are positions of need
Edit: no I can honestly say I didn't "expect more" than what Urban has put together with this recruiting class. He hasn't coached a down of football at OSU yet he is putting together a top 10 class. I would not be so ignorant to expect more, just as I would not be so ignorant to doubt a recruit for his size (Jacobs-not speaking to you specifically here shady, just a pet peave of mine when he is being dubbed as a waste b/c he weighs 165)
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Looks like a great get for the Buckeyes, just curious are these his Jr. High highlights?
Very Ted Ginn-esque....he runs effortlessly