Are there any interviews out there in which Jaylon Smith discusses why he chose ND over OSU or other options? Is there any chance at all that he may change his mind? If I had to guess based on his twitter account (all of the ND pictures) I'd guess he's pretty locked in, but I had heard recently that Mike Vrabel still went to one of his games.
For awhile I heard people talking about whether Rod Smith would try to recruit him to OSU, but based on the notes Brandon Castel from Ozone recorded on his twitter from an interview with Rod, it doesn't sound like Rod Smith himself even bought into Urban Meyer or the OSU staff initially (so he certainly wasn't going to sell his brother on him).
"Brandon Castel @BCastOZone
Rod Smith said he had trouble buying in initially and it didn’t really click for him until after the season started."
I really would have loved to have him on our defense as all of these talented Freshman start to grow together in the next couple years. Any insight is welcome, I didn't really follow his recruitment too closely, so I may have missed out on quite a bit.
At the end of the day, he's an Indiana kid and Kelly is a pretty damn good recruiter, so though it's a tough loss (and I think he may be the best player out there, along with S'ua Cravens), I can understand. I wonder if he had waited and seen the product the Buckeyes are putting on the field now if it would have made a difference? Also wonder if, in his and Heuerman's case, having a brother at the school rather than as a graduate made any difference? Guess we'll never know.
The fact that both made their decisions early, though, lessens the "what if" impact that so many recruiting sagas create. Seems like we had a lot of those with JT. No disrespect, but just an observation.
When braxton went down he did Tweet "come on Braxton get up" I know its alot to look into but why would he care if there isnt some feelings?
other rumors swirling he is still being pursued heavily and that the meetin with parents over Rod may hold some weight with him.
Good posts! And I should be clear, I don't mean this to be a whiny/woe-is-us thread (though my first post could be read that way)--I'm just curious what concrete info people have heard, if any. Especially the experts here on 11w or those who read a lot on scouting.
I didn't know if he said in interviews that he wanted to blaze his own path, or whether there was still some hope he might reconsider (not necessarily flip to OSU, but give it some thought--or if that shipped had sailed).
I think that the issue was they told Rod he should transfer back in Jan/Feb... that probably didn't go to well. If ND was doing a bad job and Rod surged like he has maybe we woud have a better chance... but it is hard to beat the ND push right now with an Indiana kid.
I too think he would be a killer grab if we could get him. I think he is the best LB to come out in a while even compared to the guys next year. Hope something clicks with him.
I don't understand all the hype around this kid. I was watching him play at Columbus Bishop Hartley last week and he was a complete and total nonfactor in that game, despite playing both ways.
Ive never seen him live, just highlights.
Hartley won 40-7. Maybe its poor Indiana competition quality. He just didn't look big or fast against D4 Ohio highschool kids
The kid dominated 7 on 7 all summer, made RBs look dumb in drills, and was all out a better athlete than most every guy at every camp.
He doesn't want to follow Rod's shadow anymore, nothing wrong with that. He's getting a good education
As a current Buckeye's brother, I honestly hope he is succsessful. I guess I just didn't see anything special thats all. Also, I don't know 7 on 7's are the best predictor of player success. But hey the kid has offers to go to any Division 1 College so he must be doing something right.
The problem with recruits that commit early is that they tend to build a lot of friendships with other recruits via facebook/twitter... This makes flipping a kid that has taken some time (and multiple visits) to a school very difficult, because now they feel like their betraying their new friends/commits... I know we as a fanbase have been encouraged with the resurgence of Rod Smith in the eyes of the coaching staff, and hope for the 'You have to come here brother, this guy will make you the best player you can be' speech between Rod and Jaylon, but in the end he'll choose where he feels most comfortable. And I'd rather have Rod buy in now and be productive for the next 2 1/2 yrs than lie to him earlier and use him as a recruiting tool just to get his brother.
@sirclovis I was only referring to the claim that he may not be as strong/athletic against higher competition. He's often the best athlete on the field, no matter what
Maybe he was dinged up or something because I just didn't see his athleticism
@1StryBuck: I felt that way (about the Rod influence) myself, especially from the fact that on Jaylon Smith's twitter account it's almost nothing but retweets supporting his brother Rod (so you have to imagine their relationship is closer than one he has with anybody at ND)--I just get the feeling that Rod isn't (or wasn't previously) so high on UM or Staff that he would even bother talking to his brother much about following him to OSU.
Check some highlights out, the kid is sick talented.
@SirClovis, I also watched the Hartley/Luers game and was not very impressed with Jaylon. Perhaps he had an off night. Once the score was 19-0 he seemed to pack it in.
@LLJJGG, Vrabel was at the Hartley/Luers game, but he was there to check out Hartley DB - Alonzo Saxton (2014). The ship has sailed for Jaylon. Jaylon passed the "look" test, but he did not have a very good game. I also question some of the competition in Indiana.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Alonzo-Saxton-12...
Rod and Jaylon have different mothers so his dad did not have as much pull to get them to the same school, plus rods problems early on did not help osu's cause. He had a lot of pressure from his mom and girlfriend to pick ND, he has made great connections with coaches and current players at ND so I see no chance for the good guys. Lets hope we get Mike Mitchell Go Bucks!! Not to bring up Alex Anzalone name again but there are rumors that he is switching his commitment again, to FL
Schack
I thought I read somewhere Jaylen is competitive with Rod and wouldn't want to be in in his shadow. I pretty sure another kid jaylen played with made that reference and it came to be true. I forget where I read it rivals , 247 one of those sites
Wherever you are, there you be!
When you grow up in Ohio, tOSU is THE place to go. Growing up in Indiana, is Purdue THE place to go? How about Indiana (not basketball question)? Of course not.. ND is the big football school. Manti Te'o is graduating...so the starting spot is open. I hope he would have been a Buckeye. But let us see how Williams, Perkins, Marcus and ??? pan out before hitting the panic button.
Maybe tomorrow, when today will be yesterday things will be clearer.
GO BUCKS !!
Because Brian Kelly is a purple faced wizard:
"if irony were made of strawberries, we' d all be drinking a lot of smoothies right now."
I heard an interview with Jaylon from a while back where he sounded very much like he wanted to blaze his own trail. He goes to a different high school in Fort Wayne than Rod did because he said the academics and athletics were much better at Bishop Leuers than Paul Harding. And I never really got the impression that he was too high on Ohio State. Maybe it had something to do with Urban's talk with Rod about transferring, I don't really know. But yeah, it's recruiting, you win some and you lose some.
Good insight guys!
@Grant87: I'm surprised we haven't heard anything about Perkins, he must not be practicing that well. I gotta say, he was the LB recruit from last year that I was the MOST excited about, just based on his raw speed and skill. Unfortunate that he's not in the equation for that spot Perry got when Sabino went down, but hopefully he will be in the next couple years.
@Grayskullsession: LOL. If I had any talent at all I would be running away from Brian Kelly. Abandoned UC immediately when ND gave him a look, spends most of his Saturdays screaming at people and yanking his QBs in and out after each series.
I think one thing we've learned from this year's freshmen is just how difficult the transition to the college game is, no matter how big, fast, or athletic the player. I'm not sure we can read so much into Perkins or Marcus not playing; for many of these guys they're really learning new positions different from HS (wanna say Perkins was more of a DB/strong safety and Marcus was a DE) or, really, learning from scratch after being given free rein to wreak havoc on 205-lb OL and 170-lb QBs. It's a learning curve. I know that Jadaveon Clowney, the monster at South Carolina, sat out many, many plays last year due to simply not knowing or understanding the defensive schemes. Makes you appreciate both Miller's struggles and his accomplishments last year all the more, as well as his maturation.
It really seems like Jaylon is solid on ND, but with a brother here and Urban after him, no recruite is safe until they sign the LOI.
I heard that Kelly was willing to stay at UC if they improved their facilities. I don't remember how willing they were to do so. However, ND was his dream school, and I don't know how quickly he jumped ship when they offered, but you cannot blame him for that.
I have to think that the fact that Urban sat down with his brother and his dad to talk about why Rod should transfer out of the program might have had something to do with it...
"The revolution will be televised."
I guess I think its funny that players that end up going to other schools are always the "not so special ones." Thank God we always end up with the "special" recruits ;)
October 20th: National Kenneth Guiton Day
@Crimson: I understand what you're saying, but to me the fact that Kelly left UC, unprepared and off-guard with his sudden departure, to essentially get demolished against Florida told me all I really needed to know about Kelly.
One can argue that that's just how college football is these days, and I wouldn't disagree, but that'll never make it right to me. Not that my opinion matters.
I have to agree with you on all counts. I don't like that coaches leave before the season is over, but they do because it's recruiting time as well.
@Evanston, I'm assuming you mean the difficulties for Freshmen to play on the offense/defense because Perkins, Marcus, Bogard, and others I bet have made a huge impact on special teams. Bogard was fantastic on Saturday.
But you're right. Mike Thomas was great in the spring game but has hardly seen the field this year. Noah Spence played when Nate Williams was hurt and when the game was in hand, but has not made plays so far in B1G play. The learning curve is great, especially for a team with expectations like OSU and strong veteran players
I think we have an unbelievable future in front of us, but it is fairly rare for true freshman to have a huge impact on your team, especially given the relative depth of talent at a school like OSU... The fact that Urban has what, 5? freshman playing on special teams and with Josh Perry, Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington, Tommy Schutt, Brionte Dunn, and Michael Thomas all seeing playing time as true freshman on offense and defense shows that Urban Meyer may have only been briefed in passing about the meaning of a redshirt. And if he's recruiting players he believes could play coming in, the depth in coming years will match (and maybe exceed, given the recruiting competition) that of SEC teams...
@JakeBuckeye I don't know what you are trying to get at or what you are assuming about me. I watched another Notre Dame commit at that same game, TE/LB/DE Jacob Matuska, and he had several big plays (long receptions, big tackles etc.). Unlike Jaylon, He did look special.
I don't know whats the big deal with saying that Jaylon didn't look special. I guess I can't trust my own eyes when it comes to player anaylsis.