This 2015 class hasn’t gone as well as we all hoped it would. Imo it’s because of a down year in Ohio and, the lack of a big name talent being in the class (e.g. Torrance Gibson). I think the staff plan was to lock Gibson up early in order for him to be the bell cow of this class and recruit the elite talent to come to Columbus with him, but that plan obviously didn’t work. Looking at the 2016 class, this class has the top talent in Ohio with 10-15 Ohio kids being in the top 24/7 sports rankings and, it has the elite talent looking to commit early (Bosa, Craig). I love following recruiting because there are a lot of twists and turns in recruiting, plus I love watching film on these talented kids. These are my way too early predictions for the offensive 2016 class.
QB- Ohio State is in on a number of talented QBs this class, even one in Ohio in Pro-Style Messiah DeWeaver but I have heard that it’s looking like he is headed to TSUN. There is multiple top level talent in 5 star DT Jawon Pass out of GA and 5 star DT Malik Henry out of CA who both will be nearly impossible to pull from their respective regions. Then there are a few others in DT Brandon Mcilwain, Pro-Style Dwayne Haskins Jr. and Pro-Style Jarrett Guarantano (who named Ohio State his early favorite). Prediction: Haskins Jr. kid grew up loving the Buckeyes as evident from his YouTube videos of him as a child at Ohio State; he also used to live with Springs and idolized Troy Smith. He also seems like the type of kid who will commit early and help recruit for his class. It’s also very telling that he outperformed Mcilwain and Wimbush at recent NFTC camps in DC. Wiltfong has also said that he was the most impressive at the camp and will be ranked high when they update the 2016 rankings.
RB- There hasn’t been too much noise on the RB front for this class because it’s way too early but, two names Ohio State fans should get used to hearing are Robert Washington and 5 star Kareem Walker. Rumor has it that Walker has Alabama and Penn State on top but, it’s still a long way to go and it looks like the staff may favor Washington over Walker simply because he is more realistic. Washington has visited and said that he enjoyed his visit and will be back up to Columbus in June for a camp, as well as visiting two games this fall. When a kid makes that many trips (4 if all goes as planned) on his own dime, then you know he’s VERY interested. He was also told that he could commit anytime he wants. There are also two more very talented running backs in Ohio by the name of Demario McCall and George Hill. Hill may commit sometime in the near future and McCall is also Buckeye bound if offered. He has a very similar skill set as Hill and put up monster numbers last year. Hill may end up at Slot WR or RB at Ohio State but many have called him the top player in Ohio for the 2016 class. Yes above Eichenberg and Kraemer. Prediction: Washington, Hill(Hybrid) and McCall(if offered).
WR- It was very surprising to me that Craig wasn’t ranked as a 5 star when the initial 2016 rankings came out. The kid is 6’2 and a beast at WR. I have heard that his low ranking may be due to weak competition but I have seen many players ranked high when dominating weak competition. Plus when you are truly a 5 star, you make ALL competition in High School look weak. Craig named Ohio State his leader a week ago and has mentioned over and over how infatuated he is with Coach Meyer, as well as growing up an Ohio State fan. He also mentioned his great relationship with Drayton as well as stating that he will definitely be leaving Florida for College. He wants to get away from any and all distractions that his family and close friends may bring him, plus he wants to see different parts of the country he says. After visiting all Florida schools and Auburn, he named Ohio State his favorite without even visiting yet and says that he will make it up to Columbus over the summer as he wants to commit to his school of choice before the start of his Junior Season in high school and help recruit for his school. Another name to get familiar with is 6’3 200 pound Chambers out of Jersey. I know that’s Penn State territory lol but this kid has mentioned that he would love to go to college with his former workout partner in Eli Apple and, that he has a great experience every time he visits Ohio State. Steven Smothers out of Maryland will be a dog fight until the end. The kid doesn’t plan on committing until a couple weeks after NSD 2016 but, he has named Ohio State his very early favorite. He visited during the spring for a practice and loved it. He said Meyer singled him out while he was standing on the sideline and that it really surprised him because he didn’t think Meyer knew who he was. He also mentioned that practice was fast paced and intense and that’s what he liked the most about the visit. His god brother is Tavon Austin and he named WVU his 2nd choice behind Ohio State so this one will be tough to pull off but I have faith in Urbs. Another talented WR in Scott Bracey out of Maryland grew up an Ohio State fan and says he has a great relationship with Zach Smith; it wouldn’t surprise me if he was in this class at all. A few more names to watch out for is Sam Bruce (named Ohio State to his top 5, FSU lean), Justin Layne from Ohio (ours if offered, MSU if he isn’t offered), Brad Hawkins (100% crystal ball to Ohio State but I doubt he’s a take unless higher ranked players commit elsewhere) and Demetris Robertson (will be tough to pull out of Georgia, listed as an ATH but could play WR). Prediction: Craig, Bracey, Smothers (not very confident), and Chambers. Layne if we miss out on of those 4.
TE- This position is rather simple; I believe Ohio State may aim to take one TE this class (Hausmann). But if they look to take two then, 5 star Isaac Nauta from Georgia will no doubt be a target for Coach but he’s an early FSU lean. There’s another very talented TE in Ohio by the name of Luke Farrell who has been in contact with the staff. Prediction: This is really simple and the staff cant screw this up, Hausmann by all reports is a Buckeye and if they aim to take two, then Farrell from Perry, Ohio should be #2.
OL- It has been mentioned that Ohio State doesn’t even need to leave Ohio for offensive linemen this class and they may not, but a few names out of state to watch out for is 5 star OT Jauan Williams from Maryland (some of his family graduated from Ohio State, grew up big Gator/Urban Meyer fan, top 3 is Ohio State, Florida and Maryland), 5 star OT Ben Bredeson from Wisconsin (visited Ohio State over the spring and says he will be back in the future, Wisconsin rarely if never loses top ranked Wisconsin recruits), and OG Michal Menet from Pennsylvania (more than likely headed to Penn State). The big names in state are of course Eichenberg and Kraemer who many insiders have mentioned that they will be shocked if both aren’t Buckeyes in the end. Everyone knows those two but two more to watch out for are Galvin Cupp (who the staff told they like his film and they want him to camp to earn his offer, so he will be camping to earn his offer this summer), and Tyler Gerald. Prediction: Eichenberg, Kraemer, Gerald, and Cupp (if offered). I would put Williams but I’m not very confident with that.
As I said before it’s way too early for everyone to follow the 2016 class, but me being the recruiting addict that I am, I just wanted to share my way too early 2016 predictions with everyone. Of course recruiting is fluid and it can change, new names will emerge and some names will disappear like Settle but, as of now I predict this to be our 2016 recruiting offensive class. Haskins Jr., Washington, McCall, Hill, Craig, Bracey, Smothers, Chambers, Hausmann, Eichenberg, Cupp, Gerald, and Kraemer. The first three I see committing are Hill, Craig and Haskins Jr. who will then go out and recruit for their class hopefully. Go Bucks! Defensive predictions coming later.
