Can the Buckeyes Capitalize on Issues at USC? Daelin Hayes Sets Official, Will Juarez and Burton Follow?

By Jeremy Birmingham on October 13, 2015 at 3:55 pm
Daelin Hayes has set an official visit to Ohio State
Daelin Hayes
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As often is the case, when there's turmoil in one college football program, a handful of other programs find themselves in a place to benefit. With the drama around the departure of Steve Sarkisian at USC, Ohio State is one of a few programs that could find themselves getting a better-than-expected shot at a few players previously committed – or thought to be leaning towards – the Trojans.

USC's recruiting class has already taken two significant hits since Sarkisian's leave of absence and subsequent termination was announced.

Sunday, it was Daelin Hayes, a four-star prospect from Ann Arbor who committed to USC in June of 2015, who re-opened his recruitment.

With Hayes, this wasn't a huge surprise. He'd been flirting with Notre Dame for some time now, despite already being welcomed by the now former USC head coach as an early enrollee. Hayes will visit Notre Dame this weekend officially and also made a splash today when he announced he'd visit the Buckeyes Nov. 7.

I talked to Hayes briefly today and he said that he and the Buckeyes have just recently started to reconnect.

"Just since I decommitted," Hayes said about how the contact with Ohio State has been. "They told me they thought I was a lost cause once I signed (the midyear financial agreement) but that they were 'fired up' when they heard the news."

Notre Dame has been the team to watch for Hayes for a while and he didn't deny that affection when talking to The Detroit News.

"I've been loving Notre Dame since my sophomore year when I attended camp and they offered me on the spot," Hayes said Monday. "I'm confident with how they want to use me because they're recruiting me like they did Jaylon (Smith) and they want me to come in and do the same things he's doing (at the hybrid defensive end / linebacker spot). I'm confident the coaching staff would get me to where I need to be at that level. 

In my talk with Hayes today, he suggested that he's making every attempt to be as open as possible in his recruitment moving forward.

"As I stated Sunday, my recruitment is open," Hayes reiterated. "I'm just looking forward to the process."

This morning, it was another highly-ranked linebacker with recent Ohio State interest that followed suit and decommitted from the Trojans. Mique Juarez, the country's 17th-ranked overall prospect in the 2016 class, opened up his recruitment as well.

Juarez was recently contacted by the Buckeyes, and had been attempting to arrange his own official visit before the Sarkisian news exploded, and it's likely that you'll see him in Columbus before too long. If there's a team to worry about for Juarez, it's likely the other Los Angeles team; UCLA leads the 247Sports.com crystal ball as of today.

UCLA is also a player in the recruitment of four-star safety Brandon Burton, who has been linked closely to the Trojans for a while now.

Burton was expected to visit Ohio State for their game against Hawai'i in September but didn't make it, instead he's planning on a trip for the home game against Michigan State Nov. 21. 

Will USC's losses be the Buckeyes gain? Georgia wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe and tight end Cary Angeline, a four-star from Pennsylvania, are also Trojan pledges that had Ohio State interest in the past, but it's unlikely either of those players will be circled back on as the Buckeye coaching staff has those positions effectively handled for 2016.

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