On Thursday, Urban Meyer and Larry Johnson missed out on arguably the top remaining target on the Buckeyes' board as four-star defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson committed to Auburn. There's no getting around the fact that this was a blow to Ohio State's 2016 recruiting efforts as Jackson has sat atop the defensive tackle board for several months now. The Buckeyes' defensive line coach appeared to be frustrated following the news.
#Buckeyes defensive line coach Larry Johnson just walked out the door of the WHAC, visibly disappointed.
— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) December 17, 2015
Alas, the world has not ended, and the Buckeyes still have the nation's top recruiting class. With seventeen commits currently on board—seven of whom are expected to arrive in January—we anticipate that room will be made for roughly six more commitments/signees. Those spots should focus on five position groups: quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive tackle, and defensive back.
With Meyer at the helm, it's always good to expect the unexpected, but today we look at what we think Buckeye fans should keep an eye on between now and February 3rd.
The Buckeyes are currently in a pretty interesting situation when it comes to quarterback recruiting. Their search is likely to be heavily influenced by what a few other schools do both on the recruiting trail and with regards to potential coaching staff changes.
There's no question that Dwayne Haskins is currently the guy the staff wants. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder was in Columbus just last weekend and the Buckeyes hope to have made a lasting impression that carries on through the month-long dead period. The good news for the Buckeyes is that Haskins is rumored to be making an announcement in just under two weeks at the Under Armour All-America Game. More potential good news also seems to be going down, as Maryland is set to announce that someone not named Mike Locksley will be their new offensive coordinator.
Haskins' relationship with Locksley has been well-documented, and rumors have been swirling that if Locksley leaves town then the Terps will need to find a new quarterback for the 2016 class. There is some speculation that D.J. Durkin could retain the lame-duck offensive coordinator and move him into the quarterback coaching role, which would surely make this recruitment that much more interesting.
The bad news for the Buckeyes is pretty obvious: Haskins is currently committed to Maryland and getting a local kid to flee the area isn't always easy (see: Diggs, Stefon), though it has happened in the past (see: Prince, Isaiah). The dead period is Ohio State's best friend right now as other schools—LSU and perhaps even Florida still—would love to reach out to the four-star signal caller.
Interestingly, Haskins began mingling with Gator commits on Saturday after news broke of Will Grier's departure. The Gators do already have a commitment from Feleipe Franks, the nation's third-ranked passer.
Several #Gators commits are tweeting at Dwayne Haskins now. @dh_simba7 is very popular among his peers
— Andrew Spivey (@AndrewSpiveyGC) December 19, 2015
This will likely be a recruitment to watch even if an announcement does take place at the Under Armour game on January 2nd. With Franks flipping to Florida, LSU currently is without a quarterback for the 2016 class. As mentioned in Tuesday's Hurry Up, a January official to Baton Rouge is definitely a possibility.
Tylin Oden continues to be the most likely back-up plan if things don't work out for the Buckeyes and Haskins. The three-star is currently committed to Louisville but did meet with Tim Beck just a few weeks back and is considering a January official visit to Columbus. LSU is also showing interest as the 6-foot-5, 180-pounder appears to be anything but solid to Louisville.
Wide receiver recruiting seems to be down to a couple of four-star prospects in Michigan's Donnie Corley and Florida's Binjimen Victor. For Corley, the dead period is yet again going to work in the Buckeyes' favor. The recruitment appears to be coming down to the Buckeyes and Spartans, though Michigan State has long been thought to be the frontrunner.
After postponing his previous announcement date, Corley currently doesn't have a date set, but it's going to have to happen relatively soon if he still plans on enrolling in January. An announcement could potentially come at the Army All-American Game on January 9th. The Detroit (King) standout made his official visit to Ohio State last week, meaning the Buckeyes likely got the last shot. The Spartans have three four-star receivers already committed while the Buckeyes just have one in Austin Mack. Michigan State has also tossed around the idea of bringing in Corley as a defensive back.
Binjimen Victor's announcement is also expected to come at the Army All-American Game. The 6-foot-4, 175-pounder from Fort Lauderdale has been on the Buckeyes' radar since putting on a show at the 2014 edition of Friday Night Lights. For several months now, this has been shaping up to be a battle between Urban Meyer and Jim McElwain, but the Gators have been loading up on 2016 wideouts. With four already in the fold, Florida is still looking to add one or two more pass-catchers. Victor, Nate Craig-Myers, Sam Bruce, and Tre Nixon are all candidates to fill the final spots.
Will Binjimen Victor be joining Austin Mack in Columbus?
The Mark Richt hiring at Miami could shake things up a bit here as Victor grew up rooting for the Hurricanes and has admitted to being a fan of Richt. Teammate Malek Young recently decommitted from Georgia and is considered to be a Miami lean at this point. The issue for the Canes will be getting the Coconut Creek standout to campus as a commitment during the dead period would make things even more difficult.
Victor officially visited Ohio State for the Penn State game and Zach Smith has made multiple trips to Florida since that time. At this juncture, he has only used two of his official visits—Ohio State and West Virginia—but a post-announcement visit to Florida or Miami may be in the cards.
Other wideouts to keep an eye on include the aforementioned Craig-Myers and Sam Bruce, but both appears to be longshots at this point. The one to watch closely may be Akron's Jonah Morris. At 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, Morris is being recruited at multiple positions, primarily wide receiver and linebacker/safety, and could be one to watch if things don't work out with Victor and Corley.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker seems to be the easiest position group to sort out. The Buckeyes missed out on Ann Arbor's Daelin Hayes and Mique Juarez doesn't look to be a realistic option right now. Columbus's Malik Harrison (Walnut Ridge) was offered earlier this month and is definitely the odds-on favorite to join Tuf Borland to finish out the 2016 linebacker haul. Many seemed to think a commitment could come shortly after the offer was extended, but would appear that Harrison may just be waiting on a January official visit before making a decision. Wisconsin—who looked to be the favorite at one point—is also being considered.
Things start to get a bit more fuzzy when trying to figure out what to expect for defensive tackle and defensive back recruiting. With Jackson off the board, Larry Johnson and Ohio State's focus now shifts to Rashard Lawrence and Rashan Gary. The likelihood of landing either one currently seems to be pretty slim, but the addition of Greg Schiano may give the Buckeyes a shot to make up some ground with Gary. Having offered him when he was just an eight grader, there is a connection there between the Buckeyes' new associate head coach and the Gary family. Ohio State will need to secure an official visit to have any chance whatsoever.
Lawrence—a five-star from Monroe, Louisiana—has been to Columbus twice since this past summer but is still expected to stay in SEC territory. LSU is the perceived favorite even though they'e already put together a nice haul at defensive tackle. It's definitely noteworthy for a Louisiana prospect to take multiple trips up north, but these have proven to be nearly impossible to snag from the southeast.
Outside of Gary and Lawrence, the pickings appear to be relatively slim, though it's certainly not out of the question for some new offers to be extended. In the state of Ohio, Dayton Dunbar's Jeffery Pooler is currently committed to West Virginia while Loveland's Jake Saunders pledged to Northwestern over the summer. Larry Johnson recently gave Georgia defensive tackle Michail Carter a follow on Twitter, but most view him as a lock to the in-state Bulldogs.
In the secondary, there appear to be four names that are fairly realistic options at the moment; three of whom could be making official visits in January. Westwood, New Jersey's Jordan Fuller is another prospect that Greg Schiano has already started working on. The four-star has been pretty non-committal about his official visit plans, but the Buckeyes are tentatively expected to play host at some point in January. Fuller's lone official visit has been to Notre Dame, and Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and others are all vying for January officials.
Hamlin and Meyer are very familiar with one another.
Damar Hamlin has been to Columbus several times already, but the Buckeyes have ground to make up on Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Hamlin was last on campus in late November for the game against Michigan State and they're hoping to get him back next month for an official. He officially visited South Bend in mid-October and has been to Pitt numerous times throughout the season. Convincing Pittsburgh-area prospects to the leave the area has proven to be a chore.
Jahsen Wint and Rodjay Burns are two of the more recent additions to the Buckeyes' defensive back board as both have received offers this month. For Wint, a Temple commit, things really heated up since he was offered during last week's official visit. Since then the three-star from Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School has received offers from Penn State and Rutgers. The Buckeyes are recruiting Wint to play safety and he could to making a decision within the next couple of weeks.
Burns—a Louisville commit—is scheduled to be in Columbus the weekend of January 22nd for his official visit. The Trinity High School prospect has been committed to the Cardinals since March, but the Buckeyes may make a push to pull the 6-foot-2, 180-pound defensive back away from his own backyard.
Rutgers commit Patrice Rene has also discussed taking a January official, but things seem to have quieted down a bit since the Chris Ash tenure began. Other, less likely names to keep an eye on include Nigel Warrior, Brandon Burton, and Tony Butler.
January should be an interesting month and Eleven Warriors will have a full breakdown of what to look for at the all-star games. Landing one of the nation's top quarterbacks on January 2nd followed by one of the top pass-catchers the following week would certainly be a nice start to the new year.
