The last couple days in Oregon have been fun to watch. It's become pretty obvious which players have been spending a lot of time with one another and recruiting for their respective programs. On Saturday, the real action began as the 7-on-7 tournament got kicked off. A year, ago Team Lunarbeast featured a number of Buckeye commits including Austin Mack and DeMario McCall. After struggling in their first day, the squad bounced back to capture the 7-on-7 tournament championship.
This year, Lunarbeast again features the majority of Ohio State's commits at the event, and they again struggled a bit early on. J.K. Dobbins, Shaun Wade, Brendon White, and others all suited up but fell to Team Flyrush by a score of 21-20. Notre Dame commit C.J. Holmes dropped the would-be game-tying extra point with no time left on the clock.
Lunarbeast bounced back in their second matchup, taking down Team Alph Pro. The Alpha Pro squad is led by quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Buckeye commit Tate Martell. Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey were two of their leading pass-catchers on the day. Alpha Pro did take home the win in their first matchup thanks to spectacular performances from both Fromm and Martell.
Lunarbeast would go on to fall short in their third match of the day as Michigan commit Dylan McCaffrey connected with tight end Joshua Falo to give Team Hypercool the victory.
Buckeye commits representing while Cincinnati (Colerain) defensive back Amir Riep shows some love for the Queen City. Riep is expected to announce his decision on July 23 and the Buckeyes and Spartans will both be paying close attention.
#LunarBeast out here reaaaaaadddy! #D1Bound from #TheOpening pic.twitter.com/SLOmw4s0bY
— #D1Bound Nation. (@SportsRecruits) July 9, 2016
One five-star Buckeye target was in awe as Tyjon Lindsey nearly broke the ankles of Darnay Holmes, another five-star Buckeye target.
That look on five-star Jeffrey Okudah's face when fellow #Buckeyes target Tyjon Lindsey shakes a defender. pic.twitter.com/ALokgyopzf
— 11W Recruiting (@11WRecruiting) July 9, 2016
Tate Martell was still spending a ton of time with the Buckeyes' top two wide receiver targets. Martell and Grimes had a solid connection throughout the day.
The Future Trio! #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/pHT8yeMRfJ
— Tate Martell (@TheTateMartell) July 9, 2016
Martell connecting with Grimes in the back of the endzone.
QB Tate Martell goes up top to WR Trevon Grimes for the TD. Future #Buckeyes?? pic.twitter.com/aGPiMYxjaB
— Josh Newberg (@joshnewberg247) July 9, 2016
Lindsey was a favorite target of Georgia quarterback commit Jake Fromm, via Sanjay Kirpalani. Fromm may have been the best player in attendance on Saturday.
@FrommJake hits @tyjonlindsey. Great catch, better celebration #GETOPEN pic.twitter.com/9K2OfQBQbm
— Sanjay Kirpalani (@SanjayKirpalani) July 9, 2016
A gymnastics show nearly broke out after Fromm connected with Grimes for a score. Via Kirpalani:
Fromm hits Trevon Grimes for the TD. Then everyone hit flips. pic.twitter.com/UoofduTBmz
— Sanjay Kirpalani (@SanjayKirpalani) July 9, 2016
For Team Lunarbeast, Buckeye commit J.K. Dobbins hauled in touchdown pass from quarterback Tommy DeVito. Via 247Sports' Josh Newberg.
#OhioState RB commit JK Dobbins with a TD catch from QB Tommy DeVito pic.twitter.com/bBKWwISxLq
— Josh Newberg (@joshnewberg247) July 9, 2016
After a basketball tournament on Wednesday and Thursday, Buckeye commit Shaun Wade arrived in Beaverton on Friday. On Saturday, he was all over four-star California wideout Joseph Lewis. Per Keith Niebuhr.
DB Shaun Wade vs. WR Joseph Lewis at #TheOpening pic.twitter.com/AvIkTEilGd
— Keith Niebuhr (@Keith247Sports) July 9, 2016
The action will continue on Sunday, and it would appear as if the Buckeyes' Director of Player Personnel has liked what he's seen so far.
Reading these Opening updates like... pic.twitter.com/RtXT1aavsG
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) July 9, 2016
The 7-on-7 events are continuing into the nighttime hours here in the EST world. Be sure to stay dialed in to the recruiting board as more updates become available.
