Been thinking about the recent developments in recruiting for a while now and wanted to offer some more nuance than just another “Fire Larry Johnson!” post.
I went back and reexamined how the 2024 cycle has gone for us to reach this point.
2024 Recruiting Recap
LJ wins the Marquise Lightfoot recruitment. Then Lightfoot asks for more money. He goes to Miami.
LJ wins the Justin Scott recruitment. Then Scott asks for more money. He goes to Miami.
We beat out Georgia, Alabama, and a ton of other schools to land in the top two for Dylan Stewart. He goes back and forth for a month and picks South Carolina.
LJ immediately pivots from Stewart to Amaris Williams. The crystal balls come flooding in - it looks like we win that recruitment too. Then Williams asks for more money. He’s probably going to Auburn.
Sensing a trend? Even Damon Wilson last year, LJ straight up won that recruitment. Then Wilson asked for more money. Georgia gives it to him.
Similar stories with Keon Keeley and Matayo Uiagalelei, as we all know.
What is the Best Recruiting Strategy?
Hindsight is 20/20, and we would be in a better spot now if LJ adopted the Justin Frye strategy of settling for local, less sought after recruits. I suppose LJ should have never recruited Justin Scott and Dylan Stewart in the first place, locked up Dominic Kirks and Elias Rudolph, and called it a cycle.
But do we really want that to be our strategy?
I love that we’re going after all of our top targets on the DL. The strategy shouldn’t change. We’re Ohio freaking State. We SHOULD be going after all elite talent, not just at DL, but at every single position.
This is why we pay our coaches better than any other school - to continuously stock their position rooms with elite players.
Focusing more on process than outcomes, I personally have more qualms with Justin Frye’s recruiting strategy. Frye is the highest paid OL coach in the country.
Frye has focused on locking up local guys who are less coveted by other programs. He has done very little since locking up the Armstrong Twins in March. It’s a lower risk, lower reward approach.
Under Frye, we haven’t even really been close on many elite out of state OL (besides Brandon Baker). You would think the 40 year old would be hitting the trail harder than the 70 year old, but it’s been the complete opposite.
Pretty stark contrast to LJ, who has been grinding for the entire year, trying over and over again to get elite talent in the DL room. To me, LJ is how all of our position coaches should be recruiting. His approach has been high risk, high reward, and I believe it’s the right one. Go after the players you believe will win us championships - don't immediately settle.
You can find lots of Dominic Kirks in the portal who will want to come to Ohio State. Eddrick Houston isn’t hitting the portal very often. There are three recruiting powerhouses year after year, and we're one of them.
The other complicating factor is that DL valuations have gotten insane. Higher than QB valuations in some situations. You’re seeing it everywhere - Williams Nwaneri picking Mizzou over Georgia, Jordan Ross picking Tennessee over Alabama. Those decisions would be unheard of a few years ago.
Alabama has one top 200 DL committed, and they’re holding on for dear life against 6-6 Auburn.
Conclusion
I won’t pretend to know the solution, but I know the fix is not as simple as "Fire LJ, hire Randall Joyner" (as many on Twitter like to suggest). I also don't believe the solution is to just get into a bidding war for every single target.
A small risk-reward recalibration may help, but again, we still need to be going after as many elite DL as possible.
Anyways, just some ramblings from someone who’s been following this closely and probably doesn’t have the complete picture on everything behind the scenes.
Not saying you have to donate, but I encourage everyone to at least be supportive of the efforts of Aidin, Jason, and everyone else at 1870 Society. They love the Buckeyes like we do, and are working to be a part of the solution.
Go Bucks!
