The coaching carousel is in full swing and Ohio State is once again looking to take advantage.
Since his arrival in 2011, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes have reaped the benefits of a number of national coaching shake-ups. Joe Paterno's departure—coupled with the Meyer hiring—allowed Ohio State to sway five-star Noah Spence away from Happy Valley. Defensive back Armani Reeves, linebacker Camren Williams, and defensive tackle Tommy Schutt also backed off their Penn State pledges and ultimately signed with the Buckeyes.
In January of 2013, Chip Kelly accepted the head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Shortly thereafter, Dontre Wilson—one of the nation's top running backs—announced that he was flipping his commitment from Oregon to Ohio State.
After flipping from Oregon, Dontre Wilson was the talk of training camp in 2013.
Earlier this year it was Detroit's Mike Weber who was in the middle of the coaching whirlwind. Three months after his commitment to Michigan and just as Brady Hoke's seat began to get hot, the four-star tailback elected to open his recruitment back up. After committing to the Buckeyes last December, new Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh battled back in a turbulent recruitment that would go all the way up to National Signing Day.
Over the last 72 hours, there have been several noteworthy coaching moves at some of the country's elite programs. A lot of the action (and action that has yet to come) has focused on the Southeastern Conference—specifically Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina—and anyone who follows recruiting knows how important the region is to Meyer and Co.
Ohio State has been battling Auburn for Antwuan Jackson's services. Yes, the four-star defensive tackle was at the Swamp last weekend and got to see the Gator defense do something the offense was unable to accomplish: score a couple points—but this recruitment is all about the Buckeyes and Tigers. While Gus Malzahn's job is safe, defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is rumored to be a frontrunner for the South Carolina head coaching job as well as the defensive coordinator under new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
Could Muschamp leave Auburn? Not sure, but right now it seems likely. Will it matter for the Jackson family or is their relationship with defensive line coach (and lead recruiter) Rodney Gardner strong enough to overcome a potential change? We will have to wait and find out. Perhaps the most important factor here: Is Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson going anywhere? It certainly doesn't seem like it, and that has been the key relationship for both Jackson and his father. The early enrollee is expected to make a decision here within the next few weeks and it will be interesting to see if some changes at Auburn will be a factor.
I enjoyed my Official Visit From Ohio State I had a blast. #OhioState #Buckeyes #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/Hna1FOOEbL
— Antwuan Jackson (@Hercules__52) November 23, 2015
In yesterday's Hurry Up, Birm mentioned Binjimen Victor and his reaction to Mark Richt being named the new Miami Hurricanes' head coach. The four-star wideout is set to make his announcement at the Army All-American Game and the general consensus has been that this is an Ohio State-Florida battle with the Buckeyes trending. Victor was scheduled to visit Gainesville last weekend, but the trip did not end up happening.
Georgia is a school that had been mentioned in the past, so Richt's arrival in Coral Gables is something to keep an eye on. Victor, the nation's seventh-ranked wideout, has only used two officials—Ohio State and West Virginia—and it wouldn't be too surprising to see him make the 45-minute trip to Miami. He took an unofficial visit to Miami back in September.
Another player of interest to both Mark Richt and Urban Meyer is St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Sam Bruce. The four-star wideout has been committed to the Hurricanes since July of 2014, but there have been plenty of rumors of him ending up elsewhere. Most think the Buckeyes are probably running third behind Miami and Florida. Based on his reaction on Twitter, it would appear that things may have gotten a bit tougher for the Buckeyes and Gators.
Welcome coach @MarkRicht ! You're about to be apart of history!
— 6-3 (@_QUICK6) December 2, 2015
You could just about drive yourself crazy trying to overanalyze these things, but it is fun to follow and it's certainly something Ohio State has benefited from in recent years. With Chris Ash and Ed Warinner's names being thrown around as potential head coaching candidates, could the Buckeyes find themselves on the other end of the spectrum?
Meyer and his staff seem to do a tremendous job of building and maintaining the relationships that are so important in the recruiting process. When you go to a Friday Night Lights event, you see someone like Kerry Coombs mingling with just about everyone. Anything that can be done to build the level of comfort is going to help in the long haul if some sort of change does take place.
If there are coaching changes in Columbus then other programs are going to be reaching out to the class, trying to establish a relationship or perhaps reestablish one that had previously fizzled. With Meyer at the helm, this part of the recruiting process is always interesting and there are a lot of moving pieces to watch over the next three months—both in Columbus and on the national scale.
