11W Recruiting Mailbag: Discussing Ohio State's Offensive Line Priorities, Spring Official Visits and Top Quarterback Targets

By Andrew Lind on March 22, 2018 at 10:10 am
Darnell Wright
Darnell Wright
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The 11W Recruiting Mailbag is your one-stop shop for all things Ohio State recruiting. You have questions. We have answers.

With all the talk about Ohio State’s offensive line commits better suited for playing guard at the college level, who are the recruits who are considered "pure" tackles that Ohio State will pursue this year? - AZ Buckeye 13

Well, I should first point out that potentially shifting to guard is not at all an indictment of Ryan Jacoby and Doug Nester’s overall abilities like some would assume. After all, Branden Bowen made that transition last year simply because he was the best offensive lineman on the roster without a starting spot locked down.

Thanks to the versatility Bowen showed last season, the staff sees a lot of value in pursuing offensive linemen who could slide across positions if need required such a move. And if you’re targeting so many prospects at the tackle position because of a current lack of depth, you may eventually find yourself with an logjam — meaning it might be in their best interest to move anyway.

Secondly, not every prospect listed by recruiting services as a tackle is being recruited by the Buckeyes as one. For example, Georgia four-star Harry Miller has been earmarked by all five of his finalists as a center. That’s important to keep in mind as we sift through the possible pledges.

So that said, Ohio State is hoping to bring on six offensive linemen this cycle. With Jacoby and Nester already in the fold and it widely assumed Miller joins the class during or shortly after his official visit next month, that leaves just three spots left open for tackles like Quinn Carroll, Devontae Dobbs, Andrew Kristofic, Michael Tarquin, Xavier Truss and Darnell Wright and guard Zeke Correll, among others.

All of them seem certain to remain at their listed position, but whether or not Ohio State pursues two tackles and one guard or three tackles will also play a large role in Jacoby and Nester’s eventual position(s) in Columbus.

Do you think the new recruiting rules regarding official visits in the spring helps the Big Ten the most of any conference? Seems like getting kids from the south to a campus in April and May is better than October and November. - Buckeye06

I definitely understand that line of thinking, as the cold, late fall weather could certainly be a turnoff to a kid accustomed to beautiful weather year-round. But, first and foremost, I don’t think it matters much if you’re Ohio State.

The Buckeyes’ program speaks for itself at this point in time. If your goal is to be developed, compete for conference and national championships, get drafted and be set up for life after football, the weather is among the least of your concerns. Getting them on campus for a (hopefully) 60 degree day for the Spring Game in April versus the Penn State game in chilly late October or near-freezing November for the Michigan game doesn’t have that much of an impact one way or the other — and the way the staff recruits nationally would suggest as much.

“The recruiter has to be a very sharp guy and understand what we're dealing with, because bringing a guy on a beautiful fall afternoon here as opposed to bringing them in in January are things you think about, too,” head coach Urban Meyer said on National Signing Day. “But that's a little bit overrated, as well. We have had some of our best players on cold weekends.”

As for the rest of the Big Ten, it’s a huge advantage compared to what they’ve dealt with in the past — especially for those in the West Division. Schools like Iowa and Nebraska are already far away from traditional recruiting hotbeds, and getting them to make such a trip on their own dime has proven difficult. If a prospect wants to commit early in the process, too, you have no chance to land his pledge if he can’t make it to campus until the season begins. That’s an advantage to the programs close to him.

Plus, like you mentioned, nobody wants to visit Minnesota in the late fall. Traveling to and from the Twin Cities may be even more of a nightmare than the foot of snow you’re likely to encounter, as well, which will instantly turn off a prospect and his family would certainly love to visit their son at school.

We've read that Meyer wants to limit official visits in the spring. That said, any idea on how many officials for the Spring Game? - NOLABuckeye

College football programs only get 56 official visits per recruiting cycle, so the staff is certainly going to have to be rather judicious in handing them out early in the process if they don’t want to be bit in the behind come January. That’s a big reason why Meyer said he wants to only host kids on an official visit this spring if they are planning to make a decision soon thereafter or during the summer.

"We're probably going to try to minimize official visits for people that aren't going to decide for a while," he said. ”They forget. [It's] just the way it is. What have you done for me lately?" 

There’s plenty of time to officially host a kid who has just recently narrowed his schools down to a Top 10 in the fall. And if he really wants to attend the spring game or make another trip to campus before then, he’ll have to do it in an unofficial capacity like prospects would in years past.

That didn't deter the likes of five-star running back Zamir White traveling to Columbus from North Carolina last April. Texas five-star cornerback Anthony Cook, Georgia five-star defensive end Brenton Cox and a host of other top targets made the trip on their own dime last year, so I don't expect that to change this year just because Ohio State doesn’t want to host them for an unnecessarily early official visit.

Right now, the Buckeyes are at two official visits: the aforementioned Miller and Texas four-star wide receiver Jalen “Boobie” Curry. Both are expected to make a decision in the spring or summer, so it makes sense for the staff do go all-out in their recruitment. They could potentially be joined by a top quarterback target like North Carolina four-star Sam Howell and/or Texas four-star Grant Gunnell, but I wouldn’t expect the number to be exceptionally high — even if a few out-of-state targets we don't know much about yet declare their intentions to commit sooner rather than later.

So, that said, I’d likely set the over/under at four.

With all the talk about Gunnell and Howell because of their visits, is there as much chatter and anticipation for Grant Tisdale's upcoming visit? Have you heard if Theo Wease Jr. is coming with him? - Cpewster

There was a point in time where I thought Tisdale was a shoo-in to be Ohio State’s quarterback. But the staff has handed out nearly a dozen offers at the position since, which certainly means they’re not entirely sold on what he brings to the table.

Tisdale doesn’t have the ideal size for a quarterback, but he’s viewed as a faster version of former signal caller J.T. Barrett. Like his fellow Texan, Tisdale is exceptional in the read-option game. However, the staff wants to see further development in the passing game — which has been difficult given there were several games last season where he threw the ball just a handful of times, like seven attempts for 30 yards in the state championship game last December.

In the meantime, there has seemingly been a change in philosophy for the Buckeyes under offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day. The staff continues to place more emphasis on pro-style quarterbacks like Gunnell and Howell who can throw the ball all over the field, yet are mobile enough to extend the play. And with that, contact between Tisdale and Day has dropped off considerably.

I recently changed by 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction for Tisdale from Ohio State to Texas A&M. The Aggies are focused on landing a dual-threat quarterback under head coach Jimbo Fisher, and that’s a big reason why Gunnell decommitted last month. A&M has long been the favorite to land Wease, and a recent unofficial visit to College Station for the duo has most prognosticators in agreement that they’ll continue their careers at the same college.

Though Tisdale recently told Eleven Warriors he plans to visit this spring, nothing has been set in stone. And since he’s hopeful for a summer decision, whether or not he makes the trip will be telling.

On a related note, I also placed a prediction in favor of the Buckeyes for Gunnell following his unofficial visit earlier this month. He hopes to return for an official visit before announcing his decision at his Spring Game in late May.

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