On Friday night a pair of Ohio State defensive recruits – one committed, the other still deciding – showcased their talents on both sides of the ball.
Pennsylvania safety/running back Derrick Davis Jr. – a 2021 high-priority target still deciding between Ohio State, Penn State, LSU and Georgia – was all over the field from the first few minutes of the game onward, and Ohio outside linebacker/receiver C.J. Hicks – a 2022 Buckeye commit – made a gamebreaking play on offense in the first quarter.
Eleven Warriors was on hand to see each star high school player's performance:
Davis shows why he's a top talent
MONROEVILLE, Pa. – It didn't take long for Davis to demonstrate he was the best player on the field during Gateway High School's opening-round playoff game against Penn Hills on Friday night.
On Gateway's opening possession of the game, Davis broke free up the right sideline for a long run and rushed into the end zone for a touchdown just a couple plays later. On Penn Hills' subsequent first possession of the game, Davis intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Davis played just about every snap of the game on offense, defense and special teams on Friday night and was impressive on both sides of the ball, consistently showing his burst and agility as a runner.
Derrick Davis has been on the field for just about every play on both sides of the ball. Heres a glimpse of his running ability. Gateway up 14-0 at half. pic.twitter.com/zp7V2Mew8l
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) October 31, 2020
More importantly in terms of his future prospects, Davis also stood out as the leader of Gateway's defense as it shut out Penn Hills on Friday night. Penn Hills really only came close to scoring twice, and Davis stepped up to make plays both times; aside from the interception, Davis could be heard yelling “They don't score!” before getting in on stops on third and fourth down on a later goal-line stand.
Davis took pride in the Gators' shutout on Friday night, but said they still need to get better as they prepare for their playoff semifinal game next week against Peters Township, who they defeated in the final to win last year's WPIAL Class 5A title.
“It’s good, but we got a lot to work on, really,” Davis said after the game. “The score was only 14-0, that’s an extremely close game.”
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, Davis appears to have prototypical physical tools for the safety position, and that's why he's one of the few players Ohio State is still holding a spot for in its mostly full class of 2021 – and why he also has offers from most of the nation's other top powerhouse programs, too, giving him plenty of options to choose from as he prepares to make his commitment announcement next weekend.
– Dan Hope
Hicks breaks game open as WR, Shepard in on momentous goal-line stand
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP – Hicks is obviously known for his exploits on defense, where he recently got a big jump in the recruiting rankings up to No. 53 overall (and still ranked No. 3 at outside linebacker), where he absolutely has the potential to wind up as a five-star prospect by the time his Archbishop Alter career is over and where his ceiling is becoming one of the Buckeyes' next stars at linebacker/safety in a few years.
He showed that throughout Friday night's OHSAA playoff matchup against Badin, flying to the ball a few times, including some aggressive blitzes off the edge toward the end of the game and a loud hit on Badin quarterback Landyn Vidourek on a rollout pass.
Hicks also hauled in a 70-yard TD catch for the first score of the game to spark Archbishop Alter to a 20-3 win. pic.twitter.com/wvtfU3vgRD
— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) October 31, 2020
But it was his play on offense that made the biggest headlines and highlight reels.
About midway through the first quarter, Hicks lined up outside the numbers as the Knights' lone receiver on the right side of the formation. As he approached the line of scrimmage, he used his own defensive IQ to diagnose what was coming his way and knew the ball was going to be headed toward him.
He couldn't wait.
“I saw the safety was playing over and they were isolating me one-on-one against the corner,” Hicks told Eleven Warriors. “When I saw that, it was over.”
Hicks ran a go route, easily sprinting past Badin's cornerback before hauling in an over-the-shoulder catch and gliding his way to a 70-yard score that provided a huge spark for the Knights. They went on to push their way into the state quarterfinals with a 20-3 victory as they will face Hamilton Ross at 7 p.m. Friday.
But while Hicks' big score gave Alter an early momentum boost, the Knights' defense gave them just as big of a spark to start the second period, and it was led by one of the Buckeyes' defensive targets in the 2022 class.
On two consecutive plays inside the 5-yard line, defensive tackle Derrick Shepard – ranked No. 175 overall, No. 12 at DT and No. 8 in Ohio – was one of the main players involved in stuffing Badin rushes to force a third-and-goal in which a botched snap led to about a five-yard loss, and the Rams settled for a field goal.
Hey coach how is my form? @brianhartline https://t.co/QHQgny7mu3
— CJ Hicks (@imcjhicks) October 31, 2020
Another Alter touchdown pass gave the Knights a 14-3 halftime lead, and a rushing attack led by Branden McDonald polished off the win – a win that served as revenge for the Knights' last two losses to Badin, the most recent of which came in Week 2 in a 14-12 decision.
“They beat us two times last year,” Shepard told Eleven Warriors. “They beat us early in the season last year and beat us in the second round of the playoffs last year, knocked us out. Early this year, we lost the first two games, and they were the second game. We lost 14-12, and it obviously was a defensive game. But we haven’t lost since Week 2. Our offense has been taking big steps forward all year, and our defense has been improving every game so we’re just trying to go full steam ahead.”
Ever since that loss, Alter has been rolling, winning seven consecutive games by an average of 29.1 points. This team feels about as confident as one can feel when it stops on the field each game, and the momentum is coming at the perfect time.
“We definitely had a lot of momentum going into the playoffs,” Shepard said. “We just a totally different team from Week 2. We aren’t laying down for nobody.”
– Zack Carpenter
Hancock nabs impressive INT
Jordan Hancock returned last week after opting back into his senior season.
Despite a loss, Hancock made an impact in this week by snagging an impressive, athletic interception on a diving play in North Gwinnett's 35-14 loss.
.@jordanhancock_7 with the HUGE INTERCEPTION!@NGHSFootball | #GPBSports pic.twitter.com/mzDvHHru29
— GPB Sports (@GPBsports) October 31, 2020
Hancock is one of two pure outside cornerback commits (Jakailin Johnson) in Ohio State's 2021 class, and plays like that show the kind of explosiveness and game-changing defensive ability that he possesses.
Buckeye Roundup
Here is a full snapshot of the 16 Ohio State commits who were in action this weekend:
| Player (Class) | Team | Opponent | Day, Time (Record) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDE JACK SAWYER (2021) | PICKERINGTON NORTH | SAWYER OPTED OUT | |
| OG DONOVAN JACKSON | EPISCOPAL (TEXAS) | IDLE | (2-3) |
| RB TREVEYON HENDERSON | HOPEWELL (VA.) | SEASON PPD UNTIL SPRING | |
| QB KYLE MCCORD | ST. JOSEPH'S PREP (PA.) | @ ARCHBISHOP WOOD | W, 52-6 (3-0) |
| CB JAKAILIN JOHNSON | DE SMET (MO.) | HOWELL CENTRAL | W, 55-0 (3-0) |
| WR JAYDEN BALLARD | MASSILLON WASHINGTON | WESTERVILLE SOUTH | W, 45-36 (8-1)* |
| DT MIKE HALL | STREETSBORO | CANFIELD | L, 24-6 (8-1)* |
| CB JORDAN HANCOCK | NORTH GWINNETT (GA.) | @ COLLINS HILL | L, 42-21 (6-3) |
| LB REID CARRICO | IRONTON | HARVEST PREP | W, 19-14 (9-0)* |
| RB EVAN PRYOR | WILLIAM AMOS HOUGH (N.C.) | SEASON PPD UNTIL SPRING | |
| WR MARVIN HARRISON JR. | ST. JOSEPH'S PREP (PA.) | @ ARCHBISHOP WOOD | W, 52-6 (3-0) |
| OG BEN CHRISTMAN | REVERE | SEASON FINISHED | FINAL RECORD: 4-3 |
| S/CB ANDRE TURRENTINE | ENSWORTH (TENN.) | MCCALLIE | L, 10-0 (2-6) |
| DT TYLEIK WILLIAMS | UNITY REED (VA.) | SEASON PPD UNTIL SPRING | |
| ATH DENZEL BURKE | SAGUARO (ARIZ.) | IDLE | (2-1) |
| S JANTZEN DUNN | SOUTH WARREN (KY.) | IDLE | (5-0) |
| S/LB JAYLEN JOHNSON | CINCINNATI LA SALLE | ANDERSON | W, 55-30 (7-2)* |
| TE SAM HART | CHEROKEE TRAIL (CO.) | ROCKY MOUNTAIN | W, 35-14 (2-2) |
| OT ZEN MICHALSKI | FLOYD CENTRAL (IND.) | JEFFERSONVILLE | L, 35-28 (7-3)* |
| P JESSE MIRCO | PROKICK AUSTRALIA | SIGNED WITH OHIO STATE | |
| LB GABE POWERS (2022) | MARYSVILLE | SEASON FINISHED | FINAL RECORD: 6-2 |
| ATH DASAN MCCULLOUGH | BLUE VALLEY NORTH (KAN.) | NORTH | W, 47-13 (4-2) |
| LB C.J. HICKS | ARCHBISHOP ALTER | @ BADIN | W, 20-3 (7-2)* |
| CB JYAIRE BROWN | LAKOTA WEST | ST. XAVIER | L, 10-7 (8-1)* |
| OT TEGRA TSHABOLA | LAKOTA WEST | ST. XAVIER | L, 10-7 (8-1)* |
| TE BENNETT CHRISTIAN | ALLATOONA (GA.) | SPRAYBERRY | W, 20-10 (6-0) |
*Denotes playoff game
