In a Nutshell: Shaun Crawford, Hale Hentges, Justin Hilliard, and more

Quite a bit has happened in the world of Ohio State football recruiting over the weekend. Let's get you all caught up.

Shaun Crawford decommits from Michigan. What are the Buckeyes' chances?

Lakewood (OH) St. Edward defensive back Shaun Crawford officially decommitted from Michigan Friday night, in a move that had been expected for a couple of weeks. Crawford is coming off a strong visit to Notre Dame and the Fighting Irish are likely the favorites to land his commitment as things currently stand.

He's expected to be in Columbus this coming weekend for a visit, which might be the only shot the Buckeyes get at moving up his list.

Publicly Crawford will says he's still considering Michigan, but I would be shocked if he re-committed to the Wolverines. Miami also might be in the running, but I expect this to come down to the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish, with Notre Dame holding the edge right now.

Justin Hilliard cuts his list to five. Does OSU lead?

Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier linebacker Justin Hilliard cut his college list down to five on Friday. His top five includes the likes of Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

The standout linebacker has made quite a few trips to Columbus over the past year or so and I think the Buckeyes are currently the team to beat for his commitment, though there's definitely some time left in his recruitment.

I think the biggest competition will be from Notre Dame and maybe Alabama, though I think as with Crawford, the Fighting Irish pose the biggest threat to the Bucks. Then Iowa can't be ruled out because his older brother is set to play his college career for the Hawkeyes. Michigan has been there all along too.

Hilliard is set to be back in Columbus this coming weekend, where Urban Meyer and company will get yet another chance to impress the state of Ohio's top player for the 2015 recruiting cycle.

Hale Hentges announcing tonight. Does Ohio State have a shot?

After he made his second ever visit to Columbus at the beginning of April, I felt the Buckeyes had pulled into the lead to land the standout tight end's commitment. Since visiting, he has made trips to Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, and most recently Missouri.

I'm hearing Hentges will announce for the Crimson Tide tonight at 8 PM ET over the likes of Auburn, Ohio State, Florida State, and Missouri.

There's no doubt this comes as a blow for tight end recruiting for the second consecutive year. As I've said a couple of times, I don't expect their other top target, Chris Clark to be in this class either, which leaves tight end recruiting in an interesting spot.

Three guys they've offered who are still on the board include Jackson Harris, Miles Boykin, and Josh Moore. I don't see them landing Harris, but they are in the mix for Boykin and Moore, though definitely are not leading for either as things currently stand.

I think it's going to be interesting to see if the staff tries smoothing things over with the top in state tight end and Kentucky commit CJ Conrad. If they're able to mend the relationship he could become a real possibility in this class.

We'll keep you updated on the developments in tight end recruiting over the next couple of weeks.

Torrance Gibson's set to announce his final seven. Where will the Buckeyes be on his list?

Ohio State's top quarterback target is expected to announce his final seven schools sometime today, though there is not a set time for his announcement.

The top seven in his top 15 (in order) from a few weeks ago was Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Miami. I'm sure there will be a couple of tweaks to the list, but I don't think we'll see anything shocking, unless a couple of the schools near the top of his list have decided to stop recruiting him due to recent troubles the standout athlete has been rumored to be in.

He's expected to be in Columbus sometime this summer and I'm confident the Buckeyes will shoot up his list of schools after he visits and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they took the lead in his recruitment.

Gibson is expected to take all five of his official visits before announcing his college decision a few weeks after his football season.

Bucks check in a four for Tarvarus McFadden. What are their chances at landing him?

Interestingly enough, the Buckeyes check in as the number four school for Gibson's high school teammate and standout defensive back Tarvarus McFadden, who is one of the best defensive players in the 2015 recruiting class as whole.

His list on schools (in order) is Florida State, LSU, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Central Florida, Clemson, and USC.

I think it will be much tougher landing McFadden than it will be landing Gibson as both Florida State and LSU will be extremely difficult to beat out in this race. Though if/when the Buckeyes get him on campus, you never know what can happen.

Big weekend of visitors ahead

For the second consecutive year, the NFTC/Elite 11 camps are attracting some of the nation's top talent to Columbus. There will be many major recruits in town for visits before they participate in the camp. Matthew Burrell, Jerome Baker, Shaun Crawford, Justin Hilliard, LJ Scott, Nyheim Hines, Alex Ofodile, George Hill (2016) Dwayne Haskins (2016), and Jeff Thomas (2017) are just a few of the Buckeyes' major targets who are expected in town for a visit.

I will have complete coverage of the weekend and will be at the NFTC camp (Sunday) and Elite 11 camp (Monday).