Ohio State already looking to bolster the 2019 defensive line

Tomorrow night the Buckeyes will take the field in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship for the third time since being under the direction of Urban Meyer. With a .500 record of 1-1 in Big Ten Championship play, the Buckeyes are back after a two year hiatus which seems longer than it should.

Being back on top of the Big Ten would certainly ease fans regardless of the College Football Playoff scenarios that seem to never end in discussion. One truth though is the fact that the Buckeye football program is seriously fortunate to see stability. With the coaching carousel that is taking place right now, Ohio State fans need to take a step back and see just how fortunate they are to have a program that not only competes for championships years in and year out, but also has a coach that has been loyal to this program since day one and in recruiting, relationships and loyalty is everything.

2019 DE receives coveted Buckeye offer

Yesterday, for the third year in a row an Ohio State defensive lineman was awarded the “Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year” award. A total credit of course to the talent at Ohio State and that position group, it still can’t go without noticing position coach Larry Johnson and the incredible work he has done with the Rushmen at Ohio State in his tenure. The amazing thing, that talent looks to continue stockpiling with the 2018 class coming in and even with the younger guys already on the roster.

On Wednesday, the Buckeyes may have made a step in adding another elite pass rusher to the fold when they headed to Kansas and extended an offer to Marcus Hicks of Northwest High School in Wichita. The 2019 prospect may be bit of a new name to Buckeye recruiting followers, but that won’t be the case for long as he already holds quite the impressive resume.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end is currently ranked as the top player in the state of Kansas for the 2019 class, as well as being the 19th best player in the country at his position. Not only is he a composite four-star already as a high school junior, but Marcus also holds 11 offers to this point from schools such as Oklahoma, Texas, Notre Dame, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas State, and most recently Ohio State.

Of course, it’s still very early in the recruitment, but already there has been a 247sports crystal ball prediction in favor of the Buckeyes as Marcus Hicks’ eventual landing spot. Again, it is early in this process, but if Ohio State wanted to seriously be a factor for Hicks in the end, it looks like that relationship is only beginning to take off.

The uncertainty may be a positive aspect for Ohio State

College football right now is a hotbed of drama. With coaches either leaving programs to take over new teams and/or schools struggling to find a coach, there hasn’t been a second of down time in the college football scene this week. One aspect that is true, however, is the fact that some uncertainty in a program may bode well for another program when it concerns recruiting efforts.

A program that certainly comes to mind with what has come to pass this week is Florida State and the saga between their coach Jimbo Fisher and his rumored Texas A&M landing spot. It has not been finalized yet, but anyone who has been breathing this week has heard or seen news that Fisher to A&M is all but a done deal. The writing is certainly on the wall.

With the current Seminoles recruiting class starting to really see it’s luster being lost due to the rescinding of commitments, one program that can certainly benefit from the turmoil is Ohio State. Obviously with Meyer having the Buckeyes as a strong presence in the sunshine state, he has some pull, but with Florida State and Ohio State constantly going head to head for top recruits, that can help the Buckeyes chances now that there’s too much murkiness in the water to see the final outcome for Florida State.

You can guarantee though that Urban Meyer’s staff — while preparing for the Big Ten Championship game — is paying close attention to who they can appeal to now that Florida State is seeing the outcome of a potential coaching move.

Quick Hits:

• Buckeye analyst Bill Greene submitted a crystal ball prediction in favor of Ohio State for Jacksonville, Florida star corner back Tyreke Johnson. A Buckeye pledge could come in the near future for this Trinity Christian prospect.
• Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts issued a crystal ball prediction in favor of the Buckeyes tonight concerning 3-star QB prospect Mathew Baldwin, a current Colorado State commit the Buckeyes offered back on November 12.