Ohio State commit helps pitch the Buckeye program

In two short days the Buckeyes will have completed their 2017 Spring Football season with the highly anticipated Spring Football Game. Each year in Meyer’s helm of the program, the best fans in the land have set record crowds for a “glorified practice” and this weekend should be no different. With many of the nation’s top recruits on hand to see what the future Buckeyes have in store for the fall, Urban and his staff have to be more than excited to showcase the development that has taken place in the last two months of Spring practice.

Gill a salesman?

In recruiting, it’s key to land that one prospect to be the “front-runner” of the class and help the coaching staff with recruiting their top prospects. With so many checks and balances within the recruiting front, coaches are limited (to an extent) to what they can do. However, players themselves have zero restraints and can really push their current pledge onto friends and the other highly touted guys the school of choice is doing their best to secure.

Fortunately, the Buckeyes always seem to have a handful of these types of players. The classes Meyer and staff are bringing in are truly helping to set the pace in college football and it’s paying off for them personally. One key commit to the current 2018 Ohio State class is none other than in-state pledge Jaelen Gill of nearby Westerville South. A “can’t miss” player for Meyer and the Buckeyes, Gill has been a name that is more than just his four-star ranking, as he’s constantly been a solid voice in recruiting efforts with many of the top guys Ohio State is vying hard for.

Yesterday, in an article with Bucknuts, Bill Kurelic was able to get some quotes from Gill about who he is currently recruiting the hardest in favor of Ohio State. Current Penn State commit Micah Parsons, the top ranked defensive end and top overall player in Pennsylvania, is the one Gill and the Buckeyes are hard pressed on. For Parsons, many rumors have been swirling that the current pledge to Penn State will eventually result in a “flip” to Ohio State, but that remains to be seen. Fortunately, for the Buckeyes, they will once again be hosting the five-star as he plans to once again visit Columbus unofficially for the Spring Game.

With the full court press from the football coaching staff as well as current Buckeye commits such as Gill, prospects such as Parsons and beyond are certainly hearing what Ohio State has to offer and as usual, it may just work out in the Buckeyes favor.

Spring Game means BIG visitors list

It’s been said time and time again, but with the way the Buckeyes play host for their annual Spring Game, it’s more of a red carpet type of event. This year will certainly be no different as several of those highly ranked studs the Buckeyes covet will be on hand.

Last night the weekend started as a few of the recruits making the trek to Columbus managed to arrive safely to their stomping grounds for the upcoming weekend. One of those prospects was none other than Tyson Campbell of American Heritage in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A school that is no stranger at all to Ohio State. Campbell, a four-star cornerback, is the No. 10-ranked player at his position and the No. 12-ranked player in all of Florida for the 2018 class.

Also arriving last night to Columbus for this weekend was teammate to Campbell in American Heritage’s Patrick Surtain Jr. Patrick is a prospect the Buckeyes love and will surely give him the royal treatment this weekend as he is currently the top ranked cornerback in the class for 2018 as well as second best player at any position in all of the talent-rich Florida. With two top defensive backs on campus, Kerry Coombs and Greg Schiano will do their best to state the obvious at relaying that the Buckeyes have become “DB University” as they will once again send three defensive backs in the first rounds of this year’s NFL Draft. This is music to the ears of a prep football player and the Buckeyes hope it plays out in their favor once again.

Predicting the future?

One of the tools many recruiting followers pay close attention to is the 247sports crystal ball. While it’s not always 100 percent correct, it is, however, a great tool for insight on where a prospect is potentially going to land for his college of choice.

Yesterday, Ohio State was a theme on the crystal ball predictions as 247sports recruiting analyst Barton Simmons made a prediction in favor of the Buckeyes for Max Wray, a four-star offensive tackle from Franklin, Tenn. With a recent offer coming in March via Ohio State, Wray headed North for an unofficial visit to Columbus to see the Buckeyes on April 8. Since then, things have progressed to where now many insiders believe Ohio State is the school to beat for his services.

Ranked as the fourth best at his position and the third best player in Tennessee for the 2018 class, Ohio State sees exactly what they could be getting in Wray if he decides to pull the trigger at commit in favor of the Scarlet and Gray. Time will only tell, but after yesterday’s sway of prediction castings, things are looking good in the Max Wray sweepstakes.