Ohio State recruiting: Back to the Sunshine State

It’s been a week of cleansing, honestly. After a horrible loss to Purdue, the Ohio State Buckeyes football program has been looking toward the future and righting the ship. Luckily, Ohio State still has all of their postseason goals still in front of them with the ability to control their own destiny if they win out and take care of business. As the staff and players buckle down and strap up toward finishing this season strong, recruiting has somewhat taken a little bit of a back seat.

A national perception has almost surfaced and it portrays Ohio State’s recruiting efforts right now as subpar. In reality though, the Buckeyes’ current 2019 class of 14 commits is still solid and even though the quantity may not impress you, the quality is there. As the last few spots are still up for grabs, Urban Meyer and his staff have most likely targeted their guys, and with big home game recruiting weekends coming in the near future, that recruiting jump-start that we’ve become so accustomed to may once again be in full effect.

Buckeyes back in Florida

If it seems like the state of Florida is being mentioned almost weekly in regards to Ohio State recruiting, it’s probably because it’s true. The Sunshine State is a huge priority for the Buckeye football staff recruiting efforts and, once again, Thursday was much of the same. When so many highly touted prospects have come to Columbus over the years and really shined on the football field, the process of developing elite Florida native talent is worth repeating and the Buckeyes have done just that even before the start of Urban Meyer’s tenure. Florida has always been kind to Ohio State and that won’t change any time soon.

Yesterday, Ohio State made another presence in Florida when they offered their latest prospect in hopes to bring another talented Floridian north to Ohio. Caziah Holmes, (Cocoa, FL / Cocoa) a 2020 athlete, took to his Twitter account yesterday evening announcing his latest offer from Ohio State.

A 6-foot, 175-pound speedster, Holmes plays on both sides of the football for his high school team. On offense, Holmes is a big play type of player that can hit the home run type of score at any point he touches the ball. His ability to move in space, shed a defender, and then show off his speed makes for a dynamic playmaker. On defense, Holmes can play in the secondary and, while no decision has been made yet on which position he’ll concentrate on at the college level, his talent is something any coaching staff would like to add to the fold.

Currently, Holmes is listed as the 45th best player in the always loaded state of Florida for 2020. He is also considered to be 20th best athlete in the country, making him a top-300 player nationally at any position. Obviously deserving of his early four-star grade, Caziah owns offers from the likes of Florida, Miami, North Carolina and Pitt. The home state and local Miami Hurricanes may be the early leader in this recruitment, but the Buckeyes know how to recruit Florida players, and if the full-court press is put on, look for Ohio State to add their name to the sweepstakes of becoming a real threat to land yet another Florida star.

Unfortunate end for future Buckeye QB

The 2020 Ohio State recruiting class is already off to a hot start. One of the main reasons why is Arizona native and quarterback commit Jack Miller. The nation’s fourth best pro-style QB in the 2020 class, Miller is a household name. A 6-foot-4, 210-pounder with a cannon for an arm, it’s really no surprise why Ohio State is super excited to already have their class leader in the fold.

Even though he’s put up stellar numbers this season, the end had to come sooner than expected—or wanted. After suffering a knee injury recently, Miller took to Twitter yesterday to confirm what nobody wanted to hear: his season coming to an end. After not being cleared by doctors to return to play, Miller will focus on his rehab and getting stronger for a highly anticipated senior campaign.

The signal caller does plan to be in attendance though for Ohio State’s hosting of Michigan at the end of the regular season. With current teammate and current Ohio State commit Darvon Hubbard planning to make the trip, this will be another opportunity for the dynamic duo to do some recruiting of their own, as they hope to help showcase what the Buckeyes have to offer to other major targets in the 2020 class.

Wishing Jack a full and complete recovery, Ohio State fans should be very excited for the next great quarterback to suit up in the Scarlet and Gray.