Ohio State recruiting: Where do Buckeyes go from here?

This weekend was a pretty successful weekend for the Buckeye football program. Staying unbeaten with a win versus conference foe Indiana, the Buckeyes are still a top program in the country—and look to continue that momentum for the rest of the season.

While the Scarlet and Gray may be a top team on the field right now, the recruiting aspect of Ohio State football may not be as exciting as it usually is. With a little bit of slower pace throughout this season, the recruiting hasn’t lost any focus. However, in terms of commitments, the quantity may have some faithful fans starting to wonder where the staff is going with the current 2019 class. But if we’ve learned anything in Meyer’s tenure, it’s his incredible ability to recruit.

Where does OSU go from here?

In case you missed it, the Buckeyes lost a pledge to their 2019 class when Indiana native running back Sampson James decommitted from the Buckeyes yesterday evening. The interesting aspect of the decision for James was the fact that he was in Columbus this weekend to watch the Buckeyes play his home state Indiana Hoosiers. Twenty-four hours later, James was no longer a Buckeye, and is now a Hoosier.

Not to rehash the decommitment too much, but the current Buckeye class dropped back to the third best class in the Big Ten behind Penn State and Michigan, with now only 14 pledges for 2019. The reasoning behind Sampson’s choice may vary based on the speaker, but it could be a variety of possibilities. Regardless, Ohio State will be fine and will obviously look elsewhere for their next great running back.

The real question: Where do the Bucks now turn to for a running back? Recalling the earlier stages of the 2019 class, IMG Academy’s Noah Cain, originally a Texas native, was a prospect not only high on the Buckeye radar, but may have been the top target for Ohio State’s staff. Ranked as the No. 6 runner in the class, Cain is very high four-star player. With the previous Buckeye commitment Sampson James though, the communication and overall recruitment between Ohio State and Cain fizzled. Sense then, LSU and Texas are the two schools who are thought to be the real players for Noah. However, with Ohio State moving on from James, that attention toward Cain may be back in play. Time will tell, but if the Buckeyes want to become a player for his recruitment again, they’ll have to jump-start their communication lines.

Another name that could be added to the list of prospects the Buckeye coaching staff could be taking a harder look at is Deondrick Glass. The nation’s 14th best running back and four-star talent could be garnering some serious Ohio State attention thanks to the James departure. Glass, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound bruiser can do it all in the backfield. Not only does he have the size to break the first line of defense, but Glass also has the speed and elusiveness any college program would like to have in their running back room. Yesterday, in an article with Rivals.com, the talk of Deondrick and Ohio State’s mutual interest was something to take a look at. Like the aforementioned Cain, once the Buckeyes are in contact, anything could happen.

Keep them in-state kids in state!

Ohio State’s ability to recruit nationally is pretty incredible. Each year, this coaching staff is pretty much able to go into all four corners of the country and pull the guys they want. While this method has helped the Buckeyes be in the position they are today, the priority to keep Ohio’s best at home is still crucial to not only this coaching staff, but the Ohio State fanbase as a whole. Every year it seems like conference foes and others seem to land prospects that Ohio State either never offered, or weren’t in on to begin with. The problem: Many of those kids end up being dominate players against the Buckeyes. That problem, though, may be seeing a solution.

Over the weekend, the Buckeyes sent out a new offer to an in-state prospect that’s currently committed to Kentucky. Like many before, Kentucky has seen several Ohio kids who were never offered by Ohio State come south and play for the Wildcats. This time, the Buckeyes seem to want to put an end to that in the case of Cavon Butler. Offered on Saturday, Butler (Toledo, OH / Whitmer) has already seen his name swirling in the Buckeye news. A 6-foot-3, 285-pound defensive tackle, Cavon is a high three-star rated player—and probably a bit underrated.

The Buckeyes may not be too late at all in his recruitment. In fact, since the offer on Saturday, Cavon has already made plans to officially visit Ohio State for the Michigan game and has also seen several 247sports crystal ball predictions cast in Ohio State’s favor. If this in-state kid wants a chance to play at home for the Buckeyes, his time could be coming soon.

To make it pretty clear, Cavon is on “flip” watch now that he owns the Buckeye offer.

Quick Hits:

• Ohio State basketball offered 6-foot-1, 160-pound 2021 point guard prospect Khristian Lander (Evansville, IN /Francis Josepth Reitz) over the weekend.
• 2020 point guard, Dominiq Penn (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) took an unofficial visit to Ohio State over the weekend. The local prospect holds an Ohio State offer and currently has a 100 percent crystal ball prediction rate in favor of the Buckeyes.