What does Zach Harrison’s commitment delay mean?

Earlier this week, there was some news that threw Buckeye nation for a bit of a loop. After months of aiming for an Aug. 14 commitment date (his birthday), five-star Buckeye target Zach Harrison told Clay Hall at ABC6 that he wouldn’t be making that date.

Harrison said that he’s delaying the date for an undisclosed amount of time, and that he wants to visit all three of his final schools (Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan) again before he makes a final decision. That would imply a decision date in November or December, which means Harrison could even announce during the Early Signing Period.

Now, the biggest question around this for Ohio State fans is obviously “what does this mean for my team”. Basically, it doesn’t mean a ton. This is not Zach Harrison scorning the Buckeyes, nor is it him stalling to drum up hype. He’s legitimately torn on where to go, and doesn’t want to make a decision he’s not comfortable with.

What does that say about a staff if they can’t convince a five-star recruit in their own backyard to come play for the best defensive line coach in the country? Probably nothing good, but you can make your own judgements there. The key part of this is that Harrison doesn’t have his choice yet, which means none of his three finalists are out of this recruitment.

All three schools will also get visits this fall. How you feel about Ohio State’s chances at landing a local kid, a position of need, with a visit for a football game in the Horseshoe this fall is up to you. Personally, I’m pretty confident in this staff’s ability to close the deal, but Harrison is no lock right now. If I had a crystal ball, it’d be on Ohio State, however I think Penn State may currently lead.

Powell reconsidering?

All things indicate right now that Odessa Permian athlete Peyton Powell will be picking Ohio State on his commitment date (Aug. 13). He loves Ohio State, and they’ve been leading in his recruitment for months now. Monday, however, a bit of a wrench was thrown in that decision, as Powell picked up an offer from the Oklahoma Sooners.

So why does this matter? Well, Peyton likes Oklahoma a lot, and they offer a lot of the same things that Ohio State does, and they’re much closer. Throw in the fact that he may be able to play receiver there (rather than corner at Ohio State), and there may be some reasons for him to head to Norman. I still think he’s Buckeye bound at this point, but an OU visit could change that.