2020 commit’s visits should be no cause for concern

Recruiting in the modern era can get a little bit wacky sometimes. Because everyone is online all the time, and because everyone has a phone in their pockets everywhere they go, little things can be blown out of proportion, and recruits can be put into a bit of a fish bowl. Everyone is watching what these teens do all the time, and sometimes, that can cause some overreactions.

Just that happened yesterday on Buckeye Twitter, when 2020 commitment Lejond Cavazos posted two pictures of himself and Oregon coach Mario Cristobal from his visit to Eugene, Ore., that he took back in June (credit to Jeremy Birmingham of Letterman Row for this correction)*.

This tweet happened to garner a little attention from some in the Buckeye universe, including current Buckeye lineman Taron Vincent.

In times like this, it’s important to put thing in a little bit of perspective. Lejond is only a couple weeks into his junior year of high school, and won’t be able to sign with any college for another 15-plus months. There’s plenty left for Ohio State to do in his recruitment, as there is in literally every 2020 (and 2019) recruitment. He’s a kid. He’s allowed and encouraged to look around and enjoy the process, and, especially after the Urban Meyer controversy last month, he’d be silly to not at least explore all options.

Visiting another school doesn’t mean he’s decommitting from Ohio State. He’ll likely take several visits over the next year, as many commits in the past have, and many commits in the future will continue to do. It’s all part of the game, and there’s no reason to think that Lejond is headed anywhere but Ohio State when he signs next December.

Patterson decommitment, explained

While Lejond Cavazos isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, there was some news yesterday about a former Buckeye commit that left the 2019 class in late August, as Kane Patterson announced his pledge to Clemson. This wasn’t a surprising move in really any way, as he’d been projected to Clemson pretty much since the day he decommitted, but it is still worth talking about, especially as it gives us a clearer look at what made Patterson leave the OSU class.

Patterson picked up an offer from Clemson back on Aug. 5, nearly three weeks before he decommitted from Ohio State. To say that Clemson is a better fit for Patterson than Ohio State would be an understatement. Their style of play, coaching staff, and above all else, the the culture of the program all made this a very natural pairing that Ohio State just never really was. The schools are nearly equidistant to Nashville, but southern recruits almost always prefer to stay in the south, and that was the case here.

Throw in the uncertainty with Meyer, and some questions about Bill Davis as a coach, and there’s really no reason to be surprised about Patterson heading to what is probably a better situation for him and his family in the long run. Ohio State will also likely come out of this breakup just fine, as they shift focus towards a few possible replacements. The main ones I’d look out for in the next few months, if Ohio State does want another linebacker in 2019 (not a sure thing), would be Missouri’s Shammond Cooper, and the Ohio trio of Tommy Eichenberg (Boston College commit), Jestin Jacobs (Iowa commit) and Jamir Thomas.

*a previous version of the article indicated that Lejond Cavazos was at Oregon’s season opening game last Saturday, but his visit came in June, although Cavazos posted the pictures this past weekend.