Ohio State recruiting: Buckeyes interested in taking two QB’s?

Tomorrow night marks Ohio State’s toughest test of the season to this point when the Buckeyes travel to Lincoln to take on Nebraska under the lights. With a full slate on Saturday including ESPN’S College GameDay, the Buckeyes will have their first real chance of the year not only to win an important game, but to show the nation and the voters why they deserve to be considered among the best four teams in the country. With the staff preparing the team all week, they know the eyes of the country will be on them Saturday night. This is a perfect opportunity to impress those who are watching. Besides the voters and beyond keeping their tabs on the game, the Buckeyes will also be seen by more than enough recruits as the prime time nationally televised game will surely be in the living rooms for more than one of Ohio State’s key recruiting targets. This game offers Ohio State all it could want. Now it’s time to get the job done.

Is two a crowd?

One of the reasons Ryan Day is at the helm of the program right now is due, in large part, to his development of the offense as a whole and at the quarterback position specifically. Of course, that’s not news to any Buckeye fan, but it’s worth mentioning when considering recruiting results. To put it simply, the Buckeyes success on the field and with quarterback play thanks to Dwayne Haskins last year and now with Justin Fields is going to have quarterbacks wanting to suit up for Ohio State and rightfully so. When Haskins is the first Big Ten signal caller selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in more than several years, it’s proof that the Buckeyes have a perfect recipe for success in landing signal callers with each recruiting class.

When you look at 2020, the Buckeyes have had Arizona star Jack Miller committed since July 2018. When you look ahead to 2021 too, Ohio State has their guy in Pennsylvania native, Kyle McCord. With two elite guys in the fold for your quarterback of the future, Ryan Day and staff have to love the future direction of the position and where it will stay with the caliber of talent committed. Now though, back to 2019. The current state of the quarterback position is extremely thin after Justin Fields. Of course last weekend the Buckeyes were able to get two more guys snaps under center, but the depth just isn’t there and that’s where it can get a bit worrisome for both staff and fans.

To make a long story short, there’s been some swirls of another 2020 quarterback being added to the class and while the depth chart would certainly be in favor of that, the tricky part is already having an elite signal caller in the class with Jack Miller. As time has proven over and over again, the quarterback is the most unique position for recruiting classes because normally you only get one guy. Especially when one guy is elite, usually they’re not going to want to have another to compete, even if they are “that” good. When looking at the current situation, it’s easy to see why Day would want another in the current cycle to go along with Jack Miller, but some dominoes have to fall before that becomes a reality.

The guy that has been the link to all of this type of chatter is California native, CJ Stroud. A guy who has impressed the Buckeye staff more than once, Stroud, like Miller is a pro-style quarterback and ranked only one spot behind Jack in the 2020 class. Normally, it doesn’t work to have two elite guys in one class. It “could” work here, but the Buckeyes would first need to offer Stroud. The interesting note though is realizing that on the crystal ball predictions, the Buckeyes hold the lone selection. As always, time will tell if there’s to be two guys in this class, but let’s set the record real straight on one thing. Any negative news regarding the staff and Miller is not real, in fact Jack himself and his dad even took to Twitter to let any and everyone know that the Buckeyes and Jack are as “aligned” as can be and that should prove it’s worth.

For Stroud though? An offer needs to come before this get to be a true possibility. Again, with the current depth in the room, it’s a solid idea, but is it worth it in regards to what could become of the class concerning Jack Miller?

Buckeyes sitting pretty for 4-star?

Earlier this week, four-star defensive tackle prospect Jacolbe Cowan announced that he would be committing to the school of his choice a week from today. The Charlotte, N.C., native is currently ranked as the seventh best player in his home state and the 15th best defensive tackle in the country for the 2020 class. While Cowan projects himself to be a defensive end at the next level, the Buckeye staff would love to have him in the fold.

The interesting note regarding Cowan is that it really seems that the Buckeyes are the clear favorite to land his services in a week. For a couple reasons too. One being that Ohio State is the only school that Cowan has visited “officially” to this point and with a commitment coming, it looks like the Buckeyes could be the only ones to get that official visit. Add that to the fact that every crystal ball prediction so far is in favor of Ohio State.