Recruiting Snapshot: Ohio State

Tag: Jaelen Gill


22Dec 2017
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Recruiting Snapshot: Ohio State

Taron Vincent (image via The Wolverine)

2018 Class Ranking: #2 nationally. #1 in Big Ten. Ohio State has two 5-stars, sixteen 4-stars, and three 3-stars signed. Despite having the #2 class in the country, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Buckeyes on Wednesday. They lost 4-star safety Jaiden Woodbey to Florida State, and two highly touted prospects, QB Emory Jones and OT Jackson Carman, chose Florida and Clemson, respectively.

Cream of the 2018 Crop: The two 5-stars in the group are Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy DT Taron Vincent, the #1 DT and #13 overall player, and Westerville (OH) South RB Jaelen Gill, the #1 all-purpose back and #23 player. Both of them were pursued by Michigan, but Gill was an OSU lock and Vincent gave the Wolverines a shot before leaning the Buckeyes way for a while before committing. Vincent is the son of former Wisconsin and NFL All-Pro cornerback Troy Vincent. He started off at Baltimore (MD) Gilman, and Michigan had a bit of an inside track with Gilman head coach Biff Poggi, who sent his son Henry to play for the Wolverines and was hired as a staffer for one season in Ann Arbor. But Taron transferred to IMG, and Biff Poggi went back to coaching high school ball at Baltimore (MD) St. Frances.

2019 Class Ranking: #31 nationally. #8 in Big Ten. Ohio State has one 4-star committed.

Cream of the 2019 Crop: The only commit is Huntington (WV) Spring Valley OT Doug Nester, a 4-star, the #6 offensive tackle, and #52 overall.

6Mar 2017
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3-6-17 Recruiting Update: Boston College is lurking

Seattle (WA) Garfield DE Sav’ell Smalls (image via NWPR)

It’s been a while since I’ve done a 2020 recruiting update, but I’ll combine it with a few bits from the last week on the 2018 class.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2020

Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep running back Jalen Berger was offered by Michigan. He’s a 6’0″, 175 lb. prospect with offers from Maryland, Rutgers, and Syracuse. Don Bosco’s head coach recently retired and was replaced by former Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel.

Brooklyn (NY) Poly running back Lamy Constant (formerly Lamy Montini) was offered by Michigan, his first. He’s a 6’0″, 188 lb. prospect with one other offer from Boston College. He attends the same school as Georgia-bound offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson.

Hit the jump for several more 2020 offers.

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27Feb 2017
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2-27-17 Recruiting Update: How to fill the Najee Harris void

Carthage (TX) Carthage RB Keaontay Ingram (image via Twitter)

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Michigan missed out on Najee Harris late and lost the commitment of A.J. Dillon, so the running back recruiting in 2017 wasn’t quite what the coaching staff hoped. They got a couple solid commitments, but they’re going for some big-time players at the position in 2018. Along with several previously offered running backs, Michigan is sending out some new offers.

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2018

Butler (GA) Taylor County running back Lyn-J Dixon was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’10”, 185 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Oklahoma, among others. He’s a 3-star, the #25 running back, and #402 overall. His rankings aren’t great, but he seems like a Harbaugh style of back: tough runner, good balance, good vision, and decent speed. As a junior in 2016, he ran 229 times for 1,914 yards (8.4 YPC) and 35 touchdowns, including a 99-yarder.

Carthage (TX) Carthage running back Keaontay Ingram was offered by Michigan. He’s a 5’11”, 190-pounder who’s a 4-star, the #18 running back, and #318 overall. Arkansas, Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, among others, have all offered. He ran the ball a whopping 320 times for 2,225 yards and 31 touchdowns last year, and he added 46 catches for 475 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for a couple more new offers and some miscellaneous bits.

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18Mar 2016
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Visitors: March 18-20, 2016

Westerville (OH) South running back Jaelen Gill

For no good reason except he’s the top-rated prospect in modern Michigan recruiting history, I’ll note that 2016 defensive tackle signee Rashan Gary is spending this week – his spring break week – at the University of Michigan.

2017
Richard Bowens III – CB – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s:

Brendann Brown – RB – Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison:

Devin George – CB – Detroit (MI) Western International: George is a 5’9″, 170 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Ja’Raymond Hall – OT – Oak Park (MI) Oak Park: Hall committed to Michigan in December of 2015 (LINK).

A.J. Harris – S – Madison (AL) Bob Jones: Harris is a 6’0″, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 safety, and #284 overall. It seems like he wants an Alabama offer, but the Crimson Tide have yet to extend one. Michigan will be holding a satellite camp at Bob Jones High School in June.

Ralph Holley – DT – Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s:

Derrick Hubbard – LB – Ann Arbor (MI) Pioneer: Hubbard is a 6’2″, 202 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa State and Toledo. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star, the #72 outside linebacker, #1010 overall, and #26 in the state of Michigan. He’s a teammate of 2017 linebacker Antjuan Simmons (Ohio State).

Hit the jump for several more 2017 and 2018 offers.

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15Mar 2016
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Visitors: March 18-20, 2016

Westerville (OH) South running back Jaelen Gill

For no good reason except he’s the top-rated prospect in modern Michigan recruiting history, I’ll note that 2016 defensive tackle signee Rashan Gary is spending this week – his spring break week – at the University of Michigan.

2017
A.J. Harris – S – Madison (AL) Bob Jones: Harris is a 6’0″, 170 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, and Ole Miss, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #21 safety, and #284 overall. It seems like he wants an Alabama offer, but the Crimson Tide have yet to extend one. Michigan will be holding a satellite camp at Bob Jones High School in June.

LaBryan Ray – DE – Madison (AL) James Clemens: Ray is a 6’5″, 283 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #5 strongside end, and #176 overall. So far he has four Crystal Ball picks for Alabama and zero for anyone else.

2018
Jaelen Gill – RB – Westerville (OH) South: Gill is a 6’0″, 165 lb. prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and UCLA, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 4-star, the #1 all-purpose back, and #18 overall. He is considered to be a strong Ohio State lean, but with National Signing Day almost two years away, there’s plenty of time to make a decision.

Taj Mustapha – WR – Southfield (MI) Lathrup: Mustapha is a 6’1″, 170 lb. prospect with no offers at this time.

Dwayne Thompson – WR – Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice: Thompson is a 6’0″, 174 lb. prospect with no offers at this time. He claims a 4.73 forty, a 28″ vertical, and a 4.15 shuttle. He’s a teammate of 2017 Michigan TE commit Carter Dunaway.