Posts by: Thunder

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.

Way Too Early 2018 Depth Chart: December 2017

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Here’s my second stab at projecting the 2018 depth chart. I expect several of these guys to depart in the meantime, and there will be other additions. But based on the current roster, below is the depth chart Michigan could roll out next September.

Hit the jump for another early look at 2018.

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Julius Welschof, Wolverine

Julius Welschof (image via USA Football)

Bayern (Germany) defensive end Julius Welschof committed to Michigan on Wednesday morning. He had previously been committed to Georgia Tech, and he also had offers from Iowa State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Syracuse, and UCF, among others.

Welschof is listed at 6’6″, 248 lbs.

RATINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #64 DE
Rivals: 3-star SDE
247 Sports: 4-star, #12 SDE, #323 overall

Hit the jump for more on Welschof’s commitment.

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Who’s signing a National Letter of Intent today?

Joe Milton (image via 247 Sports)

For a quick reference, here’s a list of players who are signing their National Letter of Intent on the early signing day, which is December 20. This is the first year for an early signing period for college football players, so it will be interesting to see how many players around the country sign now, and how many of them carry it out until the beginning of February or longer.

SIGNING ON DECEMBER 20, 2017

• QB Joe Milton – SIGNED
• RB Hassan Haskins – SIGNED
• RB Christian Turner – SIGNED
• FB Ben VanSumeren – SIGNED
• TE Mustapha Muhammad – SIGNED
• TE Luke Schoonmaker – SIGNED
• OT Ryan Hayes – SIGNED
• OT Jalen Mayfield – SIGNED
• DE Aidan Hutchinson – SIGNED
• DE Taylor Upshaw – SIGNED
• DE Julius Welschof – SIGNED
• LB Cameron McGrone – SIGNED
• DB Sammy Faustin – SIGNED
• DB Gemon Green – SIGNED
• DB German Green – SIGNED
• DB Myles Sims – SIGNED

NOT SIGNING YET

• QB Kevin Doyle
• WR Ronnie Bell
• LB Otis Reese

Senior Highlights: LB Cameron McGrone