Cody Simon: Buckeyes commit excited by new defense, Ohio State future

Ohio State football recruiting can be a wild ride full of twists and turns as recruits from all over the country maneuver their way to signing day. Lettermen Row is here to help navigate the tumultuous roads by getting to the heart of the matter with the young football players themselves. Birminology shows who the young men being recruited by Ohio State truly are — by talking to them. Today’s guest is Ohio State 2020 linebacker commitment Cody Simon.

There were a number of major college football programs watching and waiting for Notre Dame to offer St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) linebacker Cody Simon. His brother, Shayne, plays for the Fighting Irish and it was assumed Brian Kelly’s program would offer and when it did, Simon’s recruitment would be, for all intents and purposes, finished.

Funny thing though: Notre Dame never offered the country’s ninth-ranked outside linebacker. When it became clear that may happen, a rush of interest came Simon’s way and that rush included Jeff Hafley and Ohio State.

“They know that they came a little later than most,” Simon, the country’s 11th-ranked outside linebacker, told Lettermen Row. “But they are doing the best they can to make me feel welcome and supported.”

The Buckeyes best was pretty good, apparently. Simon, who took an official visit to Ohio State in June, committed just days before he headed to The Opening in Dallas and put his freakish athleticism on display in front of the best of the best from all over the country and was named to the 247Sports.com “Dream Team” from that event.

How did that week of competition validate Simon in his own eyes? What did his family find surprising when they visited Ohio State? What else makes  him tick? Find out those answers and more in this week’s edition of Birminology on Lettermen Row.