Stay in touch or be left out because Ohio State recruiting is a 24-hour, seven-day-per-week obsession. What’s the latest news as the Buckeyes build for the future? Get that and more Sunday through Thursday on Lettermen Row. Today’s update talks about a change in plans for lineman Dawand Jones.
Dawand Jones reschedules official visit to Ohio State
The planned official visit to Ohio State this weekend for Indianapolis 3-star offensive lineman Dawand Jones did not happen. The country’s 88th-ranked offensive tackle had told Lettermen Row on Thursday night he was trekking to Columbus, but inclement weather changed his mind.
“We didn’t end up going,” Jones told Lettermen Row on Sunday morning. “We are going to go Martin Luther King weekend instead. The weather was supposed to be bad, so we rescheduled.”
Had the 6-foot-8, 360-pound Jones visited this weekend, he’d likely have been the only visitor on campus. While that allows the coaching staff a unique opportunity to spend a lot of quality time with him, it wouldn’t provide the rising prospect a chance to get familiarized with the guys he could end up playing alongside in college. Showing up next weekend, when Harry Miller and Doug Nester will be in town and with Ryan Jacoby already enrolled with Ohio State, is a better chance to get to know his peers.
“We decided we should just wait until next week,” Jones said. “They’ll have their recruits there anyway, so I can hang out with guys that could be my future teammates.”
Ohio State would like to sign two more offensive linemen in this cycle, and now its top two targets will be on campus next weekend. There’s not much of a chance that Jones ends his recruitment before signing day, however. He’s going to take two more official visits following the trip with the Buckeyes, but he’s not sure which schools are going to get them.
“I’m taking my last two visits,” he said. “I just don’t know the schools yet.”
Ohio State signee Harry Miller will be back on campus next week for a key visit weekend. (Birm/Lettermen Row)
Ohio State assistant Jeff Hafley reaches out to Lejond Cavazos
If proof is needed that the Buckeyes are eager to bring former 2020 commitment Lejond Cavazos back into the fold, the fact that he was the first player to receive a phone call from new co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley should provide it.
“[Hafley] has a great personality,” Cavazos said. “He’s such a family man. I like that about him.”
Cavazos had been a priority for Ohio State during much of the last year, but some believed that was a byproduct of his father’s friendship with Urban Meyer. Clearly the Buckeyes still have him at the top of their list.
Ohio State has not yet landed a cornerback back in the Class of 2019, so the need for that position is amplified in the 2020 cycle. Cavazos has been at the top of the list for the last year. He’s expected to get back to Columbus for a visit and may begin taking his official visits this coming spring.
The Buckeyes will continue to fight Georgia, LSU, Alabama and Oregon for the former Ohio State verbal. LSU has a commitment from 5-star 2020 cornerback Elias Ricks, who is close friends with Cavazos and working to bring him to Baton Rouge.
Maryland 2021 standout heading to Ohio State for first time
The Buckeyes are working hard to land Damascus (Md.) 5-star 2020 defensive end Bryan Bresee, but he’s not the only standout for the Hornets being recruited aggressively by Ohio State. 2021 offensive lineman Ryan Linthicum has a Buckeyes offer and is set to make his first trip to Columbus.
“I’m going on the 19th,” Linthicum told Lettermen Row. “We’re going to meet with the new coaching staff.”
Though nothing seems to be changing for the Buckeyes on the offensive side of the ball, Linthicum is excited to get his first look at the Ohio State program after receiving an offer in October
“I’m just looking to go and have a great time,” he said. “I want to meet the new coaches and just enjoy everything.”
D’Von Ellies down to two, Ohio State done on the defensive line
Though it was sort of a foregone conclusion when Jaden McKenzie signed with Ohio State on Dec. 19, it appears the Buckeyes are officially out of the running for 4-star defensive end D’Von Ellies.
The McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.) High School defensive lineman, who had the Buckeyes near the top of his list since last summer, will make his college decision at the Polynesian Bowl. He’ll choose between Penn State and USC.
Ellies took an official visit to Ohio State for the Michigan game. But the Buckeyes intended to take only one interior lineman in the 2019 recruiting class, and adding McKenzie and Zach Harrison in the early signing period put an end to defensive line recruiting in this cycle.
Now ranked as the country’s 16th-best defensive tackle, Ellies saw his national ranking jump almost 150 spots at the end of his senior season.
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