Dotting the 'Eyes: Ohio State offers in-state LB, Zach Harrison expected in Happy Valley
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, including news on Wandale Robinson’s official visit to Ohio State.
Ohio State offers linebacker Tommy Eichenberg
We brought up the name Tommy Eichenberg here on Lettermen Row last month when discussing who would be a potential replacement for decommitted linebacker Kane Patterson.
It’s time to start getting much more familiar with Eichenberg. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound inside linebacker at Cleveland St. Ignatius High School received a recruitment-altering offer from Ohio State on Wednesday night.
https://twitter.com/tommyike41/status/1045092175074263040
Eichenberg is committed to Boston College, a decison he made in June. He’s a 3-star prospect and ranked as the country’s 420th-ranked overall prospect, and now he becomes an exciting prospect to watch for many reasons. First, Ohio State wants another linebacker, and it believes Eichenberg is good enough to play in Columbus. That was a debated question in recent weeks. There has been one prominent member of the coaching staff pushing for this offer for a while now, and his game tape only backs up that line of thinking.
Second, Eichenberg is committed elsewhere. His big brother, Liam, is an offensive tackle at Notre Dame who turned down Ohio State a few years back on the recruiting trail. And though the Irish haven’t offered, it’s worth wondering if the Ohio State offer will get them to move in as well.
I believe that there’s a good chance Eichenberg ends up in the Ohio State recruiting class. After talking to a few different people about it on Wednesday night, a “crystal ball” was entered in Ohio State’s favor.
Eichenberg grew up rooting for Ohio State, and landing an offer was one of his long-term football goals. Right now, there’s been no public decommitment from Boston College and no decision on an Ohio State visit, but I’d be surprised if one didn’t come soon — with a flip thereafter.
Zach Harrison expected to visit Penn State this weekend
So here’s news, finally, about 5-star defensive end Zach Harrison.
According to multiple sources close to the Ohio State program and a number of other internet-based reports, the 6-foot-6, 245-pound phenom from Olentangy (Ohio) Orange High School will make a college visit this weekend.
Harrison is heading to Penn State for the huge matchup with the Buckeyes.
Ohio State-Penn State is a perfect backdrop for a player of Harrison’s stature to come out of the woodwork. He’ll be one of a hundred or so top prospects in Happy Valley and one of three Ohio-based defensive linemen making the trip that are considering each school. Top 2020 prospect Darrion Henry and 2021 5-star Jack Sawyer will also be in attendance.
Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan remain the three most likely schools to land Harrison, who has played his recruiting hand extremely close to the vest over the last few months. He’s the country’s second-ranked 2019 prospect and a player that has the potential to make-or-break the Ohio State recruiting class this cycle.
What remains to be seen is if Harrison intends to get back to both Ohio State and Michigan for visits again, but it appears likely he will.
Unless he commits to Penn State this weekend.
I only throw that line in there as a warning because anything is possible in this recruitment. He isn’t on a timetable and won’t wait for a press conference.
Ohio State, Peyton Powell and what’s what
Wednesday was Peyton Powell’s birthday.
Powell is a 4-star defensive back prospect that plays quarterback at Odessa (Texas) Permian High School. Ohio State hosted Powell for an official visit in June and multiple times since that visit, it has appeared Powell was set to commit to the program.
He’s not done that. He didn’t do it in late June. He didn’t do it August when he set an announcement date and then postponed it. He didn’t do Wednesday on his birthday, another date he’d circled for an announcement and even had pinned to the top of his Twitter account.
Here’s the thing: Clearly Peyton Powell isn’t ready to make a college decision. He thought he was a couple of times. He’s told some folks in the past that he was picking their school. He’s not done it publicly and now the question is why he hasn’t.
There was the Zach Smith scandal, of course. That served as a convenient cause for a delay in August, but the truth is that an offer from Oklahoma had more of an impact then since he grew up as a fan of the Sooners. All the 247Sports.com crystal balls flipped from the Buckeyes to the Sooners at that point. On Wednesday they began to move again — some to Ohio State, some to TCU.
Mine was moved back to Ohio State. It’s the only school that he’s really considering that he’s visited, though rumors of a pending official visit to TCU this weekend have begun. If he visits there, I’ll change mine from the Buckeyes to Horned Frogs because it will reinforce the two things that I’ve considered the biggest holdup here: Distance from home and position. If he stays home this weekend, then who the heck knows what happens from here. What I do know is that it seems Powell’s decision is going to come down to those two factors.
Ohio State and Oklahoma want Powell to play defense. It seems he would prefer to play offense. If he is hellbent on that decision, it’s likely the end of the game for the Buckeyes, despite the fact that Powell clearly feels strongly about the program.
Pickerington WR Chris Scott likes Ohio State offense
Lettermen Row spoke with Pickerington (Ohio) North 2020 wide receiver Chris Scott last week as he prepared to make a game-day visit with the Buckeyes. He was excited about the relationship that’s growing between him and Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline.
“Getting to talk to [Hartline] and just getting to know him, have him give me tips on my game and the recruiting process was great,” Scott said. “I really do look forward to building our relationship moving forward.â€
The first step toward what he hopes is an eventual offer from the Buckeyes happened last weekend. Scott, 6-foot-3 and 185-pounds, visited Ohio State for its home game against Tulane. He only had a brief interaction with Hartline, but that’s how it goes on game day.
“It went well,” Scott said. “Being there for Coach Meyer’s first game back was great. The energy there was amazing.
“I saw Coach Hartline as well, but didn’t really get a chance to speak in-depth with him of course with it being a game day. It was kind of busy.”
For a local player like Scott, the aura of Ohio State and Ohio Stadium isn’t a huge surprise, but it was still enough to capture his attention.
“What stood out to me was just the overall state of everyone at Ohio State,” he said. “The crowd and the atmosphere there. The coaches, the players. I could tell that it meant a lot for Coach Meyer to be back. Overall, it was a great experience.”
Somehow Scott is waiting on his first scholarship offer, but if the Buckeyes decide to move on him, he’s a player that would likely jump at the opportunity. The offensive philosophy has changed in a way that makes it very attractive to a wide receiver.
“The Ohio State offense has changed, and I really like how their offense is run now,” he said. “With the players they have, I think it fits them. With the receivers, I love how they play. I enjoy watching their offense, and I could see myself playing in that type of offense.”
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