Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to Scarlet Sunrise. Soccer will always be our focus, but every day we will cover news, notes and analysis from all Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to catch up on all the lost in the world of Ohio State football, recruiting, basketball and more.
Buckeyes loses three-star commitment to the nation’s highest-ranked class
The state of Ohio rarely misses commitments. But the Buckeyes lost on a Thursday, when Devonta Smith retired from the top-ranked class in the country.
A source familiar with the decision-making process told Birm that the Cincinnati recruit La Salle’s decision was primarily due to concerns that the state of Ohio had “too many defensive endorsements” in the Class of 2021. The prospect of 3-star, who verbally committed to the Buckeyes on March 16, reopened his recruitment and is no longer committed to the state of Ohio. He was the lowest-ranking prospect in the Class of 2021 for the Buckeyes, but his departure leaves a gap in the secondary for Kerry Coombs.
The Buckeyes have returned to 18 engagements in the Class of 2021 and will return to the drawing board as they seek to complement a defensive journey that now includes 4-star cornerback Jakailin Johnson, 4-star safety Andre Turrentine, 4-star athlete Denzel Burke and 3-star athlete Jaylen Johnson, Smith’s teammate at Cincinnati La Salle.
What does Smith’s release mean to the Buckeyes and their top-ranked recruiting class? Lettermen Row recruiting expert Birm has all the details, including where the Buckeyes go below, here.
Reid Fragel breaks protection of the Buckeyes pass
Ohio State had one of the top offenses in the country last season. But the amount of catch delivered by the Buckeyes was a bit concerning.
The Buckeyes have a dominant offensive line, but they finished No. 12 in the Big Ten in allowed sacks. And near the end of the season, Justin Fields was not as healthy as he could have been. So there is room for the offensive line to grow once again.
Did Ohio State have real problems with pass protection last season? Where can Buckeyes improve in advance even after helping fuel the most prolific scoring attack on the Big Ten? What caused the show to end at No. 12 in the league in catches allowed a year ago? Former Ohio State and NFL offensive tackle Reid Fragel was back in the movie lab looking at some clips to answer those questions and more in the latest episode of BuckIQ.
Roll up the ribbon!
Former Ohio State quarterback Matthew Baldwin retires from football
Matthew Baldwin, who started his college career in Ohio state before transferring to TCU last May, retired from football due to a series of injuries.
The former four-star recruit from Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) High School dressed in red for the Buckeyes in 2018 before entering spring camp with the opportunity to start work for the Buckeyes. When Justin Fields entered the fold, Baldwin was expected to be Fields’s substitute before Baldwin transferred after spring camp.
Baldwin had three more seasons to play at TCU, but now he’s finished playing soccer forever.
NCAA Extends Deadline for Recruitment Again
The state of Ohio has not been able to organize a recruit on campus since the first weekend in March. A recruit will also not visit him soon.
The NCAA extended the deadline for recruitment on Thursday night, delaying it until the end of August.
The Buckeyes were slated for a massive recruiting weekend in June, but that was canceled due to the downtime, and they won’t be able to host any of the country’s top recruits in the near future, but neither will any other program. around the nation.
“The Council and the Council Coordination Committee will continue to review the dead period regularly,” the NCAA said in a statement posted on Twitter.
From now on, there will be no recruitment action on campus until at least September.
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