OHIO STATE RECRUITING UPDATE Maurice Curry -- 5 star Athlete Key Attributes: 6'7" // 92 speed // 92 acceleration // 86 route running // 75 release The Impact: A towering physical specimen, the 6'7" wide receiver will make an immediate impact at Ohio State. Curry has exceptional speed for his giant frame, and figures to fill the shoes of last year's Biletnekoff Daquel Newell. Last year, when athlete TY Suggs chose Ohio State over USC, Speyer promised the soon-to-be starting quarterback that he would find some elite weapons to put on the perimeter. This year, Speyer struck again with a five-star athlete when Curry chose Ohio State over USC. (sorry LTL7360) The Suggs to Curry combination could be a truly special one in Columbus. Braxton Apke -- 4 star WR Key Attributes: 6'2" // 94 speed // 88 acceleration // 82 route running // 78 spectacular catch The Impact: The second receiver to sign with Ohio State this season, Apke provides some size and speed for the Buckeyes as well. A bit more of a project than Curry, Apke will still be looked upon to contribute as a true freshman next season. It will be important for Apke to build a report with Suggs early on, as there will be room to grow within the Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes lose at least two, and possibly three receivers this year, so the competition will be wide open when Apke enrolls in Columbus. Alex Turner -- 4 star DT Key Attributes: 6'6" // 280 lbs // 83 power move // 82 block shedding // 81 pursuit // 81 play recognition The Impact: Though a position of great strength now for Ohio State, the defensive tackle position is not an area where the Buckeyes can boast to have depth. For that reason, Speyer set out to sign at least two defensive tackles, and landed his main target in Alex Turner. The 6'6" Turner towers over opponents at the high school level, but seems to have the proper technique to flourish in the college game. With two seniors at the interior line spots, it's not unreasonable to expect Turner to at least see snaps as a rotation player, and possibly even crack the starting lineup by mid season. Rounding Out The Class - C // Ronqueeze Burgess // 80 overall - FS // Dustin Wilcox // 78 overall - CB // Alex Springs // 79 overall - LB // Raymon Berg // 79 overall
CLASS of 2020! Offense Ty Hall is the #1 WR this year and will fit in well with the receiving corps built up over the past few years. Great speed and very good hands. Vic Leslie was stolen out of the great state of Ohio and will help fill the OL pipeline along with Taylor, a very good run blocking JuCo Soph. He has one less year, but his athleticism is exceptional. Both should start down the road. DEFENSE Stokes isn't a speedy LB but he should help in run defense against the many run happy users in our league. Wise is another speedy DE for the pipeline and White will most likely move inside to DT, a need this year. With my highest rated player, my punter, graduating this year I ended up replacing him with the #1 Punter. He should boom a few in the future with that leg.
Razorback Recruiting Update The Hogs picked up several new commitments after last week's multiple visits. Here's a look at newest Razorbacks: Alfred Nealy, 2nd-ranked OLB prospect, and Andrew Yates, 3rd-ranked DE, were two of the top targets for Arkansas this year. Nealy is possibly the most athletically gifted linebacker to ever sign at Arkansas. He has great speed and quickness that give him great coverage skills, but he's also a consistent tackler that is capable of getting off blocks and dissecting plays. Yates posses that rare combination of speed and strength that should make him a great pass rusher at the next level. His ability to beat blocks coupled with his great speed should have opposing QBs looking over their shoulders in the near future. The alliteration brothers of Matt McCarty and John Johnson will be solid additions to the defensive tackle postion. Both will have time to develop before they are counted on for major playing time. Kyle Snyder is a monster of a prospect at 6'6" and 229lbs. He should be a matchup problem whether he ends up at WR or TE. If he can learn the blocking skills needed to play TE, he could see the field immediately as that's a position of need this year for the Hogs.
I Love It When a Plan Comes Together! Texas A&M Class Nearly Full! The #1 TE doesn't have great speed but he is solid all around and will be one of three TEs in the system with rock solid skills. All of which help the run game a ton. Shaw is a big ole gem whose exception athleticism will help with stopping Arkansas' Alfred Nealy in pass protection. Larson continues the A&M tradition of stellar safeties. His big hitting ability might land him at the SS spot eventually. Robinson is one of two run stuffing LBs to jump aboard. He will be a stud in the future and be a force on 3rd and short. Wilson will join the CB crew and has the coverage abilities to be a shut down guy in the near future. Fletcher has good size, hitting ability and decent coverage skills. He will be useful in 4-2-5 sets and on special teams for sure. Last but not least is Mikey Allen. Initially I looked at his 70 OVR and thought I would use the schollie somewhere else. Then I looked a little closer at the numbers. He's a 70 OVR at LB, but he has some pretty sick offensive skills for a 6'4 234 pounder. This guy could be a battering ram RB. If he can block he could be a stud TE. He's also a pretty good LBer even with the suspect block shedding skills. He might just end up playing all over the damn place. If only he could pass!
One more for the road! A&M pulls in one last recruit. Unless we lose any transfers or Juniors we are full up. Stone is a JuCo, so he most likely wont ever be an elite player, but he's got a great set of skills and should add great depth to an already strong DL.
