Ohio St Loses 2020 RB Recruiting Battle With Texas
In a recruiting battle with Texas, which had intensified the last four weeks, Ohio St has lost 2020 RB Bijan Robinson to Texas. Ohio St had been thought the leader to land Robinson:
"an influx of Crystal Ball picks flooded in favoring the Buckeyes." (https://www.burntorangenation.com/recruiting/2019/8/2/20698073/bijan-robinson-commitment-texas-longhorns-recruiting-2020-running-back-salpointe-catholic-tom-herman)
An article at BuckeyesWire from July 9 said this,
according to 247 Sports Crystal Ball Predictions, Ohio State is now the leader to land the 6-0, 200 pounder.
The article also said:
The Buckeyes desperately need to land a quality running back in the 2020 class...
Right now the call is that he’ll be a Buckeye....(https://buckeyeswire.usatoday.com/2019/07/09/ohio-state-5-star-rb-target-bijan-robinson-to-announce-college-choice-soon/)
Until very recently, Rivals looked almost all Ohio St: https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/bijan-robinson-185273#forecast-reasons
According to Sports Illustrated,
Robinson had given a silent pledge to the Buckeyes (https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/08/02/bijan-robinson-commits-texas-football-2020-recruiting-class)
And outwardly, Robinson himself gave indication he was going with Ohio St:
"This whole time I knew it was Texas, but all the pressure coming to me from Ohio State was a reason why I was going there initially. Then I realized that it wasn't for me...." ( https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/08/02/bijan-robinson-commits-texas-football-2020-recruiting-class)
For Ohio St, the change was sudden:
“[The Ohio State staff] were informed that the Buckeyes, who were written in ink as the favorite to land Robinson’s commitment since his visit in June, are now no longer the favorite and have only a small chance to earn his commitment.” (https://www.burntorangenation.com/recruiting/2019/8/2/20698073/bijan-robinson-commitment-texas-longhorns-recruiting-2020-running-back-salpointe-catholic-tom-herman)
It looks like this sudden loss dashed hopes for Ohio St. fans.
OSU.buckeyes.center may have said something very revealing on twitter:
Bijan Robinson cited Stan Drayton and Tom Hermon, who are both now at Texas, and how well they worked with Ezekiel Elliot when they were at Ohio St, as the significant reason he chose Texas. You can see him talk about it in this video, starting at 1:53:
Is it possible the red flag that OSU.buckeyes.center is talking about is that Stan Drayton and Tom Hermon are no longer at Ohio St, and the running game coaches that have replaced them aren't as attractive to running backs as Drayton and Hermon were?
Here's Bijan Robinson 2018 highlights. He's got the wow factor: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7796018/5c2c7ef90dc125053ce4aa92
Just jokes fella. Didn’t think you’d take it that serious. But do me a favor at least watch the first frame of last years game and GO BLUE.
My apologies then! You know many of us are really raw based on the W-L record vs OSU over the last decade +.
Period. Drops mike.
You put more effort into this than Brian does for UFRs lol
It's what he does for a living. WOTS is he is a well established content creator. Enjoy the content before some other platform picks him up.
What platform might that be? He built this site from the ground up, and has made it the largest fan curated blog on the entire internet. Who's taking him away from it? Maybe someone will pay him to write a few stories for them every so often? Good! I'd read it!!!
If you're going to use multiple accounts on one thread, you might as well do it for self promotion purposes. It's way better than arguing with yourself.
Well done OP, laying this out.
Oh wow I guess theyll just have to settle with another 5*
I don't give a damn about the whole state of ohio. But what the Creature put together here is the same thing that happened with Isaiah Wilson, only less worse. Wilson was CB'd here for, what, 10 years? A lot longer time than a month, or so! Same with Treadwell...
The point, I guess, is that other schools have to deal with getting outbid at the last moment, also. Take some comfort in that, revel in OSU's loss, and move on to enjoy your Sunday morning. I just don't get why people are so upset over this post - read the title, and don't click into the thread if you don't care. The title says everything it has to say...
It's not the same.
They really hate losing recruits to Tom Herman. He's not just their former OC. He's become their nemesis. They've tried smearing him and he turned it around on them. They fear losing their Texas pipeline. They've been losing RB commits and recruits, now a 5* to their former RB coach.
Funny that the post mentioning red flags doesn't realize Bijan is from Arizona.
Good. Hopefully happens more often.
Who cares
Couldn’t get him in for a tattoo it seems.
And so it begins.
This is a recruit that Ohio State would have very likely gotten if Urban Meyer was still there.
For that reason, it is quite relevant to us.
OSU will still recruit well. Very well.
But they won't out-recruit every single program in the country except Alabama any more.
All those elite recruits from the south and west came north to play for Urban Meyer. They didn't come just to play for Ohio State.
This is another reason that it is imperative for us to beat Ohio State this year. To underline the message that Urban Meyer is gone. The Day regime is not just an uninterrupted straight-line continuation of the Meyer regime.
August 4th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
Very accurate take.
August 4th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
I was thinking too that Urban Meyer leaving had something to do with it. And, of course, he said Stan Drayton being at Texas was a factor. I also wondered if Ryan Day being so pass heavy affected his decision. So yeah, maybe this is the trend for Ohio St with RBs.
Stan Drayton did really well when he took over as running backs coach at Ohio St. He was RBs coach from 2012 to 2014. Here's some stats:
Ohio St rushing yards per game, and where it ranked in the Nation, before, during, and after, Stan Drayton:
2010, 220.1, 14th
2011, 191.2, 27th
2012, 242.3, 10th
2013, 308.6, 5th
2014, 264.5, 9th
2015, 245.2, 11th
2016, 245.2, 11th (not a typo, same 2 years in a row)
2017, 243.2, 17th
2018, 171.3, 63rd
That serious drop off in 2018 could affect what a RB thinks of Ryan Day, and Ohio St, as Ryan Day is credited, largely, for how Ohio Sts offense did in 2018.
I see a couple commenters saying Ohio St will just get a 5 Star to replace Robinson. But there's only one 5 Star in the class, Zachary Evens. As it stands right now it looks like it is down to Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas, and Texas A&M for him, at least according to 247 (https://247sports.com/PlayerInstitution/Zachary-Evans-at-North-Shore-179838/CurrentExpertPredictions/). Rivals has a similar list (https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/zachary-evans-186957#forecast-totals).
Who knows, maybe Ohio St will land him some how. But seeing how good the run game is with some of those those other schools, I'm am thinking Ohio St doesn't really have a chance to get him, even if Urban Meyer and Stan Drayton were still there.
As it stands now, looking at 247 RBs for 2020, it looks like Ohio Sts next possible RB would be the #16 RB on the 2020 list, Jalen Berger: https://247sports.com/Season/2020-Football/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool&Position=RB.
I'm wondering, like you are, is the run game at Ohio St going to be very different for a while.
I know this reply is long. But this RB situation has tweaked my interest. There might be something to it.
Great content. Thank you.
Not the greatest OP by any means. But any chink in the OSU armor, real or perceived, puts a smile on my face on a dreary Sunday morning.
Upvoted for the effort
August 4th, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
If Texas has a good year, OSU is in for a world of hurt in recruiting once Urban starts at USC.
Premier programs in the two most fertile recruiting hotbeds being led by former staff members with major axes to grind.
Add a loss to Michigan this November, and there will be a lot of unhappy cooler poopers.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
It’s always a good read when an osu “lock” goes somewhere else. Not just because osu didn’t get them, but because of the reactions and posts from buckeye nation afterwards.
Apparently osu fans are devout Christians now and are claiming that god intervened and took this kid to Texas. Of course these are the same nutjobs that called Sweeney a brainwashing cook because he is a Christian.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Is "osu lock" the same as "red lock"?
August 4th, 2019 at 10:39 AM ^
You say Hermon and I say Herman.
I say Gemon and German.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
People close to robinson didnt want him going to school across the country (AZ->OH). Whether herman paid some people to influence robinson, idk. Whatever reason, OSU RB recruiting is shambles and I like it.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
I guess when your HC's calling card is an offense that throws approximately 10,000 passes per season, it's hard to get a good RB to come.
August 4th, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
Trying to decide if I wish every OT OP put as much work into it as this.
Leaning towards no, just no.
August 4th, 2019 at 11:32 AM ^
Where the running game at Ohio St might be heading has me very interested. Ryan Day may not work out as well as those who hired him have hoped. The BIG 10 is very tough. Things can go bad quick. At least I'm hoping things go rough for Ohio St for a few years.
August 4th, 2019 at 11:30 AM ^
This thread is full of fun
Can I get a link?
I'm not getting too wrapped up in all of the commitments right now. There's still a long way to go before the first signing period and many of these recruits will pay close attention to how the 2019 season plays out for all the major powers. Quite a few will flip to other schools. All a commitment means for many of these highly ranked recruits at this time of year is that their selection just indicates "my favorite team at this moment."
So when Tom Herman uses bagmen at OSU it was cool, but when he uses them against OSU they mad? Cool
August 4th, 2019 at 10:16 PM ^
Thanks. This is relevant because a big part of why OSU has gone from great recruiting to OSU-and-Alabama-and-then-everyone-else recruiting the past few years was their looting of Texas and Florida. They've been absolutely thieving those states. If we want to catch up to OSU, we need their out-of-state recruiting to slip. I suspect it almost has to without Meyer there, but these types of decisions by big recruits could be leading indicators of a trend.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
They're still pulling in big recruits from out of state. The ultimate goal - IMHO - is a total final score of 300 on the 247 Composite and they're at 291 right now. Usually only a couple of schools hit that figure every year. This year, however, 5 schools could hit that number: Clemson, Alabama, LSU, OSU, and Georgia. Clemson has a legitimate shot at the greatest 247class ever.
BUT, with all of that said, will OSU keep all of their current recruits if they flop on the field this year and a lot of that depends on the QB play of Fields. A total disaster for them is 3 to 4 losses. They'll always recruit very well but yeah, I agree, will be tough to match Meyer's recruiting. Just need to let this year's results play out
August 4th, 2019 at 11:41 PM ^
It looks like Ohio St has turned their attention Kevontre Bradford, the #15 RB in the 2020 class:
https://247sports.com/Season/2020-Football/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool&Position=RB
Wisconsin appears to currently be in the lead for him:
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/kevontre-bradford-200642
https://247sports.com/Recruitment/Kevontre-Bradford-104419/RecruitInterests/