Take Two: Will Day keep Ohio State a national brand?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
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THE STORYLINE
Ohio State has proven it can go anywhere to get any prospect, but that was a maxim during the Urban Meyer years. With first-year coach Ryan Day now in charge, the jury is still out, but it’s certainly looking really good for the Buckeyes and Arizona is one state where Ohio State could dominate.
The Buckeyes have already landed a commitment from four-star quarterback Jack Miller out of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral and they look to be the leader for elite four-star running back Bijan Robinson and four-star safety Lathan Ransom, both from Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe.
To get Robinson, Ohio State has to beat out Texas, USC and others for the running back who has five-star potential. Ohio State, Texas and Notre Dame are the finalists for Ransom, who plans to commit later this month. Robinson should have his pledge done soon as well.
That means Ohio State - nearly 2,000 miles from the Phoenix area - has that type of recruiting prowess even before Day's first game as full-time head coach. The Buckeyes are also in the running for five-star cornerback Kelee Ringo from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro, although Texas or Georgia could be tough to beat for him.
Can Ohio State dip back into Arizona for Robinson and Ransom and what does it say about Day’s ability to keep flexing the Buckeyes’ recruiting muscle?
FIRST TAKE: Marc Givler, BuckeyeGrove.com
“They’re definitely the favorite for Robinson and Ransom. I’m probably a little more confident in Robinson than Ransom at this point.
“It would be huge for Day to show he can still go anywhere in the country. They go to California and get Clark Phillips, they go to Washington and get Gee Scott, they go to Texas and get Jaxon Smith-Njigba, so he’s already proving himself to be able to go out and get these guys from different parts of the country. If the team puts some wins together this fall, he will only build on that as far as being a national recruiter.”
SECOND TAKE: Mike Farrell, Rivals.com
“The foundation was already laid there from Meyer. They’ve made it a national brand more than a regional brand going into the Southeast, going into Texas successfully, landing a few kids from the West. Day is picking up where Meyer left off. He’s a very good recruiter, he’s a confident guy. Everybody on the team believes in him and when kids visit, there is a confidence around Day that he’s going to be successful that it feeds into his recruiting ability.
“Urban stayed in it with a lot of kids to the bitter end and Day’s difference will be that he’s more direct and he’ll say, ‘Do you want to come here and win a national championship? Let’s do it.’ I don’t think he’s going to play games and kids respond to that. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he goes into Arizona and gets both Robinson and Ransom in this class.”