5 Star DT Big Boost for 2018 Ohio State Recruiting Class
Another huge commit for Ohio State.
With the commitment of 5 star defensive tackle Taron Vincent, the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class received quite a boost and is now ranked No. 7 in the 247Sports Composite. Vincent is the highest rated player in the class which has an unbelievable .9810 average player ranking.
To put that into perspective, the 2017 class average of .9447 was the highest ever recorded in the 247Sports Composite. The school with the second highest average this year is USC at .9578.
Vincent is 6’2, 285 pounds and is the top ranked DT, and the No. 14 player in the country overall. He is an important commit for the Ohio State class because Urban Meyer missed out on 5 star defensive tackles in the last couple of recruiting cycles. Adding a tackle of Vincent’s caliber this early in the process has to make the Buckeye head coach breath a little easier.
The high school Vincent plays for is one that Buckeye fans are becoming very familiar with, IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Two players from the school, defensive backs Isaiah Pryor and Marcus Williamson, were members of the 2017 Ohio State recruiting class. 4 star DT Malik Barrow from the ’16 class played his high school ball at IMG Academy also.
While Bradenton has become a fertile recruiting ground for Urban Meyer, it appears that Vincent may have been looking at Ohio State even before he moved down south from Maryland. In an article by Andrew Lind of Eleven Warriors, it was reported that Vincent’s relationship with Larry Johnson goes back to when the coach was still recruiting for Penn State.
"“I’ve always been around him and kind of grew up with him,” Vincent said."
Lind reported that Taron’s brother, Troy Vincent Jr., was committed to play for the Nittany Lions, but flipped his commitment shortly after Johnson left to coach at Ohio State.
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Relationships like the one Larry Johnson cultivated with Taron is why those in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area have a ton of respect for the coach. Respect he earned during his many years recruiting that part of the country while coaching at Penn State.
Those relationships coach Johnson has developed in the WMV area have paid dividends for Ohio State. In the three previous recruiting cycles, the Buckeyes have landed eight players from the area, and Vincent is the second 5 star player to commit to play for the Buckeyes. Chase Young (Hyattsville, MD.), the No. 2 ranked DE in the country, was a big time recruit in the 2017 class.
The 2018 recruiting class isn’t filling up as fast as the ’17 class did, but the quality of the players who have committed are outstanding, And the commitment by Vincent boosted the rankings of the class, and may help in another way as well.
Often when a big time recruit like Vincent commits to a class, others follow soon thereafter. There’s also another reason players may be committing to the ’18 class in the near future.
Next: Defensive Tackle Room is Crowded and Loaded
The Ohio State Spring Game is less than two weeks away and there will be highly coveted recruits in attendance. “The Shoe” is sure to be packed again this year and the atmosphere will be electric. Could that be when other players decide to join Taron Vincent in the 2018 class?