Ohio State Recruiting: Your 2016 Buckeye Class, Part 2

Keandre Jones- Good Counsel (Olney, MD)

Size: 6’3″- 198 lbs.

Position: OLB (#8 OLB, 4 stars)

The most unlikely addition to this spectacular class came on what is know as “12 star Monday” in Buckeye Nation. That day saw the Buckeyes gain 3 commitments, all holding 4 star rankings. He joined Binjimen Victor and Dwayne Haskins in announcing a decision to go to Ohio State.

Jones had been committed to the home state Terps for over a year before he made a surprising visit to Columbus in January. In all ways, that visit was a home run for Urban Meyer and his coaching staff.

Jones and Haskins had become very close as the cornerstones of Maryland’s recruiting class, and Haskins’ decision to flip to the Ohio State recruiting class undoubtedly played heavily on Jones’ final call.

Adding strength is about the only thing that Jones needs to focus on when he gets to campus. Other than that he has the makings of a good one.

He brings above average speed to the position, and has developed a reputation for delivering some hard hits. That combination of speed and power has drawn him comparisons to Ryan Shazier. Shazier, too, came to Ohio State as a “thumper” with great sideline-to-sideline speed. As he began to add strength to his game, he became the complete linebacker that got him selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.

There isn’t any proven depth at outside linebacker, but Jones will have a hard time seeing any quality playing time as as freshman. Like many others in the class, he is exactly what Urban Meyer is looking for on special teams though. Perhaps he could be a contributor with the specialty units, propelling him into a much larger role in 2017.