Ohio State Recruiting: Interesting beginning to Urban Meyer’s 2019 class
Will there be more of a local flavor in the 2019 Ohio State recruiting class, and how many offensive tackles will Urban Meyer bring in?
The 2018 Ohio State recruiting class was one of Urban Meyer’s best but he didn’t land his second offensive tackle until National Signing Day. When Ryan Jacoby announced Thursday he would play for the Buckeyes, that made two in this year’s recruiting cycle already. He joined four star recruit Doug Nester in the 2019 class.
The 6-5, 270 pound Jacoby is also a four-star tackle from Mentor, Ohio. He is ranked the 38th best at his position nationally and the No. 362 player overall in the 247Sports Composite. The 6-5.5, 295 pound Nester, from Huntington, West Virginia, is the 9th rated tackle and No. 56 player at any position.
Don’t put too much stock in Jacoby’s ranking as many Ohio State high school players are often undervalued by recruiting “experts”. Especially when it comes to offensive linemen.
Remember Pat Elflein and Jacoby Boren were ranked as three star recruits coming out of high school and they were pretty good weren’t they?. The Buckeyes wouldn’t have won the national title in 2014 without those two guys on the offensive line.
The fact that these are the first two players to join the 2019 class is interesting to me as it may indicate Urban Meyer’s intentions this recruiting cycle. There may be more of a local flavor than in years past, and he may be loading up on tackles.
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It’s well known the majority of the players in Urban’s recruiting classes of late have come from out-of-state, and he often waits until later in the cycle to make a push for local players. Now coach Meyer has an in-state recruit committing early and Nester plays his high school ball just across the Ohio River from Chesapeake.
The depth at both offensive tackle positions are a little thin at the moment and a couple of more players will be leaving soon. That could mean there will be at least one or two more tackles added to 19’ Ohio State recruiting class to make sure that won’t be a situation down the road. It’s always easier to move a tackle inside as needed than the other way around.
It is an interesting start to the recruiting cycle and things are about to heat up I’m sure. With early practices about to begin and the spring game coming up, recruits will soon be flocking to campus.
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I expect there will be other players joining Nester and Jacoby in the 2019 class sometime soon. I’ll be curious to see how many of them will be Ohio high school recruits, and if any of them are offensive tackles.