Ohio State football: How Spring football will affect recruiting
By Ryan Stano
The Big Ten made the shocking announcement yesterday that the conference will play in the Spring of 2021. How will that affect Ohio State’s recruiting?
Ohio State has the number one recruiting class for 2021 and is already off to a strong start in the class of 2022. But now the Big Ten is playing football in the Spring and other conferences are already using it to negatively recruit against teams in the Big Ten.
Teams like Ohio State are the ones who stand to lose the most. They are the premier program in the conference. Programs like Clemson, Alabama, and Oklahoma all have a chance to come after their players now. All of these programs will try to play football in the Fall.
We already saw the Buckeyes lose Tunmise Adeleye, a four-star defensive end, after he de-committed from the program yesterday. He could have left for other reasons, but this situation certainly doesn’t help. He’s still a really good player.
Freshmen who come in 2021 will be playing with teammates who already played a season just a few months prior. There very well could be a fatigue factor that would make the team worse. That is another factor that recruits will consider when ultimately making their college decision.
Perhaps the biggest negative recruiting tactic that programs will use against places like Ohio State is that the Big Ten Conference doesn’t care about its players’ opinion. Many Ohio State players and players from across the conference voiced their support of playing in the Fall. It fell hollow among leadership in the conference.
That might be the single biggest problem that Big Ten teams will have to overcome when it comes to recruiting. This situation has shown that the conference clearly does not care about the players’ concerns about anything. Even though Ohio State supported its players the whole time, it doesn’t matter if the conference doesn’t.
Next. Big Ten will try to play football in the Spring. dark
This will be a tough, uphill battle for the Buckeyes to overcome. If other conferences end up playing in the Spring, it won’t be as bad. Only time will tell.