Counter Intel is the smart Ohio State fan's look at recruiting action taking place within the Big Ten and top national programs.
Ducks Land Davies, Vols Grab Wolfe
Zack talked about this on Friday, but we're definitely going to file the most recent bit of news under the Troy Stellato and Jahvaree Ritzie category rather than that of JC Latham. Ohio State was at one point the team to beat for four-star cornerback Jaylin Davies, but the Mater Dei product is now the latest commitment for Mario Cristobal and the Ducks.
Was this as simple as the Buckeyes wanting Denzel Burke instead of Davies? I think that's definitely a big part of it, but Davies is a really good player who could help to open the door to one of the country's powerhouse programs. Instead, the No. 12 corner has chosen Oregon over finalists like Ohio State, Arizona State, Washington, and UCLA. The news boosts the Ducks a few spots in the 247 Sports team rankings and there are several big fish still out there for Cristobal to work on.
In other news, Hudson Wolfe's commitment to Tennessee does sting a bit as Kevin Wilson had zeroed in on him to help complement Sam Hart for the Class of 2021. He was unable to get his mom on campus before making a pledge, and that absolutely hurt Ohio State's chances. Are we expecting the Buckeyes to look elsewhere for a tight end? Not necessarily. But not being able to watch someone like Cade Sover develop for the last few months may make things a bit tricky.
Wolverines Head West for Four-Star
Jim Harbaugh added commitment No. 18 yesterday with Arizona pass-rusher Quintin Somerville. Long thought to be a Wolverine lean, the nation's 14th-best strongside defensive end had delayed things a bit due to the COVID shutdown. Somerville has a bit of an odd size for the position (6-foot-1, 230 pounds) but put up a nice stat line as a junior with 29 tackles for loss and nine sacks.
He's now the fourth-best commitment in the Wolverines' 2021 class and Don Brown's fourth defensive end. Somerville is the first addition from the western part of the country and is a teammate of Buckeye commit Denzel Burke. He's got a nice offer sheet that includes the likes of Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and Florida State.
Happy Birthday Momma . . . More Life pic.twitter.com/KsJi69yB5M
— Quintin Somerville (@quintinn_2) June 20, 2020
I always appreciate some originality with a commitment video, and the piano toward the end was a nice added touch. I give it a respectable 7 out of 10.
The Kamar Chronicles: Episode 5
Have you ever seen a recruitment like that of Kamar Wilcoxson? I'm not sure that I have, but I do know that I'm glad I can watch as a bystander rather than someone with an active interest in where the IMG Academy defender ends up signing. The four-star Georgia native announced his third commitment to Florida on Friday when he flipped from the Volunteers back to the Gators.
I'd love to provide the commitment tweet for you, but guess what — he's already deleted it. There is still some amazing evidence of the recent events on Twitter, however.
Boys was out there worrying about a video game....whole time getting back doord I LOVE IT! #GatorNation YESSSSSIRRRRR!
— Coach Coop (@1CoachCoop) June 19, 2020
Tennessee celebrated a national title on Thursday thanks to a video game victory over Miami. That is a big deal to some folks, and Florida's Assistant Director of Player Personnel took a shot at the Vols for losing one of its commitments while celebrating the fictitious natty. Wilcoxson is yet again "committed" to Florida (yay!), but there are still over six months for him to change his mind 27 more times.
Any chance this recruitment over? Absolutely not. Are we here to watch how things unfold until he signs with whatever school he ultimately decides on? Absolutely. Remember that time some thought he was going to commit to Ohio State? That was neat.
Pat With a Pickerington Pickup
Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats headed to Ohio for commitment No. 12. Pickerington Central's Garner Wallace is an interesting athlete who plays three different sports for the Tigers. At 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds, he's listed as a safety but we'll see what the future holds for someone with that kind of frame.
Wallace is listed as the No. 36 prospect in the state of Ohio and joins Cleveland's Aidan Hubbard and Solon's Najee Story in Fitzgerald's 2021 class. It should come as no surprise given the program, but Wallace is also an exceptional student. The addition brings Northwestern's class up to No. 9 in the conference and No. 36 nationally.
Lovie Loves the Sunshine
If I told you that a power-five program added four commitments from the state of Florida this week, how many people would have guessed that was Lovie Smith's doing? Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise with a number of staff members hailing from the state, but it was a big boost to an Illinois' class that had been ranked dead last in the Big Ten.
Things got kicked off last Sunday when Jacksonville wideout Patrick Bryant made his intentions known. It was the biggest get of the bunch as the three-star has offers from schools like Florida State, Miami, and Arkansas. Tarpon Springs linebacker Dylan Rosiek followed up on Wednesday. Finally, Lovie added two more on Friday with Fort Myers safety Joriell Washington and Daytona Beach's Theodore Lockley.
The new quartet brings the Illini up to No. 12 in the Big Ten and No. 60 in the nation. Six of Lovie Smith's 10 commitments now hail from the Sunshine State.
| PROGRAM | SCORE | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | 301.15 | 95.30 |
| 2 | CLEMSON | 260.00 | 94.32 |
| 3 | TENNESSEE | 259.32 | 89.92 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 246.81 | 91.64 |
| 5 | Southern Cal | 244.82 | 91.30 |
| 6 | Oregon | 237.79 | 91.96 |
| 7 | Michigan | 237.40 | 89.19 |
| 8 | Florida | 234.22 | 89.73 |
| 9 | Texas | 214.17 | 91.65 |
| 10 | Miami | 212.98 | 88.37 |
Some Needed Defense for the Big-12
If there's one thing we all know about the Big-12, it's that defense is completely optional. Yes, Gary Patterson has put together some fine units and Texas has recruited well, but watching the conference get shredded every year has become quite the tradition. What do you think Lincoln Riley – one of the truly great offensive minds – would give to have even a somewhat competent defense? Alex Grinch arrived in 2019 and the jury is still out on that one.
The Longhorns and Sooners both got some good news this week on the defensive side of the ball. Texas landed a pair of in-state defensive backs in Dallas corner Ishmael Ibraheem and Kennedale safety JD Coffey. Both are solid four-stars with a slew of national offers and the additions have lifted Texas into the top-10 of the team rankings (forcing out LSU). Coffey comes from the same program that helped deliver Baron Browning to Columbus.
The Sooners headed to Oregon last week and grabbed four-star Portland edge rusher Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge. I'm a big fan of especially large defensive ends with hyphenated names, so the 6-foot-7, 240-pounder gets a stamp of approval from me. Oklahoma already felt the wrath of Ohio State when it got beaten out for Tunmise Adeleye and Jantzen Dunn this spring. Riley may meet a similar fate for five-star wideout Emeka Egbuka.
Gerald McCoy was a first-round pick in 2010, and it would be a whole decade before Oklahoma had another this past April when Kenneth Murray went No. 23 overall to the Chargers. Ohio State had as many first-round defenders taken in the first 10 minutes of the 2020 Draft as Oklahoma has in the past 10 years.
