WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Back in November of 2014, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer laid out one of his offensive recruiting philosophies when asked if he envisions certain players in specific roles while evaluating them in high school.
“We put the APB out every year for the multi-dimensional athlete on offense and that’s the tight end H and it’s the tailback H,” Meyer said then. “And just over the years, that position has evolved.”
“The APB’s always been out for those kind of athletes that can do multiple things.”
The Buckeyes’ recent recruiting classes under Meyer have certainly backed up that idea of thinking. In 2013, Meyer’s first class, Ohio State landed Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall. After that came the likes of Curtis Samuel, Parris Campbell and, in the most recent class, Demario McCall. All of those players fill that hybrid role Meyer desperately covets.
Despite tight scholarship numbers in the 2017 class, the Buckeyes will likely find someone who fits that mold, as well. And in the 2018 group, perhaps no player is better for that role than one of Ohio State’s top targets, Westerville South’s Jaelen Gill.
“I do pride myself on versatility,” Gill said last weekend at The Opening's regional camp. “I don’t want to just have one label. I can do multiple things like carrying the football, running between the tackles and all that but then also run routes, make people miss and all that stuff.”
Having players who can do multiple things is crucial in Meyer’s offense. He loves players who can line up in the backfield as well as run routes from the slot. It’s fun for Meyer to get those types of players involved in the offense. He enjoys creating those types of plays.
And while Gill plays running back for his high school team and Ohio State is recruiting him right now as a running back, he said the staff loves his versatility.
“I’m a slim running back, but I’m stronger than I look. When it’s time to get tough yards and everything, I can get that,” Gill said. “But I also feel like they just like my versatility so they can put me in the backfield a lot and even sometimes split me out and have me run routes.”
Rated a four-star prospect in the 2018 class, Gill already has 19 scholarship offers to his name, according to 247Sports. They’re from just about every big-name program in the country, too: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, UCLA, USC, Tennessee. The list goes on. He is one of the most coveted prospects in the country in the 2018 class.
He’s also a hell of a baseball player, and a couple of schools have discussed him playing both sports in college. Gill says he has not yet had that conversation with the Ohio State staff, though, but the idea of being a two-sport college star is intriguing to the 6-foot, 175-pounder.
“I’m thinking about that a lot, but it’s definitely something I want to try to do,” he said. “I’ve talked about it with my family and it’s obviously going to be tough, especially at a big university where you would think most of the people’s main priority would be football at those schools. It’s definitely up to the coaching staff and if they’re OK with that then I’m going to try and do it.”
As he wraps up his baseball season, Gill said he has nothing planned as of right now for his summer recruiting tour, but did mention Penn State, Tennessee, Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame all as places he wants to get to.
It’s going to be tough to be Ohio State in the race for Gill — his 247Sports crystal ball has 100 percent of the predictions in favor of the Buckeyes — but this isn’t necessarily a done deal either as he is clearly interested in going through the entire recruiting process and seeing every school that has show interest up close and personal.
At the end of the day, however, Gill’s high school is only a short drive from Ohio State’s campus, and those relationships are often very difficult for outsiders to overcome.
“I’m getting closer and closer by the day with [Ohio State]. Coach Alford, Coach Meyer, I talk to them at least two, sometimes three times every two weeks basically,” Gill said. “I can tell that they care for me, they care about my future and everything.
“They obviously want me to be there, but they tell me even if I don’t come there they just want me to be successful. I appreciate that. I’m getting closer with them, I like being there on campus just hanging out and seeing everything so I like it.”
