Blaine Scott didn’t hesitate to answer when asked Tuesday if he worked out at Ohio State’s second one-day positional camp of the summer with the hopes of earning a scholarship offer from the host Buckeyes.
“Oh yeah, 100 percent,” the 2018 offensive lineman prospect out of Portsmouth, Ohio said.
Many prospects come to camps with dreams of earning an Ohio State offer, but the reality for almost every recruit is one will never come. Scott is in the minority; he has a real shot to earn an Ohio State offer.
“Me and [offensive line coach Greg Studrawa] got a lot of one-on-one time today. I feel like I performed well, I gave a great effort and had a great day today,” Scott said. “Coach Stud, he told me he feels like I performed well enough [to earn an offer]. He just has to see what the boss says and we’ll go from there, but I do feel like I performed well enough.”
“The boss,” of course, would be Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer, who has the final say for every single scholarship offer Ohio State extends. If Meyer doesn't give his stamp of approval, the offer doesn’t go out.
Scott is a prospect who has seen his recruitment blow up a bit of late. He is listed at 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds and, according to his 247Sports profile, has 22 offers to his name. Scott listed Duke, Arkansas, Miami (Florida), and others as the schools who have intrigued him the most, but there’s no doubt an offer from the in-state Buckeyes would change his recruitment a bit.
“They’d obviously be a big factor only being two hours down the road from me,” Scott said of Ohio State. “Everyone in my family grew up Buckeye fans. It would definitely change my recruitment in the aspect of they would definitely be one of my top considerations.”
Even if an Ohio State offer doesn’t come right away, Scott is continuing to build the relationship between him and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff. In particular, Scott is in contact with Studrawa, who was only recently hired as the team’s new offensive line coach. Remember, recruiting is all about relationships.
“Stud obviously got hired a few months ago and it was nice to start building a relationship with him over the phone, but it was nice to actually get out here and grind with him a little bit and see how he coaches,” Scott said. “I love his coaching style. He’s very tough, shows a lot of grit and that really fits my style so it was nice to see.”
Ohio State is expected to take a rather small group of offensive linemen in the 2017 class due to tight scholarship numbers. Right now, the Buckeyes have a pair of top-60 overall prospects committed in that group in Josh Myers and Jake Moretti. It’s highly possible those two are the only offensive linemen taken in Ohio State’s 2017 class.
That means there’s a chance the 2018 group, with more available scholarships, could have a few more offensive linemen in it. That is something that could certainly benefit Scott and an Ohio State offer is definitely one he covets, though he insists receiving one wouldn’t immediately end his recruitment.
“It’s two hours down the road and I’m a southern Ohio kid,” Scott said. “But I always stress that just because I am only two hours down the road I’m not an Ohio State kid automatically.
“But it’s definitely an offer I would really like to have.”
