The last time Urban Meyer and Ohio State dipped into the pool of football talent from the St. Louis area, things worked out pretty well.
Ezekiel Elliott left Columbus as the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, not long after rushing for more than 1,800 yards and 23 touchdowns during his junior season on his way to Big Ten Offensive Player and Running Back of the Year honors. He also won the Silver Football as the conference's best player in 2015, exploding onto the scene the year before as an integral part of Ohio State's national championship run.
Elliott hails from the Gateway to the West and John Burroughs High School, with strong family ties to the University of Missouri (both his parents were Tiger athletes). Four-star and class of 2018 defensive tackle Trevor Trout attends Chaminade College Prep School, three miles from John Burroughs. He could be the next St. Louis star Ohio State chooses to pursue.
Trout said he knew of Elliott when he was growing up due to his prowess on the gridiron in addition to track and field, and knows what Ohio State helped make him into.
"I like the program for the most part," Trout said Friday after Ohio State's final one-day camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. "Coach Meyer is a great guy, I see how they work out here, I like how they work. They produce a lot of NFL Draft talent."
Meyer and the Buckeyes finished arguably the greatest NFL Draft ever for one program in 2016, with 12 players selected in the first four rounds, three in the top-10 and five in the top-20. One of those players was Elliott, who is lining up to start this fall in the backfield for the Dallas Cowboys.
Trout noticed, and though he hasn't yet earned an offer from the Buckeyes, feels like he is in a good position for it to happen.
"I feel pretty optimistic," Trout said. "I'm feeling pretty good, just gotta go out and work harder. That's all you can do."
Trout got pulled back into the coaching staff rooms Friday upon completion of the camp. He spent the majority of the day with Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson, someone responsible for shelling out NFL talent no matter where he works.
"It was pretty hard, it was pretty advanced. I loved it, I got to work out with some pretty great players. We did some things I had never done before but I felt like I got better today. He's a great guy," Trout said of Johnson.
Trout holds offers from seven Division I programs including Big Ten schools Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska. The hometown Missouri Tigers are understandably his leader, but Trout said he doesn't have any sort of order yet. If Ohio State extended an offer, however, the Buckeyes would shoot into his top five.
"It would mean a lot," Trout said.
Meyer and Johnson told Trout to keep working and do his best to cut weight — he is currently listed at 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds — and good things could happen down the road. Regardless where he decides to play college football.
"(Meyer said) keep in contact because he thinks I'm a great player," Trout said. "Basically, he'll be talking to me during the evaluation period of my junior year and we'll keep in touch."
