Florida State landed the nation's top 2017 defensive tackle, and they're looking to do the same for the Class of 2018.
One of February's biggest signing day mysteries was where five-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson would land. LSU was long thought to be the favorite with schools like Ohio State and Florida State all making a push at one time or another. It was a surprise to many when the 330-pound Texan announced that he was siding with Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles.
While the Buckeyes never really seemed to be the favorite for Wilson, the same cannot be said for the top tackle of the 2018 class. Larry Johnson has had Ohio State right at the top for five-star Taron Vincent since the early stages of his recruitment. Now, with things winding down, Florida State has surged, making it a two-team battle for the IMG Academy star.
Defensive tackle recruiting has been an oft-criticized endeavor for the Ohio State coaching staff. The Buckeyes have certainly missed on their fair share of top targets, but there's been little to complain about when looking at the overall play of the interior defensive line. The recruitment of Taron Vincent is an important one for a number of reasons, starting with the expected attrition after the 2017 season.
Michael Hill and Tracy Sprinkle will both be gone after 2017, and while guys like Dre'Mont Jones, DaVon Hamilton, and Robert Landers all will just be sophomores this season, it's still looking like a position of need moving forward. Especially with the defensive line rotation that Larry Johnson utilizes.
Additionally, it's never a good look to miss out on a priority target after leading for the majority of the recruitment. We've got the five-star at No. 2 on the 2018 recruiting board right now, and an argument could even be made for the top spot.
Ohio State, Florida State, and Clemson have been some of the more noteworthy candidates throughout the process. The 6-foot-2, 285-pounder visited Clemson in January and quickly listed them as a top school. Michigan was thought to be a potential dark horse after the hiring of Biff Poggi, his former coach at Baltimore's Gilman School. However, the Wolverines never gained much traction as the Buckeyes and Noles remain at the forefront.
The Baltimore-turned-Bradenton defender has long listed the Buckeyes as his top school, but the move to IMG Academy has allowed for multiple trips to Tallahassee. After seeing the Seminoles in late February for their junior day, things appear to be neck and neck.
After a visit to Tallahassee for Junior Day, Florida State and Ohio State are even for No. 1 2018 DT @t_lova23. https://t.co/sxe205ErX2
— Gridiron Now (@GridironNow) February 27, 2017
Vincent hasn't been to Columbus since last June, and he's coming off a trip to Florida State with parents in tow, so it's not a shock that the Noles have made up so much ground. Next school year will be his second at IMG, but his roots are in the Mid-Atlantic – a region that Larry Johnson has made a living on.
“[Defensive line] coach [Larry] Johnson, the atmosphere, the school … just everything about the school,” Vincent said. “Coach Johnson recruited my older brother [while he was at Penn State], so I've always been around him and kind of grew up with him.” Via
The relationship with Johnson can likely only come close to being matched by another coach that's been instrumental throughout the recruitment. Florida State's Odell Haggins has been recruiting Vincent since his freshman year. The Noles' associate head coach/defensive tackles guru is leading the charge for Jimbo Fisher's squad and has them squarely in the mix to steal one away from the Buckeyes.
As recently as early February, the five-star's crystal ball was 100 percent in favor of Ohio State. Now, after seeing Florida State up close several times, many prognosticators have the country's top tackle pegged to the Seminoles. One thing that's always wise in recruiting is the notion of watching what a prospect does more so than what he says when being interviewed by the myriad of analysts from the various teams' sites.
In this case, what has the player been doing? The answer – traveling to Tallahassee several times without even sniffing Ohio – has to be a bit of a concern for the Buckeyes. Clearly, the move to IMG has benefitted the in-state Noles in that regard. Tallahassee is over four hours from Bradenton, but it's still a much easier trip than a trek to Columbus.
The good news for Ohio State is that it's looking like there's only one more trip to be made before an announcement. Vincent will be in Columbus at some point during his spring break – which runs March 17 through April 4 – and a decision is expected to come shortly after that time.
247Sports Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong has repeatedly spoken about the Vincent family and the research they've done to find the best fit for Taron – both with the move to IMG and the search for the right college. It's no surprise that the family is being thorough considering his father Troy spent 15 years in the NFL and was a five-time Pro Bowler during his time in Philadelphia. He now serves as the league's Executive Vice President of Football Operations.
For the Buckeyes, the upcoming visit and interview with the Vincent family are going to be some of the more important ones of the entire cycle. If the staff can check all of the boxes and show why Columbus is the best move for the country's No. 14 prospect, then this should finally be the year of the five-star tackle signee.
If the visit doesn't quite live up to the family's expectations, then Fisher is likely going to sign the nation's top defensive tackle for a second consecutive year.
