Heat Check: The Start of the Season, Return of Urban Meyer Lead to Changes to the 2019 Recruiting Board

Saying that August was a whirlwind of a month would be putting it mildly. The Urban Meyer saga was the story of the college football world, Ryan Day took the reins as interim head coach, and the team spent the month preparing for the 2018 season which kicked off Saturday with a 77-31 blowout of Oregon State.

Meyer has now been cleared to return to work, and while he won't be on the sideline for the next two games, his presence will undoubtedly be felt in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and on the recruiting trail as the Buckeyes get closer to returning to normalcy. 

While it was a busy month for mostly all of the wrong reasons, there really hasn't been too heck of a lot going on with regards to Ohio State recruiting. The new split official visit calendar means that a lot of action took place over the summer and will resume with officials this fall. Right now, however, most high school prospects are focused on winning football games with their respective teams.

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Four-star linebacker Kane Patterson backed off his pledge in late August, and that was probably the biggest story of the month. We talked about it last week, but the loss of a linebacker prospect was something the class could handle. Cade Stover and Craig Young both remain committed and Steele Chambers will end up at either running back or linebacker.

With the season underway and Meyer back the helm, we offer an updated look at our 2019 recruiting board.

*Last month's edition can be found HERE. 

No changes at the top. Zach Harrison is focusing on his high school season and no decision is imminent. Could a few more visits take place before a decision? That seems like a possibility, but at this point Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan all remain in the hunt for the five-star. There hasn't been a peep in some time from the state's top player, and I wouldn't expect that to change anytime soon. 

There's also been very little movement on the Darnell Wright front. The nation's No. 2 tackle isn't anywhere close to a decision, and his recruitment appears to be somewhat open at this point. Alabama and Tennessee likely remain at the top of his list, but he's trying to take a visit to Miami and the Buckeyes certainly still have a shot. There's a lot of work to be done, though. 

Jameson Williams is one of the country's fastest wideouts, and he's holding steady at No. 3 on our list. Brian Hartline's wide receiver board is still a bit of an unknown, but I don't think there's much doubt that Williams is right at the top. The Buckeyes continue to look like the favorite, but the St. Louis standout is scheduled to check out Nebraska, UCLA, and Oregon this month. The Ducks and Crimson Tide look like the top competition.

Three other wideouts are also on the board, but each recruitment seems to be in a much different place. The Buckeyes will likely look to bring in at least three at the position for 2019.

Elijah Higgins is likely to end up at Stanford, Florida, or Ohio State, and the relationship with Garrett Wilson could work in the Buckeyes' favor. Right now I'd still say Stanford an Florida are in the best position, but this feels like a prospect Ohio State can get. Stanford's admissions office may also play a major role in this one.

The Marcus Washington situation remains a tough one to get a read on, and we've dropped the St. Louis wideout a few more spots down to No. 6. At one point it was looking as though he'd commit to Ohio State in August. Then it was looking like he'd commit to Missouri. And then he took a step back and seems to be slowing things down. Texas and Florida State are also in the mix but it his recruitment should come down to the Buckeye and Tigers.

Wandale Robinson has moved up a couple spots to No. 9, and I have no problem admitting to my fanboy status. Maybe it's because I watched Rondale Moore last week and saw what he did for Purdue as a true freshman and instantly felt a little sad since he's a player Ohio State probably could have signed. I think Robinson fits a similar role at the next level. He's only about 5-foot-9 but can carry the ball and catch passes as a slot/H-back. He's also considering Alabama, Michigan, and Nebraska, but his skillset would be best utilized in Columbus or Lincoln. 

Some of his highlights are downright frightening:

Western Hills HS (KY)2019 4-Star ATH Wandale Robinson @robinson__era Alabama visit July 28th pic.twitter.com/ADumXCyQzb

— InsideBamaRecruiting (@RTRnews) July 13, 2018

Two other tackles remain on board in addition to Darnell Wright. Ohio State absolutely needs at least one more at the position, and both Walter Rouse and Trevor Keegan are high on the Buckeyes. However, it's tough to say that they're the team to beat for either one right now. 

Rouse is up to No. 4 on our board and getting him back on campus will be imperative for the Buckeyes to have much of a shot. The 6-foot-6, 285-pounder is fresh off an official visit to Notre Dame and he may be close to narrowing his list down. Stanford, Duke, and Northwestern are also in the hunt. Rouse visited Columbus back in July and the staff will look to get him back for an official this fall. 

Trevor Keegan seemed close to a decision at one point, but he looks to have slowed things down a bit. The Illinois product plans on taking official visits to his top schools this fall, and his list includes Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Penn State, and Clemson. Michigan is the crystal ball favorite, but I'm not sure how any lineman could watch that offense and think "this is a place to go and get developed." 

Defensive back and defensive tackle recruiting both remain a crapshoot at this point. Peyton Powell continues to plummet down the board as Oklahoma now appears to be in prime position to nab the Odessa, Texas athlete. He backed off his August timeline shortly after receiving the Sooner offer, and my guess is he'll end up visiting Norman and will announce his intentions right around that time. 

Kaiir Elam holds steady at No. 7 and it will take a grand slam for the Buckeyes to pluck the North Palm Beach corner from Miami or Georgia. The family has ties to both Florida and Urban Meyer and the June visit to Columbus appeared to be an eye-opener, but he's not looking to announce until January. He is planning on getting back to Ohio State, so anything is possible if that does happen. 

D'Von Ellies nearly committed to Ohio State in July, but as the calendar has moved into September he now has no timeline in place. Penn State and Florida offers may have shaken things up a bit, but this is still one the Buckeyes should win if they choose to push. The defensive tackle board is still a bit of an enigma, but we're keeping Ellies on the list for now.

With Urban Meyer back on duty, priority No. 1 is going to be touching base with all of the current commitments to assure everything is sitting pretty. We've mentioned it before, but a conversation with Jordan Battle is likely to be one of the more important ones since he's really the only pledge who's given any vibe that he may be wavering ever so slightly. 

Other than that, the recruiting front should go back to normal as the Buckeyes look to add another 10 or so to its 2019 class; a unit that currently checks in at No. 12 in the country. It's worth noting that every team ranked higher than Ohio State has more commitments in the fold. Also worth noting that every team not named Alabama or Georgia has a lower average rating per commit 

Things are slowly getting back to normal and in two more weeks Meyer will be fully reinstated, the Buckeyes will be fresh off a matchup with TCU, and these tough times will all be a thing of the past.