On a day that was significant and focused on Ohio State students, Student Appreciation Day was also a major recruiting day for the Buckeyes. A slew of visiting recruits was at the spring practice Saturday, including No. 1 2020 wide receiver Julian Fleming and former Ohio State defensive back commit Lejond Cavazos.
But of the visitors that were on campus last weekend, quarterbacks made up a large portion of the recruiting focus for the most important recruiting weekend of the month, and they came away impressed by new head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
These were a few of the visiting quarterbacks that were in Columbus.
J.J. McCarthy
Illinois 2021 quarterback J.J. McCarthy has had the longest relationship with Ohio State of the quarterbacks that visited over the weekend. He was discussed at length in the first Hurry Up released after Student Appreciation Day, but McCarthy left Columbus optimistic and understanding his positioning with Day, regarding their coach-to-recruit relationship.
“My conversation with Coach Day,” McCarthy said about highlights of his visit. “I know right where I stand with him. I love his creative mind and his passing concepts. He loves to throw the ball around with purpose. I love how he is so heavily involved in the pass offense.”
McCarthy received his offer from Ohio State on Dec. 11, after he passed for 3,448 yards and 39 touchdowns – just four interceptions – for Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Illinois.
Miller Moss
Miller Moss, a 2021 quarterback out of California, has not earned his Ohio State offer yet but was in town for the event Saturday.
As a sophomore, Moss completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,714 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 2018, and he has already been offered by Michigan, Auburn, LSU and others.
“They said that they loved my film and the way I can throw the ball,” Moss said. “Both Coach Day and Yurcich were very thorough and detailed in their description of both quarterback play and what it means to be a student and an athlete at Ohio State.”
The 6-foot-2 field general said he enjoyed the thoroughness of the Ohio State coaching staff combined with the intensity of the players and the atmosphere created by the crowd at the event Saturday while he was at practice.
Moss said his conversations with Day and Yurcich were productive and that he was able to begin developing relationships with other recruits, such as California wideout Beaux Collins and Washington athlete Emeka Egbuka.
After leaving Columbus, the California prospect said he remains interested in Ohio State, though he stopped by Michigan the following day and received an offer from N.C. State on Monday.
“I was initially interested in OSU because of its tradition along with the amazing success of Dwayne Haskins in the passing game,” Moss said. “I’m very intrigued by the tradition of winning as well as the culture.”
Jack Brandon
Connecticut 2021 quarterback Jack Brandon came to Columbus without any offers but he left with his first. The Buckeyes offered the 6-foot-3 high school sophomore quarterback after the practice Saturday, and Ryan Day was the one to deliver it.
“Ohio State is a great place, and the visit really exceeded my expectations,” Brandon said. “I got to talk with Coach Day, and it went really well. He gave me the offer after practice, and I was truly honored.”
Blessed to receive my first D1 offer from THE Ohio State University #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/aUeacZrSws
— jack brandon (@jack_brandon2) March 23, 2019
Brandon is the third 2022 prospect Ohio State has extended an offer toward and the second quarterback. Brandon classifies as a pro-style quarterback and plans to return to Ohio State for a camp this summer.
Jeffrey Beverly
Columbus-native quarterback Jeffrey Beverly is a 2022 prospect that had already been around the Ohio State program. He visited in the spring of 2018 before he was enrolled in high school and had the chance to see Ryan Day working as the quarterbacks coach. Now, Day is the head coach, recruiting Beverly as a potential future Buckeye.
“It was my first time seeing Coach Mike (Yurcich), so it was interesting to see him work with the quarterbacks versus Coach Day,” Beverly said. “But I do like how involved Coach Day is during practices.”
Beverly grew up rooting for Ohio State and said it was tough to see former head coach Urban Meyer retire but that it also doesn’t affect the way he views the program. He respects Yurcich and Day and said he can draw many parallels between himself and sophomore quarterback Justin Fields, who is working through his first spring with the Buckeyes.
Beverly is entering his second season at Franklin Heights High School, where he played in four games last year. He will start as a sophomore, and he understands how difficult it can be to step into a team and try to earn respect with leadership at the quarterback position, he said. Much like Fields is trying to do with Ohio State.
“I just work every day to get better,“ Beverly said. “I could get an offer (from Ohio State). I’m taking this year seriously, working on my upper body and putting more weight on.”
Beverly currently stands at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds as a 15-year-old, which has gained the attention of schools like Michigan, Kentucky, Cincinnati and a couple others. He didn’t receive an offer upon leaving campus like Jack Brandon did, but with more experience at the high school level, Beverly said he hopes he can earn one.
