Merry Christmas Eve, to all who celebrate.
Yours truly will be spending the holiday in the Chicago suburbs with family, although the prospects of a white Christmas are looking unlikely at the moment. The day after Christmas, I'll be headed to Pasadena, California along with the rest of the Eleven Warriors crew for the start of the Rose Bowl festivities.
A Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all Eleven Warriors readers, and an early Happy New Year. As always, thank you for reading, we truly appreciate it.
Knowles already talking to recruits
Even though newly hired Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles won’t start in an official capacity until Jan. 2, he’s already started talking to Ohio State recruits.
Five-star linebacker signee C.J. Hicks told Eleven Warriors on Dec. 15 he’s already talked to Knowles multiple times and has been watching Oklahoma State film to get a feel for Knowles’ defensive scheme.
“They kind of run a similar defense to (my high school), so it’s not that much different, just different terminology,” Hicks said. “He’s a good coach and I like him. I enjoy him a lot.”
Fellow linebacker signee Gabe Powers also told Eleven Warriors last week that he had talked with Knowles and got a good first impression of the new defensive coordinator.
“Great guy. Just talked to him for a little bit. Love him, ready to get coached by him,” Powers said.
Three-star linebacker S’Maje Burrell, who was recently offered by OSU earlier this month, also told Eleven Warriors he has spoken with Knowles.
Ryan Day told reporters on Dec. 15 that he personally answered questions from recruits about Knowles and the incoming defensive coordinator was able to answer some questions from players directly.
“Jim spoke with a bunch of them, and any of them who had any questions, he was there for them,” Day said. “The structure of what we’re going to do isn’t going to (change much), but a lot of those guys, we encouraged them to watch the film at Oklahoma State and see how they’re doing things and ask questions. We’re going to do the best we can to keep the coaching staff that’s there now in place and the same, but we’ll have discussions now about what’s best moving forward and that’s just how we did it through the process. I think at the end of the day recruits understand they want to come to Ohio State and be part of this culture. So I think the conversations were good and the guys that spoke with Jim were very excited.”
Another incoming signee who asked Day about the Knowles hire was five-star safety/linebacker Sonny Styles. While Styles had not heard from Knowles as of Dec. 15, he did approve of the hire.
“I think he did a great job at Oklahoma State,” Styles said. “I’m looking forward to being coached by him and learning a lot from him.”
Branch picks USC
One of Ohio State's most coveted 2023 wide receiver targets is off the board. Five-star Las Vegas wide receiver Zachariah Branch announced his commitment to USC on Thursday, coming just nine days after his brother, Zion, also committed to the Trojans. His final four consisted of Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma and Alabama.
#BREAKING: 5 wide receiver Zachariah Branch has committed to Lincoln Riley and @USC_FB @zachariahb03 is the 3rd 5-star to commit to the Trojans in the 2023 class pic.twitter.com/TmvoJe6KG0
— 247Sports (@247Sports) December 24, 2021
Branch is ranked as the No. 14 overall player and the second-best wideout in the 2023 class. With Branch off the board, five-stars Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss become Ohio State’s top wide receiver targets in the class while other receivers with OSU offers include Jalen Hale, Johntay Cook II, Braylon James, Kyler Kasper, Rico Flores and Chris Culliver.
Robinson hoping to visit OSU
Ohio State already has one tight end committed for the 2023 class in Ty Lockwood, but the Buckeyes could also add a second tight end to the class. Five-star tight end Duce Robinson, the top-ranked tight end in the cycle, told 247Sports he'd like to make a visit to OSU at some point in 2022.
Ohio State will have plenty of competition for the Arizona resident's services. Robinson visited Washington, Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, USC and Arizona State last summer, and he also hopes to visit Oregon and UCLA in addition to OSU. Robinson grew up a Florida State fan, and it’s uncertain whether he’ll even play college football, as he is also one of the top baseball prospects in the 2023 class.
For football, Robinson is ranked as the No. 25 overall prospect in the class of 2023.
