A week before he made his college decision, Brock Glenn needed to clear his head.
The four-star quarterback from Tennessee had been torn between several suitors. One day, a certain college would be his frontrunner. The next, another would move into the pole position.
It wasn’t until he arrived at Lausanne Collegiate School’s four-day preseason camp on July 25 that he began to receive clarity.
At his high school’s week-long event, all players stayed overnight, each bringing their own mattress. Upon entrance, each player forfeited their keys and cell phones.
From 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., their focus was entirely on football. Meetings, two-a-day practices and film sessions were the norm.
Away from the everyday distractions of his cell phone, Glenn started to zero in on his commitment. In between team events, Glenn took time for himself to ponder what he truly wanted to do with his career and tried to visualize where he could see himself playing for the next four years. In addition to his prep football responsibilities, he also found time to watch film on Ohio State’s offense.
The more he broke it down, the more familiar the concepts felt to him. He believed Ryan Day’s system mirrored a good portion of Lausanne’s offense. He even envisioned himself running it one day. The Tennessee product concluded the system was a perfect fit for him.
He reminded himself of the track record of Ryan Day and Corey Dennis’ quarterback development. He appreciated how they turned Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields into first-round draft picks and how the Buckeyes have positioned C.J. Stroud to do the same.
“Their offense is high-powered and it fits me perfectly,” Glenn told Eleven Warriors Wednesday. “I was watching film and there was so much familiarity with the offense and the offense I’m running. I know I’ll be comfortable in it. It’ll feel like home to me.”
By July 28, Glenn had watched enough film and had done enough self-reflection. After agonizing between his top schools, primarily Florida State and Ohio State, he was ready to call his shot.
“The decision was extremely difficult,” Glenn said. “That’s why it kind of took me so long. I wasn’t comfortable making a decision for either one of them. Being without a phone set it apart and made me comfortable because it gave me an idea of what I truly wanted.”
When he got his phone back that Thursday, Glenn called Day to let him know he was in. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound signal caller was going to be Ohio State’s quarterback in the 2023 cycle.
“They were extremely excited and pumped up,” Glenn said of Day and Dennis’ reaction to letting them know he’d be committing to OSU. “We’re all ready to get to work.”
Glenn’s Ohio State recruitment was full of twists and turns. He was offered on June 7 despite never camping with Ohio State. The only other quarterback Ohio State offered over the summer was four-star Baylor commit Austin Novosad, who earned his Buckeyes offer after camping at Ohio State on June 1.
Blessed and Thankful to receive an offer from The Ohio State University! All Glory to God!@OhioStateFB @ryandaytime @CoreyDennis_ @LausanneFB pic.twitter.com/6bpGj51pfV
— Brock Glenn (@Brock1Glenn) June 7, 2022
Upon receiving his offer, Glenn scheduled an official visit to Ohio State for the weekend of June 17-19. Before the official visit, Glenn admits he was “iffy” about going to Ohio State. While he knew Ohio State was a top-five program consistently, Glenn had never been north of Kentucky in his entire life.
He wasn’t sure how he’d fit in with the culture of Columbus or if he’d like the city. His visit calmed his nerves and then some.
“After the visit, I came out and loved it,” Glenn said. “Honestly, I don’t think there were any cons to it. It was great, the coaching staff was great and I thought they could develop me physically and mentally and as a better person.”
Glenn met with Ohio State’s current crop of quarterbacks and both Dennis and Day on the trip. Glenn received a full education on the intricacies of Ohio State’s offense and the development the Buckeyes offer every signal-caller in their system.
“What they really sold to me was their development,” Glenn said. “How they’re going to bring players in and develop them and set them up for the next level. A lot of programs can say that, but they don’t have the proof to back it up. Coach Day has the proof to back it up. I can 100 percent say I believe they can develop me and get me to where I want to go.”
Although Day’s developmental track record speaks for itself, any quarterback considering Ohio State is going to have to weigh if they want to compete against one of the most crowded quarterback rooms in the country.
With C.J. Stroud’s expected departure to the NFL draft after this season, highly touted recruits Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are expected to battle for Ohio State’s starting quarterback job next spring. Five-star 2024 Arizona quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall prospect in his class, is already committed to Ohio State.
The path to playing time at Ohio State looks like it could be an uphill battle. But Glenn isn’t sweating it.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Glenn said of the crowded quarterback room. “You’re going to have to compete at any program. Competition makes everybody better. It makes me better and it makes the other quarterbacks better and it makes the entire team better. As a whole, we’ll rise together. It’s only going to push me to do my best. It’ll make me 10 times a better player.”
Lausanne Collegiate School head coach Kevin Locastro is one of Glenn’s staunchest supporters.
“This is my 34th year of coaching and he’s probably the best player I’ve ever had at that position,” Locastro said of Glenn.
Locastro’s boast isn’t without good reason. As a junior, Glenn completed 97 of 155 passing attempts for 1,576 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions and ran 31 times for 161 yards with three touchdowns. He’s been Lausanne’s starter since his sophomore season and is considered one of the most well-liked players in the locker room.
In the offseason, Glenn spent a large portion of his time in the weight room lifting with his offensive linemen doing heavy lifts on squat racks and power cleans.
Locastro says he’ll be surprised if Glenn isn’t a big-time college starter one day.
“Brock is a tremendous competitor and has great football IQ,” Locastro said. “He’s not going to shy away from other guys and other names and other stars and all that kind of stuff … I don’t think the fact Ohio State has some quarterbacks up there has deterred him at all. I don’t think he’s scared to hang in there for a year or two, learn the system and develop until he can become the guy. He’s not one of those guys looking for immediate gratification on day one when he comes in. He just wants to be himself, work hard and continue to improve his game. I think if he does that, he’ll have the opportunity to eventually be a starter and get to play.”
Locastro described Glenn as a “film junkie” who takes it upon himself to break down plays with Lausanne’s offensive coordinator.
“Very few guys can get on the board at the high school level and draw up schemes and talk ball with a pen in their hand, but he’s got the ability to do that,” Locastro said of Glenn. “He really understands secondary coverages and pre-snap reads and where the ball is going to be based on where the defense is going to line up.”
Locastro praised Glenn’s pocket presence and his ability to keep his eyes downfield while maintaining solid footwork in the pocket. Blessed with a quick release, Glenn can make throws from various arm angles to avoid pass rushers.
There is one aspect Locastro would like to see Glenn take a step forward in, though.
“I think he has to understand that sometimes he thinks he can make some throws that are a little bit risky because he does have a quick release and he does have such a strong arm, I think he’ll learn at the next level the speed of the game is faster and the windows close a lot quicker,” Locastro said. “I think that might be a little bit of a learning curve for him once he gets in college. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything, especially where he’s at in high school that he could change and would make him that much better.”
Ohio State and college football fans scouring message boards religiously for updates on the latest recruiting developments aren’t the only ones who pay close attention to recruiting rankings. Sometimes, recruits themselves do, too.
Glenn said he was intrigued by playing at a school that usually finishes with a top-five recruiting class yearly. More specifically, a 2023 class that has commitments from wide receivers Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate, Noah Rogers and Bryson Rodgers. Knowing the arsenal of weapons he’d have at his disposal made his decision that much easier.
“A lot,” Glenn said with a laugh of how much Inniss, Tate, Rogers and Rodgers helped sway him to join the Buckeyes. “Just knowing I’d be surrounded by talent and that we can all rise and get better together, that definitely played a huge part of it. Just knowing you’re surrounded by the top guys in the nation, that’s going to bring constant success.”
Glenn said he’s been in contact with every other Ohio State commit in the 2023 class and is excited to continue forming a bond with his future teammates. After Glenn finishes his senior season at Lausanne, he plans to enroll early at Ohio State in January, getting a jump start on the strength and conditioning program and collegiate classes.
“It’s going to benefit me tremendously,” Glenn said of enrolling early. “Just being in that weight program from January to when spring ball starts, that’ll put extra body armor, strength and agility on me before we even start practice. That’ll also give me time to learn the playbook. Having the experience of practicing before the season starts is important for me and for any recruit, honestly. I think being an early enrollee is a great option for us athletes because it allows us to get in and get used to college football before the season comes.”
It’s unclear what the future holds for Glenn at Ohio State. But the Memphis product is ready to finish his senior year strong, let the chips fall where they may and come to Columbus ready to work.
