During last week’s Big Ten Media Days, I caught up with an assortment of players around the conference who were recruited by Ohio State out of high school but ended up elsewhere in the Big Ten. In this article, I share what I gathered from each of those conversations – starting with Michigan running back Blake Corum, whose college decision came down to Ohio State and Michigan before he ultimately chose the Wolverines.
Blake Corum has positive memories of being recruited by both Michigan and Ohio State at the same time.
The reigning Big Ten Running Back of the Year could have been a Buckeye. He was heavily recruited by Ohio State and running backs coach Tony Alford as one of the Buckeyes’ top running back targets in the 2020 recruiting class, and Ohio State was one of his final two schools. His decision ultimately came down to the two bitter rivals, as Corum made official visits to both Columbus and Ann Arbor in the weeks leading up to his commitment.
In the end, Corum – the 12th-ranked running back in the 2020 class – chose to be a Wolverine rather than a Buckeye. He said he became sold on Michigan because of how he thought Michigan would set him up for life after football.
“It was a great feeling. I remember I took two officials to two great schools,” Corum said of being recruited by both Ohio State and Michigan. “But for me, you were gonna get good football at both places. And it was really to set myself up for life honestly.
“The Michigan alumni network is something special, man, I tell you that. We're all there for each other. The Michigan alumni, they're there to help the new generation. They're there to help you and build up your future. And I can't appreciate them enough. They're there for you. And it's something special about Michigan. You get the best of both worlds, man. You get good sports and you get good academics and it sets you up for a successful life.”
When asked if he’s ever thought about what it would have been like if he chose to become a Buckeye instead, Corum answered before the question could even be completed.
“Nope,” Corum replied succinctly.
Ohio State ended up signing Miyan Williams as its lone running back in the 2020 class after Corum took his talents to Ann Arbor.
Corum was one of seven players from other Big Ten schools at last week’s Big Ten Media Days who received an offer from Ohio State as a high school recruit, along with Michigan State guard J.D. Duplain, Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu, Purdue quarterback Hudson Card, Purdue wide receiver TJ Sheffield, Rutgers defensive end Aaron Lewis and Illinois wide receiver Isaiah Williams.
Aside from Corum, the player among them who was most closely connected to Ohio State during the recruiting process was Card, in large part because of where he went to high school and who he played with there. As a quarterback at Lake Travis High School, Card threw the ball to former Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The quarterback who preceded Card at Lake Travis, Matthew Baldwin, also signed with the Buckeyes as a high school recruit.
Those connections put Ohio State in the race to land Card, who ended up as the No. 59 overall prospect and No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2020 class. But Card’s heart was set on staying in his hometown of Austin, Texas and playing for the Texas Longhorns, who signed him as a high school recruit.
“At the time, UT was my dream school growing up and I was pretty set on that,” Card recalled. “Obviously, Ohio State was a great opportunity and everything like that. And I know Garrett had a great experience as well. But in terms of what I wanted to do and wanted to accomplish, I felt Texas was the best for me at that time.”
It all worked out for Ohio State in the end, as the Buckeyes ended up signing C.J. Stroud (and Jack Miller) in Card’s recruiting class instead. Card, on the other hand, transferred from Texas to Purdue this offseason after losing the Longhorns’ starting quarterback job to Quinn Ewers, who transferred to Texas in 2022 after just one year at Ohio State.
Although he’s happy to be at Purdue now, Card acknowledges he never would have guessed back in high school that he’d now be in the Big Ten but playing against Ohio State.
“Probably not,” Card said with a laugh. “No, probably not.”
Even though he chose not to join Wilson at Ohio State, Card has continued to keep up with his former high school teammate’s success at Ohio State and now in the NFL with the New York Jets. Card says he’s “super happy” for Wilson, who was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, though he’s not surprised one bit by his former pass-catcher’s success.
“I think everyone at our high school who knew him and have been around him knew he was going to do this someday. And I don't think any of us are surprised at all,” Card said. “And so, like I said, I'm super happy for him and wish him nothing but the best.”
If Ohio State could add any of the aforementioned players to its 2023 roster, its choice would undoubtedly be Fashanu. A projected top-10 NFL draft pick entering his second year as Penn State’s starting left tackle, Fashanu is arguably the best player in the country at Ohio State’s biggest position of uncertainty.
While Ohio State was one of the first major programs to offer Fashanu as a recruit, the Buckeyes never became a major player in Fashanu’s recruitment. Penn State would ultimately be the only official visit for Fashanu, a three-star offensive tackle ranked as the 405th overall prospect in the 2020 class, who fell in love with the culture at Penn State and appreciated its relative proximity to his hometown of Waldorf, Maryland.
“It's just a family atmosphere there. They treated my parents and I, whenever we visited, like family. Coach Franklin and the staff, they're great to us,” Fashanu said of why he chose Penn State. “And something that was really nice was like once I got there, that treatment didn't stop. They didn't give us like the red carpet treatment when we got there; what we saw there was what it’s actually like there. So them having that family atmosphere combined with their emphasis on academics and just how close it was to home compared to other schools, it was a no-brainer.”
Last week’s Big Ten Media Days participants included three players who grew up in the state of Ohio: Ohio State tight end Cade Stover, Iowa tight end Luke Lachey and Michigan State left guard J.D. Duplain.
Lachey didn’t receive an offer from the Buckeyes even though his father, Jim Lachey, was an All-American offensive lineman for Ohio State and is now the color commentator for OSU football games on 97.1 The Fan. Before his return to Columbus last year for Iowa’s road game at Ohio Stadium, Lachey told reporters that he was disappointed not to receive an offer from Ohio State as a recruit but that he was happy he ended up a Hawkeye.
“It was definitely disappointing at the time, but I remember I was driving to the place we vacation at, Bald Head Island in North Carolina, and I was in the car with my dad and I got off the phone with (Ohio State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin) Wilson and then right after that I set up a visit to come to Iowa,” Lachey said last October. “And so it all kind of worked out in the end for me. I think that that might have been the best thing for me. I love where I am. And I don't think there's a place better for me.”
Duplain did receive an offer from Ohio State, but not until two months after he had already committed to Michigan State. While he grew up in Strongsville, Ohio, Duplain said he did not grow up as an Ohio State fan. As such, Duplain said it wasn’t a hard choice for him to stick with his commitment to the Spartans even when he received the offer from his home-state school.
“I never really was an Ohio State fan. They recruited me, they offered me and all that process. But it's just like any other offer,” Duplain said. “So I was committed to Michigan State and I stayed true to Michigan State, because this is where I wanted to be always. And, I mean, (Ohio State is) a great program. No shade, none at all. That’s just like, just because I'm from Ohio, I wasn't really raised an Ohio State fan.”
Even though he didn’t grow up rooting for the Buckeyes – Duplain says he grew up rooting for Michigan State, though he admits he wasn’t a diehard fan at the time – he’s enjoyed having the opportunity to play against his home-state school every year as a Spartan.
“It's awesome,” Duplain said. “Playing against those guys is always a great opportunity. They've had a lot of success recently. So you always want to play against the best. And that's, I mean, as of recently, they've been one of the better teams, so it's great playing against them. I know I got some family from there. And it's fun. It’s cool. It’s a good experience.”
Another Big Ten star who was recruited by Ohio State but never received an offer from the Buckeyes was Braelon Allen. His path to becoming one of college football’s best running backs wasn’t foreseen at the time by Ohio State, who looked at Allen as a safety prospect.
Ohio State wasn’t alone in recruiting Allen to play defense. The schools that did offer him – Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and even Wisconsin – did so with visions of Allen playing safety or linebacker. When Allen initially made the decision to reclassify into the 2021 class from the 2022 class and sign with Wisconsin, the initial expectation was that he would play on defense for the Badgers. At the time, the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin native just knew he wanted to play for the home team.
“I remember just kind of being a little disappointed, like I wasn't getting the attention and the offers that I felt I deserved,” Allen said of his recruitment as a defensive player in high school. “But yeah, I don't remember much of it, to be honest. I just kind of knew I wanted to go to Wisconsin.”
Allen wouldn’t have guessed back then that he’d already be a two-time second-team All-Big Ten running back, but he’s certainly happy about how it’s all worked out.
“If I had told you whenever that was, spring of 2021, that I would kind of be considered a top running back in the nation, I probably wouldn't believe it. It was so far, like I wasn't even thinking about playing running back,” Allen said. “So when (former Wisconsin coach Paul) Chryst called me, told me he wanted me to play running back, it was cool. But, you know, I wasn't expecting to be able to get to play right away and have the impact that I did my freshman year. So it's kind of just been a surreal experience and kind of being thrust into the brotherhood of RBU and all the running backs that have came through Wisconsin has been a blessing.”
Sheffield was among the wide receivers who received offers from Ohio State in the class of 2019, the cycle in which the Buckeyes ultimately signed Wilson and Jameson Williams. The Tennessee native included the Buckeyes in his top four with Arkansas, Notre Dame and Purdue, but ultimately committed to the Fighting Irish before flipping to the Boilermakers a few weeks later.
The three-star recruit said Ohio State pitched to him the possibility of playing multiple positions in its offense, but he ultimately decided Purdue was the best fit for him because of his connection with Purdue’s wide receivers coach at the time, JaMarcus Shephard, who is now at Washington.
“I remember they were preaching like an Air Raid offense and maybe putting me at a little bit of running back also, but I found my best fit at Purdue,” Sheffield said of being recruited by Ohio State.
Lewis, like Corum, originally signed with Michigan in the recruiting class of 2020. He spent only a semester in Ann Arbor, however, before moving back to his home state of New Jersey by transferring to Rutgers. While he did have an offer from the Buckeyes, he didn’t have any memories to share when asked about being recruited by Ohio State.
“I remember I had an offer from Ohio State and that's it,” Lewis said.
Williams, who represented Illinois at Big Ten Media Days for the second year in a row, had positive things to say about being recruited by the Buckeyes when asked by Eleven Warriors about his recruitment in 2022. But he ultimately chose to go to Illinois because he wanted to try playing quarterback at the collegiate level while Ohio State was only interested in Williams as a wide receiver, the position he ended up moving to in his third year at Illinois.
“I actually went to a camp at Ohio State. It was a dope experience,” Williams said last year. “It was great learning from Coach Hartline (who was a quality control coach for Ohio State at the time), getting to meet them guys. Getting recruited by Ohio State, getting offered by Ohio State, I mean, that was kind of a dream come true. I remember growing up watching them. Great team, great coaching staff, but getting recruited by them, it was honestly like a dream come true.
“I wanted to play quarterback. I wanted to give it a shot, however it went. It didn't go my way, but I at least wanted to be like, ‘Okay, I gave it a shot,’ didn't just give up.”
