Kyle Borland spent his college days in Madison before ultimately going on to play for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams.
It seemed like all but a foregone conclusion that his son, Tuf Borland, was destined for a similar path. Growing up two hours from Madison and rooting for his father's Alma Mater, when the Bolingbrook, Illinois, star began garnering attention from Division I coaches, everyone knew where he was going to end up.
Luke Fickell and former co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash had other plans for the four-star linebacker.
Between November of 2014 and April of the following year, Borland made three visits to Columbus. It really was a prime example of "watch what they do, not what they say," but still, no one was really talking about the Buckeyes and their chances even though there had been some rumblings that the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder was sitting atop the Buckeyes' linebacker board.
Strange things happen all the time in recruiting. Very rarely, however, does something happen when seemingly everyone is caught off-guard. On the evening hours of April 17th of 2015, everyone was caught off-guard.
Extremely excited to say I've decided to attend The Ohio State University!!
— Tuf Borland (@Tuf_Borland) April 17, 2015
The Badger legacy undoubtedly had a tough decision to make, but in speaking with Eleven Warriors, he discussed the recruiting process and the support he received from his parents despite the family ties to the state of Wisconsin. His uncle, Brian, was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin-Whitewater before assuming the same position at the University of Buffalo in 2015.
Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Northwestern were mentioned early and often as three of the teams standing out, but with Fickell and Ash leading the charge fresh off a national title run, the Buckeyes were able to pull away.
Borland flanked by fellow January enrollees – including walk-ons. Via.
This past January, Borland was one of seven early enrollees to arrive in Columbus. Two other linebackers – Maryland's Keandre Jones and Columbus' Malik Harrison (Walnut Ridge) – would arrive in June.
Linebacker is a fairly loaded position group for the Buckeyes, so it's no surprise that Borland is on track for a redshirt season. In high school, he was utilized as a middle linebacker as well as a pass-rushing outside backer. With the expected departure of Raekwon McMillan, he could find himself battling it out for a spot on the depth chart as soon as 2017.
He has noted that he models his game after a Buckeye great who also had some major ties to different Big Ten school—Minnesota native James Laurinaitis. If his play ends up being anything similar to that of Laurinaitis, then Ohio State fans have a lot to look forward to.
For current Buckeye tailback Antonio Williams, it was a bit more of a tumultuous recruitment. The four-star tailback committed to North Carolina – his first offer – during the fall of his sophomore year. During the camp circuit and after taking home Sophomore All-American Honors was when his recruitment really took off as the 5-foot-11, 220-pounder earned offers from schools like Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, and Wisconsin.
Williams, a native of New London, North Carolina (New Stanly) backed off of his Tar Heel pledge during the summer of 2014 and quickly identified the Badgers as his new leader. Fast forward to December and one of the fastest-rising backs in America was officially a part of Gary Andersen and Wisconsin's 2016 recruiting class.
A week later, Andersen announced that he was off to Corvallis to take over the Oregon State program. Williams, however, remained firm in his commitment to the Badgers and new head coach Paul Chryst.
The Buckeyes were in an interesting position at running back and at one point had three of the nation's best in the 2016 class. Kareem Walker committed during the National Championship game against Oregon, George Hill was the first commit for the class, and Demario McCall made things official in March of 2015. Hill opened things back up in October and the writing was on the wall that Walker too was on his way out.
Antonio Williams wasn't a new name to the Ohio State staff. The Buckeyes had extended an offer earlier in the process, but the two parties seemed to reconnect in October of last year Things moved at a rapid pace thanks in part to the familiarity with Tony Alford from his days at Notre Dame.
Williams, who now sports the No. 26, has seen the field as a true freshman.
Williams decommited from the Badgers in mid-October and less than five days later, while on a visit to Columbus, announced his commitment to Ohio State. He ended up rated the No. 7 tailback in the Class of 2016.
He arrived in Columbus in January and battled with Mike Weber and Bri'onte Dunn throughout the spring. Over the summer, the dismissal of Dunn made Williams' progress that much more important.
While Mike Weber and Curtius Samuel have carried the load so far, the true freshman did the see the field two weeks ago against Rutgers. Williams accounted for 28 yards on six carries in his first action as a Buckeye.
Leading up to this week's showdown in Madison, some interesting comments have come from the Wisconsin side. Badgers' running back coach John Settle told 247Sports that Wisconsin didn't want Williams. Part of the reason for this? While visiting Madison as a commit, Williams tweeted out that the Badgers would never be elite until quarterback Joel Stave is gone.
Settle stated that Wisconsin elected not to chase one of the nation's top tailbacks – a player they had been after for years and fought to keep after the coaching change – after catching wind of the tweet.
The Badgers would go on to sign one running back in 2016 — the nation's No. 51 player at the position.
Meanwhile, Williams appears to be enjoying his time in Columbus.
I'm doing exactly what I want to do, and I'm having fun doing it. @ The Ohio State University https://t.co/cKkfeuVDaQ
— Antonio Williams (@A_B_Williams26) October 12, 2016
