The future stars of Ohio State football officially begin their college careers, as standouts from all over the country put pens to their National Letters of Intent.
Matthew Baldwin didn't earn an Ohio State offer until early November, but it didn't take long for the Texas native to jump at the opportunity to be a Buckeye.
Just 18 days after Ohio State gave Baldwin a scholarship offer, the three-star quarterback decommitted from Colorado State and announced his intentions to become a Buckeye on Dec. 7.
Committed! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/SkvkGAj5pN
— Matthew Baldwin (@matthewb_12) December 8, 2017
Baldwin took an unofficial visit to Columbus for Ohio State's 48-3 shellacking of Michigan State on Nov. 11 and saw his stock grow tremendously during his senior season, earning late offers from the likes of Minnesota, North Carolina and Iowa following Ohio State's offer.
The Baldwin File
- Class: 2018
- Size: 6-foot-3, 195 pounds
- Pos: QB
- School: Lake Travis (Austin, TX)
- Composite Rating: ★★★
- Composite Rank: 17 (PRO)
Baldwin becomes the latest Texas quarterback product to come to Ohio State since J.T. Barrett, who committed to the Buckeyes in the 2013 cycle. Barrett of course, followed Kenny Guiton, another Texas import who played for both Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer from 2009-13.
While he is categorized by 247sports as a pro-style quarterback, Baldwin's high school coach told Eleven Warriors recruiting analyst Andrew Lind that Baldwin is a capable runner in addition to being a stellar passer.
“He throws the football as well as anybody in the country. Big, strong kid. He's had a phenomenal year in his first year as a starter,” Lake Travis head coach Hank Carter told Eleven Warriors. “He is a well-developed passer who can run the football. He's not going to run Quarterback Power 20 times a game. He's not a running back at quarterback. We call a lot of run plays for him, but he's also a Division I athlete. He's a pretty good option for us whether he's throwing or running the football."
Carter also told Eleven Warriors that Baldwin's game reminds him of current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
“[Baldwin] has a similar stature, and kind of reminds me of the way [Ryan] is built,” Carter said. “His game kind of reminds me of Matt Ryan's, because [Atlanta] uses him in a lot of bootlegs. Our offensive coordinator, Mike Wall, uses Matt a lot on the run and he throws the ball great on the run.”
Baldwin's senior season still isn't over, as the gunslinger has his team in the Texas state title game after leading Lake Travis to a 28-14 win in the state semis on Dec. 16.
The win didn't come without some conflict however, as Baldwin went down with what Lind reported as a sprained meniscus.
Ohio State three-star quarterback commit Matthew Baldwin appears to have suffered a sprained meniscus in tonight's Lake Travis win, his mom told @11W. MRI scheduled for the morning, but he was walking around on his own following the game. Should be fine for state championship.
— Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind) December 17, 2017
Baldwin's team is set to take on Allen High School in the state title game, a team that features Ohio State's 2019 quarterback target Grant Tisdale.
