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OSU still landing recruits

Oklahoma running back Trey Sermon (4) runs the ball as Alabama linebacker Eyabi Anoma (9) attempt to tackle, during the first half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

There’s a cliche in college athletics, specifically football, that recruiting never stops.

That remains true even during a world-wide coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the shutdown of sports and college campuses across the country.

Despite the shutdown, and no access to the campus, Ohio State continues to recruit and land commitments from members of the Class of 2021 at an alarming rate.

The Buckeyes currently have the top-ranked recruiting class with 15 players planning to sign a National Letter of Intent as early as December. They’ve actually added five commitments since the coronavirus outbreak led to OSU shutting down for basically until the fall.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement around the program with what we’re building on both sides of the ball,” Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day said.

The excitement is two-fold.

Obviously, things like three straight Big Ten championships, an appearance in the College Football Playoff are some of those. On top of that, prep athletes are seeing the number of Buckeyes who are becoming early round NFL Draft picks.

Recruiting in today’s landscape is still challenging, however. And that certainly runs deeper than simply having to sell a 16-18 year old player on things.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made visiting campuses nearly impossible. That mostly affects the Class of 2021, which could sign its National Letter of Intents as soon as December, because official visits are basically off.

Assuming that life eventually returns to normal, in this country, the Class of 2022 and beyond will be able to make their visits in time.

However, the early signing period in football, which is just in its third year, has certainly sped up the entire process for everyone.

The fact that everything is sped up and prospects are being identified earlier in the process and getting onto campuses earlier is what Day believes has to led to their recent influx of five commitments since March 15.

“I thought we did a great job in a tough spot this winter,” Day said. “We lost a week in December because of the (Big Ten) championship game and where the bowl game fell, we only had really one week and typically, in January, you have more than just two weeks on the road. I thought we maximized our time really well.”

Many schools are giving tours of their campuses virtually, while communicating with the players via the phone and even Facetime or the like. Ohio State’s class got a big boost late last week when TreVeyon Henderson from Hopewell, Va. committed.

His pledge turned some heads because he’s never set foot on campus. He was scheduled to visit this spring. With that on hold, Henderson visited, but he did so virtually. “We’re doing a lot of things like that because we can’t have somebody on campus,” Day said. “It’s hard for us to organize all of that in a short period of time, but we’re trying to do the best we can. Most of the guys we’re recruiting have been on campus, but whatever questions they might have, we’re doing our best to answer them.”

Like many coaches, Day would like to see some revisions come from the NCAA in terms of the recruiting calendar and policies because of the effects from the COVID-19.

“I think there needs to be some reform in different areas,” Day said. “I don’t think it needs to be drastic. We’ve lost a lot of time. February’s dead (time), March is now dead, April, up until the 15th right now is dead. So, I think if we can get visits up and going in May and June, then I think we’re OK.”

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