Three thoughts on Buckeyes as offseason begins to wind down

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is in the final few weeks of summer. Training camp is less than a month away.

With that in mind, Lettermen Row is taking its scattered summer thoughts — and a question from the Lettermen Lounge message board — and giving some perspective on the past, present and future of the Buckeyes.

Let’s dive in with three summer thoughts:

1. Ohio State safeties week is on deck for Lettermen Row

Lettermen Row is barrelling through its position weeks this summer, when we take a week-long deep dive into each group on the Ohio State roster with basic break downs all the way down to the analytics and in-depth feature stories.

Next up beginning Monday: safeties. It’s a week I have been anxious about since we started position weeks in May. The intrigue at all three safety spots, the coaching staff in the secondary and how it all comes together makes it an exciting time for the safety room inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. But trying to make sense of how it will all fit together before training camp even starts is going to be a chore.

I am looking forward to it with Andy Backstrom and Tim May. And Matt Parker will have all the angles of the Buckeyes recruiting in the secondary covered. Buckle up. It’ll be a challenging week ahead, but a fun one to dive into.

2. Ohio State recruiting ‘what-ifs’…

I received this question on the Lettermen Lounge message board earlier this week, and it really had me thinking:

“Who are your top 5 “What could have been’s…” in terms of missed recruitments over the last decade for pushing Ohio State over the championship hump? I imagine Bijan Robinson, JC Latham and a safety like Jordan Battle would be up there…”

I love the idea of this question, and the answers provided with the question are great. Latham is slated to start for Alabama this fall and would be a sure-thing starter for the Buckeyes this season, as well. Bijan Robinson absolutely lived up to the five-star hype at Texas and would have dominated at Ohio State — and he would have especially helped the Buckeyes in the 2020 national title game against Alabama when Trey Sermon went down. And Battle was a solid starter for Alabama for a couple of seasons. All three of them could have helped the Buckeyes win a title.

But let me throw out two other names, both from the secondary.

The first is Clark Phillips III, who decommitted from the Buckeyes after Jeff Hafley’s departure following the 2019 season. Phillips went on to be a lockdown cornerback for Utah and is now in the NFL after just three seasons with the Utes. Ohio State, meanwhile, has still struggled at cornerback in those three seasons. With Phillips in the secondary last fall, the Buckeyes could have used him to get over Georgia and win a title.

The other is former Alabama star and current Steelers first-team All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was high on the Buckeyes during the recruiting process before ultimately picking the Crimson Tide and going on to become a can’t-miss first-round pick. Fitzpatrick was one of the stars of the Alabama secondary on his way to national title wins in 2015 and 2017. Even in a loaded Ohio State secondary during that three-year run, Fitzpatrick absolutely could have helped the Buckeyes win another title.

3. Class predictions…

I won’t completely pick an entire class for the Buckeyes in the class of 2024. I’ll leave that to resident recruiting expert Matt Parker.

READ from MATT PARKER: Predicting complete Ohio State 2024 recruiting class following early July commitments

But I will relay the message I posted on the Lettermen Lounge message board late Saturday night.

Here it was:

I think [five-star Mater Dei (California) offensive tackle] Brandon Baker will be in the class. Just a hunch. I believe [four-star Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco linebacker] Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa will be in the class based on some conversations with folks through that entire recruitment.

I think [five-star Buford (Georgia) safety] KJ Bolden is a Georgia lean but I will not be stunned at all if he picks Ohio State. [Five-star Springfield (Ohio) cornerback]Aaron Scott Jr. is in, imo. Think they need another cornerback but not sure who after Scott.

I still have an RPM in for Ohio State to land [three-star IMG Academy defensive tackle] Jayden Jackson. Think they’ll get [five-star Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.) EDGE] Dylan Stewart and should be in good position for [five-star Buford (Georgia) defensive lineman] Eddrick Houston.

Want more coverage like that? Head to the Lettermen Lounge. Let’s chat about it.

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