Top 2022 prospect might lean toward OSU
Late Wednesday night, a recruiting development jolted the state of Texas and sent a shockwave into Ohio.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers, the toprated player in the 2022 recruiting class by 247Sports.com, announced he was decommitting from his home-state Texas Longhorns. Ewers said on Twitter that amid the pandemic he had “come to realize I didn’t explore all options as thoroughly as I would have liked. Therefore, I’ve decided to de-commit and reassess the situation before making such an important decision on my future.”
Quickly, 247Sports changed the crystal ball prediction by its seven experts to Ewers choosing Ohio State.
“I think Ohio State is the favorite because of the track record of quarterback development in addition to a strong relationship with Ryan Day and (quarterbacks coach) Corey Dennis,” 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong told The Dispatch. “I think he finds them to be guys he can have fun playing for while also maximizing his potential.”
The coaches battling for Ewers adds to the storyline. Texas’ head coach is former Buckeyes offensive coordinator Tom Herman. Ewers’ lead recruiter is Mike Yurcich, who was Ohio State’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator last year before taking a hefty salary increase to join Herman.
Day made his name as a quarterbacks coach and remains highly involved with that position. His background has enabled the Buckeyes to stockpile blue-chip quarterbacks. Jack Miller and C.J. Stroud are freshmen this season. Five-star quarterback Kyle Mccord from Philadelphia is committed for the 2021 class.
College coaches are not permitted by NCAA rules to speak about specific recruits. But asked Thursday how important it is to sign an elite quarterback in every class, Day replied, “That’s where it starts. At Ohio State, if you come to be the quarterback, you’re the shortstop of the New York Yankees. That’s what I was told when I got here, and I totally agree with it.
“If you have a quarterback, you’ve got a chance. If you don’t, you don’t. I’m going to try to go recruit the best players and develop that room into being the best in the country.”
Ewers is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior at Southlake Carroll High School. In three games this season, he has thrown for 937 yards and 11 touchdowns with two interceptions and has completed just under 70 percent of his passes.
COVID’S roster ramifications
The COVID-19 testing protocol for Saturday’s game against Penn State has made formulating the 74-player travel roster a challenge, Day said.
Because the game is at night, Ohio State’s final pregame coronavirus testing will be done Saturday morning instead of Friday. Day described that as “kind of terrifying” because there would be no time to get a replacement player to State College.
“We have to make hard decisions on and figure out how to have depth,” Day said.
Day upbeat about Olave
Ohio State’s availability report won’t be released until Friday, but Day had encouraging words about wide receiver Chris Olave, who was knocked out of Saturday’s opener against Nebraska.
“We put up the availability report, so we don’t get too far into that,” Day said. “But he’s had a good strong week of practice.”
Olave had six catches for 104 yards against the Cornhuskers.
brabinowitz@dispatch.com