Dotting the 'Eyes: Justin Rogers decision coming, Jack Miller has huge opening week
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Justin Rogers and his upcoming decision
Over the course of the last 18 months, there may not be a single recruit in the country who has spent more time visiting Ohio State than Oak Park (Mich.) offensive guard Justin Rogers.
The recruitment of Rogers, the country’s top-ranked 2020 guard and a 5-star prospect, has been nothing if not interesting from the start. He’s never once hid his preference for the Buckeyes, especially on social media where he’s publicly cheered for Ohio State during games against Michigan.
In the last handful of months, though, things have changed considerably in his recruitment. The Buckeyes have in no way backed off, yet have found themselves slipping according to Rogers, who commented in July that Ohio State now was a co-leader in his recruitment with the Georgia Bulldogs. Rogers also said in that same interview with Dawgnation.com’s Jeff Sentell that he intended to commit on signing day in his senior season, 18 months more months from now.
That is no longer the case, and that is bad news for the Buckeyes.
https://twitter.com/AllAmerican52JR/status/1030657855345577985
Sources close to the Georgia side of things have indicated a decision is likely to come this week for Rogers. And when it does, the confidence coming from the Bulldogs significantly outweighs the confidence coming from the Buckeyes.
There have been multiple occasions where Rogers said a decision was coming and it didn’t. But that is not likely to be the case this time. What Ohio State fans will need to hope for if there’s a chance he ends up in the class is another couple of twists and turns in his recruitment.
Ohio State commit Jack Miller has huge season opener
Though you may not know it by following the Buckeyes, there actually is football being played around the country already and a handful of Ohio State verbals started their 2018 season in the last few days.
No future Ohio State player had as big of a season opener as 2020 quarterback verbal Jack Miller.
Miller led Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral High School to a program-defining win over Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton on Friday night, throwing a game-winning touchdown in overtime to knock off the Huskies 36-33. Miller finished with 24 completions for 453 yards and three scores.
Jack Miller to Marcus Norvell
for the Game Winner!!! pic.twitter.com/UvzKxlGFP7— NationalPrepStars (@NPrepStars) August 18, 2018
The contest was the first game back in Arizona’s 6A (big school) classification for Chaparral and a coming-out party for Miller after an up-and-down sophomore season. Miller wasn’t the only Ohio State commit who had a big night for the Firebirds, either. Running back Darvon Hubbard had a key performance, including a 57-yard touchdown run. You can check out his highlights from Friday night below.
Ohio State commit Jake Wray and his Marietta (Ga.) Blue Devils fell 51-41 to Rome (Ga.) despite leading 37-21 at halftime against the Wolves, Georgia’s two-time defending 5A champs. Clearly the Blue Devils offense was working for most of the night, led by Wray’s offensive line and 4-star quarterback prospect Harrison Bailey.
What else happened around the country with Buckeyes commits? Here are a few of the highlights.
- Athlete Steele Chambers and his Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity teammates put up a 35-13 win. Chambers scored four times. VIDEO
- Running back Sampson James led Avon (Ind.) to a 44-13 win. James had two touchdowns and 148 yards on just 15 carries. VIDEO
- Memphis (Tenn.) Whitehaven and Cormontae Hamilton racked up a 35-0 victory. Hamilton scored twice.
- Buford (Ga.) rocked Tucker 40-14. Harry Miller‘s offensive line helped the Wolves run for more than 200 yards, led by Derrian Brown, who has an Ohio State offer. VIDEO
Ohio State commit Craig Young and his remarkable story
Though his Wayne (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Generals failed to pick up a win on Friday night, Buckeyes commit Craig Young posted a sack and a tackle for loss in a 22-0 loss to Bishop Dwenger. That’s not a huge stat line by any measure, but for the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Young, any day spent playing football has to be considered a victory in light of everything he’s gone through in his young life.
Young, who committed to Ohio State in June, was shot three times during a drive-by shooting in Fort Wayne in October of 2016. He took bullets to his hand, his arm and his leg. Then 15-years old, he was inches away from being a tragic story rather than the hopeful one he’s been since.
Check out the whole story here from Adam Shear of Fort Wayne NBC. It’s an incredible tale.
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