Can Buckeyes get back in mix for Bijan Robinson, Jaylan Knighton?
Have a question about Ohio State recruiting? This is the place for you, five days a week. Submit your questions on Twitter or on the Lettermen Row forums. Check-in daily to see what’s on the mind of Buckeyes fans all over the country. Tuesday’s question asks about the possibilities of Bijan Robinson or Jaylan Knighton finding their way back into the Ohio State recruiting class.
Ohio State Recruiting Question of the Day
With FSU and Texas taking a step back and seeing a dominate run game by osu this season, any chance of bringing Robinson or Knighton back into the mix or have those ships sailed into the night?
— Drew Sweezo (@darkknight1093) October 27, 2019
It wasn’t long after another disappointing loss on Saturday night by Texas that rumors began to swirl about the strength of Bijan Robinson’s commitment to Tom Herman’s program.
It’s never wise to put too much stock in the ramblings of frantic fanatics on message boards, to be clear. However, there will be nuggets of wisdom and truth gently tossed in alongside the rubbish found within them — occasionally. Because of that, those places shouldn’t be completely dismissed as a potential starting point for rumor-chasing.
So, as rumors of Robinson’s discontent were percolating, the least I could do was kick a few tires and see what came up. Lo and behold, according to one source there has been some reaching out from the Robinson camp to a program other than Texas.
Tony Alford remains on the hunt for a 2020 tailback to join the Buckeyes recruiting class. (Birm/Lettermen Row)
But it’s not Ohio State, at least not according to another source who would know for a certain if it were the Buckeyes. Instead, it’s USC which has been hearing a bit from Robinson, according to the source. The Trojans made a real push for his commitment in the summer, and at one time prior to his announcement for the Longhorns, I personally believed it was going to be USC that landed him and not Texas.
Either way, there’s been no contact between Robinson and Ohio State, and I don’t think that is going to change. There are a lot of things that can change during a player’s recruitment. But if distance and accessibility was a determining factor when a decision was made, that doesn’t change.
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The last time I answered this particular recruiting question of the day was just about a month ago. And at that time I wrote that, yes, Florida State commitment Jaylan Knighton had been reaching out once again to running backs coach Tony Alford.
That was true.
However, there’s been no additional headway made between Knighton and Ohio State to this point, and the possibility of a flip from the 4-star Deerfield Beach (Fla.) standout seems low.
For Ohio State right now, the best bets at running back are committed elsewhere. But it is not the pair that spurned the Buckeyes in the summer. When the December signing period rolls around, the odds are pretty good that either Miyan Williams (committed to Iowa State) or Jahmyr Gibbs (Georgia Tech) will be the name that’s signed on the dotted line.
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