2018 New Jersey small guard Luther Muhammad committed to the Ohio State basketball team and Chris Holtmann last week. He was one of four recruits to commit to the Buckeyes during the week that took their 2018 team from non-existent to one of the better teams in the country. Holtmann has had trouble getting players from Ohio  due to the late start he walked into. But his ability to pull players from around the country is something that should benefit the Buckeye program for years.

Luther Muhammad

Muhammad, 6’4” 185 lbs.,  comes from Jersey City New Jersey Hudson Catholic. He is  a considered a four star prospect and the 89th best player in the country.

Ohio State also picked up Jaedon LeDee and Duane Washington Jr. prior to getting the commitment from Muhammad.

Muhammad’s top five included Virginia, West Virginia, Xavier, Ohio State and St John’s. He visited OSU on September 9th for the Oklahoma game, the same weekend LeDee was in Columbus. Holtmann also made an in-home visit on the 18th of September.

Ohio State is looking to get warmed up for conference play against UNLV (the Rebels) this Saturday in The HorseShoe, noon on the BigTen Network.

The first three games of the season for the Buckeyes provided more stressful than pre-season play is supposed to. Indiana gave them trouble on the road with some excellent passing, a quick pace, and big talented receivers. Oklahoma came into Columbus and outplayed them in a number of ways. And then Army, with its unique running style, provided a challenge in preparation.

UNLV

The Rebels or the Mountain West (1-1) enter the game a 40 point underdog and haven’t shown much to this point this year. Plus they play a more traditional style of offense.

UNLV did win the second game of the season against Idaho 44-16 but looked really bad against Howard, when they were considered a 45 point favorite. UNLV comes into the game with some talent on offense in wide receiver Devonte Boyd, quarterback Armani Rogers, and tailback Lexington Thomas.

During the weekly press conference with head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, reporters wanted to know what was wrong with the Buckeye offense. Meyer stated that the team will continue to stay balanced between passing and running and does not plan to feature the backs more on Saturday. He has mentioned to the team how the 2014 squad lost their second game to Virginia Tech but was able to rebound and win out.

Kevin Wilson

Wilson is the primary play caller this year and Meyer feels that only one quarter, the 2nd against Indiana, was up to the level the team needs to be at.

A lot was expected when Wilson replaced Tim Beck and Ed Warinner this year at the head of the offense. Ryan Day, a Chip Kelley student, was also added during the off-season, coming on board from the NFL for additional offensive game planning.

But the blame from fans hasn’t ended with the coach, the quarterback and the wide receivers have also heard it from the fans who expect them to be making more big plays on the field.

Wilson feels that he can make quarterback JT Barrett look better by putting him into position to make plays. He also felt play calling was the issue with the receivers and not getting separation as some have felt.

The 2018 recruiting class for Ohio State is stacking up to be another top 2 class for Urban Meyer and the Buckeye coaches. With the addition of Junior College standout, tackle Antwuan Jackson, they now rank first nationally according to many ranking services.

The loss to Oklahoma has decreased OSU’s ability to get big name recruits as they grabbed Jackson on Tuesday, three days after the home loss.

Long Road to Ohio State

Jackson was recruiting by the Buckeyes in 2016 but selected Auburn. He left Auburn after one year as a redshirt and played for Blinn College last season. He re-entered recruitment as one of the best in the country at this position and Ohio State offered him a scholarship again. He committed two weeks after receiving the offer.

Already into the season at Blinn, he has 15 tackles and 3 sacks in 2 games.

Blinn College was also the school of current Ohio State corner Kendall Sheffield. So there is some familiarity between the coaches at the colleges.

Jackson joins Taron Vincent from Bradenton Florida as two defensive tackles in the class of 2018.

Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow provided a strong test for the Ohio State secondary last Thursday night that should provide some good experience for the young squad going into this weekend’s game against the Oklahoma Sooners. Along with a set of big receivers, Lagow completed 420 yards in the air on 68 tosses.

Baker Mayfield

Now Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, Heisman candidate, comes to Columbus with similar ability plus added running ability. Lagow threw the ball quickly before Ohio State’s stellar defensive line could get to him. Mayfield likes to move outside of the pocket and make passes while he’s on the run to receivers that open up down the field. Mayfield also has a decent arm with the ability to roll out to one side and make throws across the field to the opposite side.

Last week Oklahoma played their opener against Texas-El Paso. Mayfield played the first half of the game, completing 19 passes on 20 attempts in a 56-7 win. So his accuracy throwing the ball is not a question.

A few changes in the depth chart for the Buckeyes this week as they go up against #7 ranked Oklahoma at home. Again Ohio State will be featured on ESPN College GameDay. Mike Weber, 2016 Big 10 Freshman of the Year, is back and the plan is to split carries for the running backs between Weber and break-out freshman JK Dobbins (181 yards against Indiana). Hopefully Antonio Williams will also get some carries after a great game against Indiana.

A couple of line backers have been added to the third string including sophomore Justin Hilliard and freshman Pete Werner.

Kickoff is at 7:30pm on ABC.

Having a in-conference game start the season is an odd happening but with the game being played during prime-time on ESPN and Indiana’s Memorial Stadium being within driving distance from Columbus Ohio, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the stadium has sold-out for the season opener tonight. Ohio State enters the game ranked 2nd in the country. Capacity for the stadium is a little less than half of what can be held at Ohio State’s stadium, 52,929.

The last time Indiana sold out their stadium was October 3rd, 2015 against Ohio State once again. The Buckeyes won that game 34-27.

Ohio State comes into the 2017 season with a new offensive coordinator, Kevin Wilson, who was released from Indiana program last year.

Huber Heights Wayne Wide Receiver L’Christian (Blue) Smith committed to Ohio State this past week over offers from many top programs including Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan, Alabama, and Tennessee. Cincinnati and Kentucky were the other two finalist but Ohio State had always been his dream school. He also has a teammate, Alex Reigelsperger, headed to the Wildcats, who offered him first so the decision was difficult. UK has brought in 36 recruits from Ohio after picking up a couple of coaches from the Youngstown area five years ago.

The Announcement

Smith made the announcement prior to a televised game on ESPN against Gibsonia Pennsylvania Pine-Richland. (Wayne lost 41-0)

The Camp That Set Everything in Motion

Early in the Spring, Smith didn’t feel the Buckeyes were making him a priority and felt they would play him at Tight End if he did enroll in the program. But Smith was able to talk with Urban Meyer about his plans and became confortable in what the Buckeyes had to offer the in-state prospect.

He became comfortable with the program and the coaching staff during a camp visit in June. Depending on his size during his career at Ohio State he might play wide receiver but he might also play the h-back position. He is currently 6’6” and 205 lbs., a big target. No plans to move him to Tight End when he gets to Columbus.

OFFENSE

Quarter Back: 16 J.T Barrett/7 Dwayne Haskins/18 Tate Martell

Running Back: 25 Mike Weber or 2 J.K. Dobbins/30 Demario McCall or 26 Antonio Williams

Wide Receiver: 11 Austin Mack or 9 Ben Victor

Wide Receiver: 1 Johnnie Dixon or 83 Terry McLaurin

H-back: 21 Parris Campbell or 14 K.J. Hill/80 C.J. Saunders

Tight End: 85 Marcus Baugh/13 Rashod Berry or 89 Luke Farrell

Left Tackle: 74 Jamarco Jones/58 Joshua Alabai

Left Guard: 73 Michael Jordan/69 Matthew Burrell

Center: 54 Billy Price/79 Brady Taylor

Right Guard: 76 Branden Bowen/66 Malcolm Pridgeon or 52 Wyatt Davis

Right Tackle: 59 Isaiah Prince/75 Thayer Munford

DEFENSE

Defensive End: 59 Tyquan Lewis or 97 Nick Bosa/18 Jonathan Cooper

Defensive Tackle: 93 Tracy Sprinkle/67 Robert Landers/53 Davon Hamilton

Defensive Tackle: 86 Dre'Mont Jones/9 Jashon Cornell/92 Haskell Garrett/55 Malik Barrow

Defensive End: 6 Sam Hubbard or 11 Jalyn Holmes/2 Chase Young

Line Backer: 33 Dante Booker/39 Malik Harrison

Middle Line Backer: 35 Chris Worley/32 Tuf Borland or 5 Baron Browning

Line Backer: 17 Jerome Baker/16 Keandre Jones

Corner Back: 12 Denzel Ward/1 Jeffrey Okudah or 24 Shaun Wade

Safety: 7 Damon Webb/14 Isaiah Pryor

Safety: 4 Jordan Fuller or 34 Erick Smith

Corner Back : 3 Damon Arnette or 8 Kendall Sheffield

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker: 96 Sean Nuernberger/95 Blake Haubell

Kickoff: 95 Blake Haubeil/96 Sean Nuernberger

Punter: 91 Drue Chrisman/96 Sean Nuernberger

Long Snapper: 49 Liam McCullough

Holder: 91 Drue Chrisman/90 C.J. Saunders

Punt return: 14 K.J. Hill and 30 Demario McCall/21 Parris Campbell

Kickoff return: 30 Parris Campbell and 14 K.J. Hill

Joe Burrow, backup quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, will miss the beginning of the 2017 season due to a broken bone in his throwing hand. The Athens Ohio redshirted sophomore broke the bone in practice performing a fake handoff early this week and had surgery to set the bone yesterday. He will miss the first games of the season, his return date is uncertain.

Burrow played in 5 games last year for the Buckeyes, competing 22 passes for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for one score. Burrow appeared to be the player that could come into a game if JT Barrett went down with an injury and manage the remainder due to his experience. Now the Buckeyes will need to look to Dwayne Haskins for all snaps without Barrett.

2014 Season

The quarterbacks are always aware that their time might come in the next game depending on injury. With 2014 as a reminder of this when Braxton Miller, JT Barrett, and Cardale Jones all got time as the first string quarterback on the way to the National Championship. Miller, going out in the preseason with a shoulder issue. JT Barrett, breaking an ankle against Michigan. And Jones winning the National Title after three post-season starts.