As of right now, he is currently at Ohio State's practice facility, walking from Meeting Room 4B to 4C, along with Urban Meyer, Mark Pantoni, his father, Raekwon McMillian, Sam Hubbard, Vince Vaughn, Damien Harris and Tyrion Lannister.
OK, so that might be just a bit of hyperbole -- clearly Tyrion Lannister is in a cargo box bound for Pentos and is accompanied by Lord Varys, duh! -- but the fact that Ohio State's fan base has grasped the importance of landing Ohio's top player to the point of Twitter stalking in extremis should underline the magnitude of Ohio State landing Hilliard's commitment a week from now when he is set to announce his final decision.
Make no bones about it, the choice for Hilliard -- who has now progressed down the hallway to meeting room 5D, where the defensive backs meet -- has come down to Ohio State and Notre Dame. He spent this past Friday night in South Bend as the Irish staff did everything in their power to claim a commitment while their fanbase spent an insufferable 24 hours trying to will him to Notre Dame with prayer and bogus moral equivocating.
As if God himself doesn't have better things to do than try to steer a five star linebacker to Notre Dame. Have any Irish fans been reading the headlines out of Iraq or Nigeria lately? Clearly instead of protecting his children in those places from rape and murder, the lord should be focusing on Notre Dame football!
Not to bash on religious folks, considering I'm one myself, but there's nothing that drives me battier than hearing people praying for their chosen sports team to win a competition of some sort. Yeah, that's EXACTLY what I'm going to invoke The Almighty for: Sports success instead of health and happiness for my family and all people.
Good job, Notre Dame.
Yet despite the proverbial 'full court press' from the Notre Dame staff and fan base, Hilliard arrived in Columbus last night to make a long-awaited overnight visit with 2014 linebacker stud and erstwhile savior of our 2014 defense Raekwon McMillian.
This visit may ultimately end up being the most important trip for the entire Ohio State 2015 recruiting cycle. After all, Hilliard -- who is now checking out the weight room from an overhead balcony as Mickey Marotti screams loudly at punter Cameron Johnston to bang out his 36th bench rep at 225 pounds -- is widely considered the ringleader of an elite group of recruits that includes fellow five stars Damien Harris and Jashon Cornell and could massively snowball Ohio State's recruiting momentum.
Fun fact: Neither Harris nor Cornell have ever mentioned Notre Dame as much of a possibility, in case you're curious for some circumstantial evidence for Hilliard's leanings.
And unlike new TSUN commit Chris Clark -- whose Michigan shilling on Twitter after his commitment this week reminded me of the Western Massachusetts Historical Society Club ineffectively trying to sell my high school classmates on how much fun it could be to spend their weekends at a grain mill -- Hilliard has some sway with those guys.
Simply put, I'm very much on board with the group expecting this Hilliard visit to result in a Buckeye pledge in the near future. One that has coattails and bumps our class from 'good under the radar guys' to 'Loading with obvious and no-so-obvious talent' in speedy fashion.
So Justin Hilliard -- who is now admiring the multiple outdoor Fieldturf surfaces at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center -- making his decision for Ohio State is only enormously important, wouldn't you say?
A HISTORY OF ELITE EARLY EVALUATION
Speaking of under the radar prospects, Ohio State added to their 2015 recruiting haul this week when three star cornerback prospect Denzel Ward showed up at camp and tore the house down in front of Urban Meyer and company.
Ward, whose sole knock is his weight, is a player that has top notch potential in a couple of years. Barton Simmons of 247Sports' national group actually jumped on the Front Row this week to make a very solid comparison to Bradley Roby and fellow 2014 NFL 1st round pick Justin Gilbert out of Oklahoma State.
Barton's contention -- one that I agree with 100% -- is that Roby and Gilbert were three star prospects who were underrated based on their physical stature as juniors in high school. At this point in his recruitment, Roby was a Vanderbilt commitment when Vandy was still a laughingstock, yet as people saw more of him the higher he went in prestige amongst recruiting circles.
Roby ultimately picked Ohio State over Georgia and we all know how successful he was at Ohio State, even with an uneven final campaign.
Denzel Ward is a perfect example of recruiting a player based upon what he can become at age 20, not evaluating the player that he currently is at age 17. Frankly, who cares how a 17 year old looks physically right now? Give a twig like Ward to Mickey Marotti, put a redshirt on him and by the time he is 19 or 20 he's going to be massively changed physically.
Heck, if you wonder how important redshirt can be, take a look at not only Brad Roby but Gareon Conley last year. Roby exploded onto the scene as a redshirt frosh and Conley has the inside track to start this season. Both were 'under the radar' heading into their senior seasons, just like Denzel Ward.
I'll throw one more disclaimer out there and if you're the kind of person who only pays attention to star rankings, you're not going to like it. Simply put, recruiting is ALWAYS an inexact science, as most recruits are ranked on film and offer list much more than they are on in-person evaluation, which is truly the best way to evaluate any prospects.
Well, the coaches saw Ward perform in person and offered him immediately. In the past, players who have received similar validation from the coaching staff are guys like Darron Lee -- a 'surprise' starter at linebacker this season who should not have been a surprise -- who simply forces Urban's hand to make them Buckeyes.
It also fits a clearly established Meyer trend of offering talented three-star recruits based on potential -- remember how Ezekiel Elliot blew up after committing to Ohio State? -- and seeing those recruits rise in meteoric fashion among recruiting analysts.
Denzel Ward is a very exciting commitment based on the great potential that the staff saw in him. Here's to yet another Ohio kid getting to live his dream out in Scarlet and Gray.
WAITING 'TIL NEXT YEAR, PART II
Last week I talked up the Ohio Class of 2016 as a once in a decade kind of class. Many years Ohio has great depth. Other years there is some serious top end talent. But the Class of 2016 is the rare group that has great depth among the top end talent.
And the Buckeyes have already begun to lay their claim to that deep pool of game changing talent. Last weekend, it was tailback George Hill -- the state's #3 player in 2016 according to the 247 Composite -- who started things off and this week we were blessed with the addition of offensive lineman Tyler Gerald, who is the 9th rated player in Ohio by the 247 Composite and the 143rd overall rated player.
Yeah, Ohio has ten top 150 prospects in 2016. That's amazingly good, isn't it?
Gerald's commitment was no surprise, as the Portsmouth native -- not exactly a Buckeye recruiting hotbed, albeit a Buckeye fan stronghold -- had long been considered a near-lock, yet it was welcome nonetheless. Adding a four-star in-state offensive lineman is certainly nothing to turn one's nose up at.
Yet here we stand, a full 20 months before these 2016 stars sign their letters of intent, and the potential for Ohio State's class of 2016 seems amazingly high, thanks to the cavalcade of elite in-state stars. It isn't just the fact that the country's 45th and 143rd ranked players are already in the fold, nor is it the pleasing addition of scholarship offers to 2016 standouts Prince Sammons and Luke Farrell in the past seven days at camp.
Not to mention both Sammons and Farrell declared Ohio State to be their favorite in Bucknuts interviews this week as well.
The truth is that Ohio State can stay at home and use the enormous advantage with local talent that built this program into a national powerhouse and sustained it as such over the last century to produce an elite 2016 class all on their own. Throw in Urban Meyer's ability to land elite talent from around the country and the 2016 class is shaping up to be the terrifying hybrid combination of the best of both Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer when it comes to recruiting.
Bold Prediction: Don't be surprised when Ohio State's 2016 class ends up being the No. 1 overall ranked class in the country. Yeah, things look THAT good right now. If things develop as expected over the next 20 months, 2016 will truly be a special year in Ohio and for Ohio State.
BAX'S B1G BREAKDOWN: IOWA
With football season slowly approaching, I've been spending the past couple of weeks previewing each Big Ten team. Thus far, I've started out in the Big Ten West -- thank you, reasonable division layouts and names! -- with previews for Nebraska and Northwestern.
This week, I'm going to look at another contender in the wide open West, as Iowa will look to continue building off of a successful 2013 that saw them conclude with a tight Outback Bowl defeat to LSU, dropping their final record to a respectable 8-5.
The Hawkeyes are going to be a different team to watch this season. For years, they've been known for tough-as-nails defenses and a strange curse of tailback injuries. But 2014, they're going to be replacing most of their top tacklers while bringing back the vast majority of a productive offense, including leading rusher Mark Weisman.
Simply put, Iowa usually plays tough defense but this year they might not be significantly above average with all of the talent they're replacing at linebacker. On the flip side, not only is Weisman returning healthy but virtually every other player who carried the football in 2013 will be back as well.
Not only will Iowa benefit from a veteran offense, but their schedule is one of the Big Ten's most friendly.
• Northern Iowa
• Ball State
• Iowa State
• At Pittsburgh
• At Purdue
• Indiana
• At Maryland
• Northwestern
• At Minnesota
• At Illinois
• Wisconsin
• Nebraska
So they start off with three home games and of their five games prior to their first off week, the three BCS teams in question are all the definition of mediocre. Their draw from the East is a home game against Indiana and a recruiting-friendly trip to Maryland and they have two off weeks prior to a tough five week closing stretch starting with Northwestern!
All things considered, Iowa could easily be 7-0 going into the game with the Purple Kitties, who they earned a rare win against last season in Evanston. They don't have to play Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State or even Our Rivals from the East. Their biggest challengers in the West all come to Kinnick Stadium and their most difficult Big Ten road game is Minnesota, who oozed one hit wonder after last year's crazy season.
I don't necessarily think that Iowa is the second most talented team in the Big Ten West, but their schedule certainly sets up for them to have the second best record of all the B1G West schools. While their fate will clearly be decided with two final home games against the division's biggest 'name' schools, I won't be shocked to see this Iowa team push hard at the 10 win mark.
Iowa looks like they're for real in 2014. Keep a good eye on them as a serious contender to win the division.
JUSTIN HILLIARD UPDATE
He is currently playing Titanfall on XBOX One with Raekwon McMillian, Sam Hubbard and Kyle Berger while Urban Meyer, Luke Fickell and Vince Vaughn cheer loudly. Kwon is doing leg presses while gaming, just because it seemed like fun.
For further updates, follow them all on Twitter.
AN AMERICAN SUNDAY
Something special could happen tonight at 6 PM when the United State of America plays Portugal in the World Cup. In a tournament where defending champion Spain and soccer homeland England have already been eliminated, the #USMNT is on the verge of earning a second round berth from the Group of Death.
All that stands in the way is an injury-depleted Portugal team which will be missing at least four starters. Throw in that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is very banged up and the USA could not have a more golden opportunity to earn a second-round berth. In fact, if our guys win the game, we clinch the berth and take away all the fear of a third group stage game against superpower Germany with everything on the line.
Now, the USA has obviously made it past the group stage before. The 1994 tournament at home saw us advance on home turf before losing to eventual champion Brazil in a hard fought game. In 2002, I remember watching us kick off at 2:30 in the morning in South Korea to knock off Portugal, en route to a quarterfinal defeat against Germany, our deepest tournament run since losing in the semifinals in 1930.
So in short, if the USA wins Sunday night, it will only be the fourth time in history that our national soccer team has made it past the group stage in the World Cup. While soccer isn't traditionally our nation's favorite sport, I know for a fact that millions of Americans will be tuned in while wearing their patriotic garb tomorrow night to cheer on our country.
And if we do win, like most of us expect? Well, I know my celebrating in the streets of Lewis Center, Ohio with an American flag while wearing my admittedly cheesy but awesome "Proud American" shirt that boasts multiple eagles and flags will be completely and totally warranted.
I know our soccerheads on the Front Row are fired up today as well.
Even if you're not a huge soccer fan, our country could be on the verge of officially announcing ourselves as a serious contender in the sport the rest of the world cares about the most by advancing out of the Group of Death. How great is that? Let's go USA!
Matt Baxendell is the People's Champ of Buckeye Nation and the proud father of two sons whose initials are "O" and "H" Follow Bax on Twitter @MattBaxendell or email him at
Matt.Baxendell@gmail.com
. But that's not what I got from it. Maybe I'm being pessimistic.
