In the days and weeks leading up to National Signing Day, The Post will look at who has already committed to the Bobcats and who might commit in the coming days. National Signing Day is Feb. 1.
Ohio's best weekend of recruiting couldn't have come at a better time.
Just two weeks before National Signing Day, Ohio landed five recruits on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to take its recruiting class from 11 commits to 15 — an increase about one-third in just three days.
The Bobcats gained two linemen, a linebacker, a tight end and an athlete. An interesting note from the weekend is that none of the commits are from Ohio. In fact, two of the 15 commits are from Ohio. Six of the 15 incoming Bobcats will come from the state of Florida.
All of the players below have given hard commitments to Ohio, and all rankings are from 247Sports.com.
TJ Robinson: Linebacker, 6-foot, 200 pounds, Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, Florida
After his official visit over the weekend, Robinson officially committed on Jan. 14. A 3-star athlete from Florida, Robinson is going to play linebacker, almost assuredly, at the college level. Here's his highlight tape.
Robinson held offers from 18 other schools, including Colorado, Syracuse and Western Michigan. He is now the third highest-ranked recruit in Ohio's class.
As seen by his highlight tape, Robinson packs a punch that, one day, might resemble Blair Brown's.
Jylton Tusha: Offensive tackle/center, 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, University Christian, Jacksonville, Florida
In the Bobcats' biggest commitment along the offensive line, they also got probably the coolest nickname of the class too: "The Albanian Bear."
Here's his highlight tape of his junior and senior seasons.
Tusha was originally committed to Purdue, but de-committed after the program made coaching changes. He's a 3-star lineman, that as seen by his highlight tape, plays with a mean streak — something coach Frank Solich will love.
Kaieem Caesar: Athlete, 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, Cache High School, Cache, Oklahoma
Ohio kept up with size in the way of Caesar, a 2-star athlete, who committed on Jan. 13.
Caesar may be the toughest to figure out because he played all over the field in high school. He was given handoffs, caught passes and played defensive end. Here's his highlight tape of the midway point of his senior year.
Wherever Caesar plays, he'll certainly have the athleticism for the position.
Steven Hayes: Offensive tackle, 6-foot-4, 295 pounds, Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, Kansas
Hayes, like Tusha, committed on Jan. 15th. It was truly a great day for the offensive line.
A community college transfer, Hayes was unranked as a recruit, but his highlight tape was impressive nonetheless. He only held offers from two other schools, but Ohio may have gotten itself a rock solid lineman.
Juan "Vonnie" Watkins: Tight end, 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, Patuxent High School, Lusby, Maryland
The only tight end commitment of the 2017 class so far, Watkins committed on Jan. 15 to Ohio. Since he's listed as a tight end, here's his offensive highlights.
An unranked recruit, Watkins is a receiving tight end in every sense of the word.
At his size, he showed an uncanny ability to get the ball in the air, specifically at the three-minute mark of his highlight tape. With the Luehrman twins and Watkins now in the fold at tight end, Ohio has itself a trio of impressive tight ends that can make plays in the air.
