3-2-1: Good Impressions

In this recruiting-themed edition of "3-2-1," which is presented by Infinit Nutrition, BuckeyeGrove takes a look at some of the most recent news relating to Ohio State football recruiting.

Down below, we talk about three things we learned recently, a couple of questions that we still have and dish out one bold prediction regarding a Buckeyes commit.

Some of the topics below include a discussion on Kyle McCord's Elite 11 performance, why Ohio State took the lead for a talented 2022 recruit, and whether or not we should buy stock in the Jordan Hancock buzz.

1. McCord shines under the bright lights

Given the current pandemic and the fact that high school players have had to work out/ train on their own over the past few months, it wasn't surprising that Kyle McCord had somewhat of a shaky first day performance at this week's Elite 11.

What you do want to see, however, is how a player of his caliber handles these challenges. As he proved throughout the event, McCord responds well after dealing with some struggles.

The second day of the Elite 11 saw McCord win the Pro Day event on Tuesday with a score of 45. For comparison, the second-highest score belonged to Drake Maye, who finished with a score of 40.

Watching the highlight reel created by our own Dave Lackford, there's no question that McCord lives up to the hype of being Rivals' fourth-ranked pro style quarterback.

McCord demonstrated technically-sound footwork on his drop backs, showed off a smooth release and his passes had excellent velocity, specifically when he was throwing over the middle. One thing that really stood out to me was that although he puts some zip on his throws, McCord's passes seemed very catchable and within his targets' catch radius.

I also took notice of the 6-foot-3, 212-pounder's throws while on the run.

Ohio State has a good offensive line and will protect him at the next level, but there are going to be times where he needs to escape the pocket and deliver passes on the run. During these situations, whether it was scrambling to his left or right, McCord showed he was more than capable of squaring up his shoulders and making an accurate throw.

A YouTube video gave me a good idea of how McCord performed during the Pro Day event, but let's take it from someone who was actually there. Here is what Dave wrote when assessing what he saw from McCord on Tuesday.

"He made all the throws and displayed good arm action by putting velocity on comebacks and slants and touch on the corner routes and posts," Lackford wrote. "He showed good footwork, pocket movement, and got the ball downfield quickly and with zip and accuracy while throwing on the run."

I'm going to have a little more to say about McCord later in this piece, but I was very impressed from the clips I saw of him.

2. Ohio State is successfully dipping into enemy territory, again

Speaking of a coveted prospect from Pennsylvania, let's smoothly transition over to Nicholas Singleton. Some Buckeye fans may not know him yet, but they should get accustomed to hearing his name frequently over the next year and a half.

The four-star running back in next year's recruiting cycle hauled in an offer from Ryan Day's staff back in January, and says Ohio State has been pressing the right buttons in their pursuit of him.

For one, the Buckeyes have been willing to find time in their busy schedules to conduct Zoom meetings with him, as well as talking with him about life outside of football. Also, the success enjoyed by Ezekiel Elliott and J.K. Dobbins at the school has piqued Singleton's interest.

All of these factored in Singleton telling BuckeyeGrove that Ohio State is the leader in his recruitment.

Not Pittsburgh or Penn State, which are the in-state programs for Singleton.

Not Michigan, South Carolina or Wisconsin, all schools he's taken visits to over the past year.

Once again, Day and his staff are positioning themselves well to reel in a highly regarded recruit from Pennsylvania. The program signed five-star wideout Julian Fleming last year, and currently have McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the fold, both of whom are top-45 prospects in this cycle.

Going into enemy territory and securing victories against the Nittany Lions while keeping talented players in your own state is a recipe for success, and the Buckeyes are doing a solid job of executing that game plan when it comes to recruiting in Pennsylvania.

3. Flipping the page

Devonta Smith and Tony Grimes both announced their commitments elsewhere over the past week. Smith joined forces with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday, while Grimes chose North Carolina over Georgia, Ohio State and Texas A&M a day later.

It remains to be seen if secondary coach Kerry Coombs will push for a flip with these two prospects, but we already know he's doing just that with a couple of other defensive backs.

Jaylin Davies (Oregon) and Jordan Hancock (Clemson) didn't commit to the Buckeyes initially; both of them, however, are still continuing to be prioritized by Ohio State.

When evaluating Davies' recruitment, you can't help but wonder if the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent dead period led to the Ducks being the choice for him. Ohio State initially appeared to be his unofficial leader, and it seemed like a sure thing that a commitment to the school would occur if he got on campus for the first time.

Then, on May 27, the dead period was extended once again through July 31. Seven days later, Davies announces that a commitment will be arriving on June 19.

Now, I don't necessarily think this was a rushed decision; I do believe, however, that it opens the doors for a team like the Buckeyes to get him on campus for an official visit and eventually flip him.

With Smith and Grimes off the board, I expect Davies to continue to be a priority, and whether or not he makes his way out to Columbus this year will determine how I feel about Ohio State's chances with him.

This is also the same in terms of my thoughts on Hancock. For me, it's pretty simple; another visit to the school would lead me to labeling the Buckeyes as the favorite, while him not visiting would make me lean toward him honoring his commitment and signing with the Tigers.

I'll have some more on Hancock in the next section, but I'm very interested in seeing how this class plays out in terms of the numbers. I could see Ohio State taking a couple of more DBs, as well as four-to-five more players in the trenches and another receiver.

Hancock is the big prize for the Buckeyes, but I do believe room would be made for Davies if he eventually wants in and the numbers allow that to happen.

1. Should we buy the Jordan Hancock buzz?

This is a difficult question to answer just because of the flow of recruiting and how unpredictable it can be.

Sure, Hancock seemingly sparked some intrigue from Ohio State fans and commits with his eyes emoji tweet last week. With this nugget from Dave on Sunday, we also know that contact remains strong between Hancock and Day's staff.

If you're going to answer "yes" to this question, then you have to interpret Hancock's tweet as not a troll effort, but a sign of legitimate interest in the Buckeyes.

From what we have gathered, I think it's safe to say Hancock certainly is still intrigued by the possibility of playing in Columbus at the next level. There is a ton of familiarity between him and the coaches, he seems to have a solid bond with Ohio State's commits and his first-ever visit to the school left him with a good impression of the program.

A second visit, however, would be a game-changer.

If Hancock opts not to abide by Clemson's no-visit policy, or simply reopens his recruitment, and ends up visiting Ohio State, then they would presumably rise to being the favorite for his services.

A three-day official visit to Columbus that provides an in-depth look at the team, a game day atmosphere and time around commits and potential future teammates is exactly the type of experience that could put the Buckeyes in the driver's seat.

With five-star defensive end Korey Foreman decommitting from the Tigers earlier this year, and other recent events surrounding the program, I wouldn't be shocked whatsoever if Hancock either decommits or flips to another school.

The safe bet is that Hancock sticks it out with the Tigers, but I believe stock should be bought with this recent buzz and that Ohio State has a legitimate shot of adding him to their class.

Also be sure to check out my most recent insider update on Hancock, which you can access HERE.

2. Is it concerning that the dead period was extended again?

I'm going to go with "no" for this question.

First off, prospects are only going to miss out on the Week Zero games with the dead period recently being extended through August 31. It's a bummer as recruits were holding out for the possibility of taking trips prior to their school seasons kicking off, but August is a month that is typically a dead period anyways.

Secondly, I applaud the NCAA for this decision. This gives them, and colleges across the nation, an opportunity to reassess how recruiting trips are going to look like later this year.

Is there going to be a cap on the number of players allowed on campuses at one time? Will there be mandatory tests before arriving at the schools, especially for official visitors? What type of protocols will be put into place if a visitor starts showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus during their stay on campus?

There are a lot of variables that need to be considered here, and it's important that no rushed decisions are made.

Now, it will definitely be concerning if the dead period is extended through September and starts affecting recruits' ability to visit games. At that point, one would have to consider the possibility of the Early Signing Period and National Signing Day being pushed back.

It would not be fair to high school prospects if they miss half of a year or more of visiting colleges, and still be expected to sign as if this was a traditional recruiting cycle.

What's somewhat crazy to think about is that not one single 2021 football recruit has been able to take an official visit yet. April, May and June were months that are crucial for players hoping to make a decision before their senior seasons, and some of their commitment schedules were dramatically affected due to the pandemic.

I'm taking a glass-is-half-full approach here and will say that visits will resume in September, even if it's not traditional and there are a lot of restrictions involved.

Kyle McCord will eventually receive his fifth star

Is this necessarily a bold prediction since Rivals typically tabs 30-35 prospects each cycle as five-stars, and McCord checks in at No. 26 in the nation currently?

No.

Is it safe to say I underestimated the difficulty of coming up with a recruiting-related bold prediction on a weekly basis?

Yes.

This is the criteria for being labeled a five-star recruit on our service:

"Considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 30-35 players overall, a potential first-team All American candidate and a player deemed to have first round NFL potential."

Afters seeing his performance this week and what he put on display in his junior season, I believe McCord fits the bill for what we expect in a five-star.

McCord's footwork is great, completing deep passes with accuracy isn't a problem for him, throwing on the run doesn't cause a significant drop-off in accuracy and while he is not considered a dual-threat QB, he is mobile enough to escape defenders.

He was already on pace to be a five-star when it's all said and done; this performance, however, sealed the deal for him to reach this status in the future, in my opinion.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.