Recruiting Roundtable: New rankings, Ricks, thoughts on Raesjon Davis

The recruiting staff at BuckeyeGrove has a lot to unpack in this week's edition of "Recruiting Roundtable."

This edition is the first piece after Rivals100 linebacker Raesjon Davis' three-day visit to Columbus. As a result, we definitely have some things to talk about when it comes to his interest in the Buckeyes and where we believe he will ultimately wind up.

Also, with rumors and a lot of speculation surrounding him, we're going to share our thoughts on the Elias Ricks' situation. Ricks, an incoming sophomore at LSU, could be on his way to the Transfer Portal, and Ohio State would seemingly be the likeliest destination if that transpired.

Andy Anders and Joseph Hastings discuss both Davis and Ricks, along with the new Rivals rankings update, in the story below.

Anders: I don’t envy the people at Rivals HQ who have to make these rankings, that’s for sure. This year has been a crazy one for evaluating high school talent, with plenty of schools losing their seasons and others playing a limited schedule.

That being said, my feelings on the final rankings from an Ohio State perspective are mixed.

Despite the fact that he didn’t have a senior season, four-star TreVeyon Henderson is one of the most complete backs I’ve ever seen on tape. His agility, vision, lateral movement, burst and speed -- even his pass catching -- are at an elite level.

He’s ranked No. 80, and that’s far too low in my opinion.

It’s good to see five-star guard Donovan Jackson hold onto that status, but I can’t understand how five-star defensive end Jack Sawyer isn’t a top 10 national prospect and why four-star quarterback Kyle McCord continued to slip down to No. 34 in the final rankings after doing nothing but things that should boost his stock for St. Joseph’s Prep this season.

I’m not sure what four-star wide receiver Jayden Ballard did to slip 79 spots either. His numbers for Massillon this season weren’t gaudy and he could use some development on intermediate routes in his tree, but he’s still an athletically gifted and formidable deep threat.

Four-star tackle Ben Christman and four-star wide receiver Marvin Harrison both held on to Rivals100 rankings, and that’s well earned. The film doesn’t lie on either prospect, even if the former plays for a smaller high school and the latter is somewhat overshadowed by McCord on his team.

Some I agree with, some I don’t agree with. But, in the end, what matters is what the staff thinks of these players and how they can contribute to the program -- ask me to evaluate again in a few years.

Hastings: It's understandable why some Ohio State fans may not be too pleased with how the final rankings turned out.

Almost every Buckeye in the Rivals250 fell at least two spots, with Ballard dropping 79 spots in the latest update after being on the verge of Rivals100 status at one point. Emeka Egbuka, Donovan Jackson and Andre Turrentine were the only ones who moved up, but it was only by one spot each.

This was a class that I thought, back in August, was well on its way to finishing at No. 1 when it was all said and done. Even with the decommitment of five-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, this team had enough solid rankings from their current, and future, commits that should have led to them being the top-ranked class.

That is no longer a possibility as Alabama, thanks to some excellent recruiting and significant bumps in the rankings for their commits, will finish with the highest-ranked class in the nation.

Looking at the rankings for OSU's commits, I definitely disagree with McCord not being a five-star. He was No. 30 overall, which is the ranking for the last five-star in this cycle, before this latest update, and put together a season that should have led to a bump.

Henderson not being a five-star, let alone in the top-50, still surprises me to this day. Also, when comparing to a 2022 cycle where four cornerbacks are labeled as five-stars, it is very interesting to see Jakailin Johnson, the No. 2 CB in 2021, be ranked at No. 48.

I did not really have too much of a problem with the other rankings that came in. Ballard's drop certainly had me looking at his ranking again to make sure I saw it right, but I thought the other signees were appropriately ranked.

Another Ohio State signee should be getting his fourth star tomorrow, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing who that is.

Anders: Honestly? Every season since its introduction the transfer portal has generated more and more unchartered territory for me.

It doesn’t seem to be that long ago when transfers were very few and far between and only for players that knew they were never getting a shot at playing time or ran into trouble with the team they were playing for.

These days, it seems as though the transfer portal is barreling college football down a path that resembles free agency in professional sports, and while we certainly aren’t there yet, situations like cornerback Elias Ricks’ and even two years ago with Justin Fields where teams are entering the transfer portal market for program-changing talent is new for everyone.

When it comes to Ricks’ situation specifically, the reports of Rivals’ Mike Farrell are intriguing. Ricks hasn’t entered the Portal but according to Farrell’s sources, he intends to, and he has it on good authority.

It’s all speculative for me at this point. It would be a huge land for Ohio State but I’m waiting for something more concrete before truly diving into the possibility. All I can say is stay tuned, the transfer portal is here to stay and it’s certainly shaking things up.

Hastings: Ricks would be an absolute game-changer for Ohio State.

We keep pondering the future, and rightfully so, because of the recent addition of Jaheim Singletary and potentially a few other talented DBs in the 2022 cycle. There's also incoming freshmen Denzel Burke, Jakailin Johnson and Jordan Hancock that should get Kerry Coombs and company excited for what's to come.

The thing is, however, we know who Ricks is as a player because we've seen him produce as a freshman against good competition. Ricks totaled 20 tackles in only eight games played, and had four interceptions - two of which were pick-sixes - with the Tigers.

We're not too sure yet what to expect from the other players mentioned above, but we have tape of the California native being a difference-maker in his first-ever season of college football.

It stands to reason that Ricks will only improve over these next two-to-three years.

Look, who knows if Ricks is truly going to enter the Transfer Portal or not? I've been told he's enrolled in his classes at LSU and is mulling his decision, but I cannot enter the mind of this young man.

If the rumors are true, however, then this would be like adding a sixth star prospect to the program.

Anders: Gotta go with my gut, and my gut says no. But it’s not a confident no by any stretch.

Davis grew up a USC fan and the coaches there have made a huge surge in his recruitment since his decommitment from LSU.

But as Joseph has reported, the Buckeyes have never been out of the race. Certainly their program is in a far better place than the Trojans’ right now, and all indications are that Davis’ visit to Columbus this past weekend went swimmingly.

I think he truly has an affinity with both schools. His relationship with current Ohio State freshman quarterback CJ Stroud doesn’t hurt either. And three-star outside linebacker Jaylen Johnson clearly left an impression on Davis after spending time with him during the visit.

At the end of the day, though, while the visit gives Ohio State momentum, I don’t think any one event like that can swing a recruitment, and the reports are he’s been leaning USC for some time. That’s why I’m leaning to the Trojans here. But I wouldn’t be at all shocked if I’m wrong.

Hastings: I'm actually leaning Ohio State right now.

In my years of covering recruiting, I know that a prospect and his parents don't book a 2,000-mile-plus flight a couple of days before taking off unless there's serious, emphasis on the word serious, interest in the program. Throw in the fact that this trip occurred two weeks before National Signing Day, which gives the visiting school a lot of momentum.

Not only that, but they also would not spend just three days out there if the school in question was just a hat on the table. The Davis family could have easily arrived Friday afternoon, checked out the campus and downtown, and left Saturday afternoon.

Our own Kevin Noon caught up with Davis on Saturday night, and the Rivals100 linebacker was more than impressed with everything he saw during his second trip to Columbus. At the end of the interview, Davis even went on to say, "Go Bucks," which definitely caught my attention.

Some people may have missed it was that Davis sent out a very interesting tweet after his trip concluded. It read, "We had a great time in Columbus, might be back soon." His father also went on to tweet, "A second trip before signing day?" with the eyes-looking emoji and the hashtag #GoBuckeyes.

I think it's fair to say that if they take another trip to Ohio, then it would be all but a done deal that Davis would wind up signing with the Buckeyes on Feb. 3. It was big, in my opinion, to hear that Davis' parents have his seal of approval to commit to the school and make the far move to the Buckeye State as this visit was mainly for them to see the campus and city.

There's always a chance Davis could rethink things and opt for the in-state program, but I am slightly leaning toward Ohio State as of today.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.