Tracking the status of Ohio State's commits' upcoming seasons

While the Big Ten opted to postpone its 2020-2021 fall sports season to next spring, the response from high school sports' associations in different states has been mixed.

These associations have either voted to move their season to the spring or keep their schedule in place, and others have chosen to hold out on making a final decision just yet.

With so much uncertainty and how there hasn't been a universal response, I wanted to give an update on the status of each Ohio State commits' upcoming seasons. We'll also provide updates for each player if we learn new information over the next week or so.

On July 28, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that the state would allow for contact sports, such as football, to be played this fall. There are precautions that will be taken, including mandatory temperature checks, social distancing in the stands and the requirement of face coverings.

On Ensworth High School's website, it says the team is slated to kick off the season on Friday, Sept. 4, at Knoxville Catholic. The team's MaxPreps' page, however, says they will begin two weeks before that, but I believe the date on Ensworth's official football calendar is the accurate one.

I'm grouping most of the Ohio-based commits (Ben Christman, C.J. Hicks, Jayden Ballard, Gabe Powers, Jaylen Johnson, Jyaire Brown, Michael Hall, Reid Carrico and Tegra Tshabola) in this section so I don't sound redundant with each one.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine revealed on Thursday that the Lieutenant Governor and him will have an announcement regarding the status of high school sports on Aug. 18.

For now, golf, tennis, volleyball and cross country have been approved by the Governor to have contests, while the Ohio High School Athletic Association is working with the Governor's Office and the Ohio Department of Health when it comes to soccer, field hockey and football.

Johnson and Powers did tell me their seasons are supposed to start on time on Aug. 28, but next week's ruling will obviously be the deciding factor here.

Like Tennessee, Arizona high school sports are good to go this fall, but with some guidelines. These include social distancing on the sidelines, no handshakes before or after contests, no shared beverages and other rules.

Here is what Burke told me about the status of his senior season.

"Yeah, we start our season September 22," Burke said. "That's our first game."

Jackson says he's admittedly uncertain about the status of his upcoming high school season. The second-ranked guard on Rivals will not be skipping out on his senior campaign because his school won't allow him to enroll early, but he's not certain about when the season will even start.

"I'm not too sure right now," Jackson said. "We keep getting pushed back. I'll let you know when something is definite."

Earlier this week, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association decided that there would be no football this fall in the state. In fact, the NCHSAA moved the football season to the spring as it will begin in early February and run through early April.

As a result, Pryor crafted a message for the Hough High School community announcing that he would not be playing in his senior year.

"Given the NCHSAA's decision, in January I plan on enrolling at The Ohio State University early, which means I will not play my senior season with my high school," Pryor wrote on Twitter. "But in this decision, I feel confident and well prepared thanks to the support I have gotten from my coaches."

As I mentioned above, it is not yet a guarantee that football or some other fall sports will be played in 2020 in Ohio. Given this unknown, five-star pass rusher Jack Sawyer also tweeted out a message this week detailing his intentions of not playing this year.

"After extensive discussion with my parents and coaches regarding the uncertainty of the high school football season and the probability of a spring collegiate season, I have decided to focus on training and preparation for my early enrollment at Ohio State," Sawyer wrote on Twitter. "I want to thank all of my coaches and teammates for their support throughout this difficult decision."

I have not seen a final decision made by De Smet Jesuit High School, but a statement was released by the Missouri State High School Activities Association this week.

The announcement said that schools will be allowed to have alternate seasons if they cannot participate in a traditional season. So, if De Smet cannot play in the fall for whatever reason, then they have the option of having their season starting in March.

I'll follow up when I find out more information about what De Smet intends on doing and how that may impact Johnson.

I'll have more later this week as the Kentucky High School Athletic Association is set to vote on Aug. 20 regarding the beginning of high school sports in the state.

They'll decide whether or not practices will begin on Aug. 24, and if football games can commence on Sept. 11. We'll hope these dates will be solidified so Dunn and others can play this upcoming season.

I'm waiting to hear back on Mirco and how the COVID-19 outbreak may or may not be affecting his participation with Prokick Australia. I'll have an update as soon as he gets back to me.

Unfortunately for Hancock, he will not have the opportunity to play in his senior season and potentially boost his stock in our rankings due to health issues with his parents. He announced less than a couple of weeks ago that he would not be able to play in his final year of high school.

"After long nights of talking with my family, my supporters and my Heavenly Father himself, I've decided to sit out my senior year of football due to my mother's current breast cancer fight and my father's current heart conditions," Hancock wrote on Twitter. "I love North Gwinnett and will never forget the precious memories I made with the community."

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. recently released a statement on Twitter that provided an update on the status of high school sports in the fall.

The full statement can be found HERE, but they noted that the association met with representatives of the Governor's office on Friday. PIAA said Governor Tom Wolf's staff indicated that this will be a local school decision.

They ultimately concluded by saying the PIAA Board of Directors are slated to meet again this upcoming Friday. McCord's dad added to that by saying his son's season is set to begin on Sept. 18, but that meeting will determine whether this season will be a go for them or not.

Four-star tight end Sam Hart is another Ohio State commit who will not be able to play his senior season due to the ongoing pandemic.

Back on Aug. 4, the Colorado High School Activities Association unveiled its 2020-2021 calendar, which pushes football to the spring. Hart was understandably upset about this announcement, but that won't affect his recruitment whatsoever.

"I am so heartbroken by this decision," Hart wrote on Twitter. "However, I plan on still enrolling early to The Ohio State University. Therefore, I will not be participating in my senior season for football or wrestling. Thank you [Cherokee Trail] for everything."

Just as is the case with Pryor, Henderson saw his fall season canceled as the Virginia High School League will move the beginning of football to February. This is definitely a disappointment as Henderson had a monstrous 2019 campaign that he was hoping to build upon this year.

Despite this happening, Henderson could actually see the field in early 2021, but not for Hopewell.

Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day mentioned this week that he is going to push for mid-year enrollees like Henderson to play during the Big Ten's spring season and later that year in the fall, with those two seasons only counting as one year of eligibility. Henderson quoted-tweeted that piece of news by saying "very interesting," so it appears he is still slated to early enroll in January.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.