Urban Meyer and Ohio State have dominated headlines over the past 48 hours, but for the wrong reason. The Buckeyes’ seventh-year head coach was placed on administrative leave Wednesday evening as the university investigates a report suggesting he was aware of allegations of domestic violence against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith in 2015, which Meyer denied knowing about during Big Ten media days last week.

When situations like this one arise, the first question that comes to mind for many fans is, how will it impact recruiting?

We do not know how the investigation will affect Ohio State’s recruiting efforts, whether it will cause any of the Buckeyes’ commitments to reopen their recruitments, or change the interest of prospects considering Ohio State. With that said, we wanted to lay out some of the names that either had, or currently have, both Ohio State and Clemson high on their list of college choices.

One of the bigger names is Buford (Ga.) four-star offensive lineman Harry Miller. The nation’s No. 36 prospect according to the 247Sports Composite rankings had a top five of Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Stanford and Notre Dame before he committed to the Buckeyes on June 10.

Miller was one of Clemson’s top targets before he came off the market. He has visited Clemson numerous times throughout the last few years, too many to count. Should Miller want to explore other options following the Meyer news, Clemson’s staff would figure to gauge his interest, as offensive line is a major position of need for the Tigers in the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Another current Ohio State commitment that Clemson was involved with is Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity four-star athlete Steele Chambers. He received an offer from Clemson last October and attended a couple of games in Death Valley last fall. Clemson is looking to take another linebacker, the position for which it recruited Chambers, who at one time viewed the Tigers as one of his top choices.

One mutual target for Ohio State and Clemson is Nokesville (Va.) Patriot four-star offensive lineman Jakai Moore. In June, Moore announced a top seven comprised of the Tigers, Buckeyes, Penn State, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Miami and North Carolina.

Clemson is also battling Ohio State and other schools for Apopka (Fla.) Wekiva four-star defensive tackle Tyler Davis. Another Clemson defensive tackle target with an Ohio State offer as well is Wake Forest (N.C.) three-star Jaden McKenzie.

There are a number of prospects to keep an eye on for the class of 2020 as well. One is Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier five-star Paris Johnson Jr., the country’s No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2020 class. Clemson offered him last December, and he visited Clemson as part of a Southeastern swing of visits in early June prior to committing to Ohio State later that month.

One highly touted recruit that has already expressed “concern” about the Meyer situation is Catawissa (Pa.) Southern Columbia five-star Julian Fleming, the top-ranked wide receiver for 2020. He netted an offer from Clemson in June before naming it one of his top six schools last month, along with Ohio State, Georgia, Penn State, Southern Cal and Virginia Tech. Shortly after Meyer was placed on paid leave, Fleming took to Twitter and posted that his “Recruitment is now 100% OPEN”.

Milton (Ga.) four-star offensive lineman Paul Tchio is also working with a top group that includes Clemson and Ohio State, along with Georgia and Alabama. Washington (D.C.) St. John’s five-star defender Mekhail Sherman named Clemson and Ohio State among his top 10 schools in July, while Damascus (Md.) five-star defensive lineman Bryan Bresee included the Tigers and Buckeyes in a list of his top 15 schools in June.

There is a long list of prospects in the 2020 class that hold offers from both Ohio State and Clemson.

Some of those include Seattle (Wash.) Garfield five-star defensive end Sa’Vell Smalls; Hogansville (Ga.) Callaway five-star athlete Tank Bigsby; Marietta (Ga.) five-star athlete Arik Gilbert; Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco five-star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei; Woodbridge (Va.) five-star linebacker Antoine Sampah; Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton four-star defensive end Darrion Henry; Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day four-star defensive lineman Jacolbe Cowan; Washington (D.C.) St. John’s four-star defensive tackle Tre Williams; Southlake (Texas) Carroll four-star defensive back R.J. Mickens; Milton (Mass.) Academy four-star linebacker Kalel Mullings; Mount Juliet (Tenn.) four-star athlete Reggie Grimes; Carrollton (Ga.) four-star linebacker Kevin Swint; and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star linebacker Derek Wingo.

There is also the possibility the Meyer situation could open up some transfers. Clemson went after several prospects in the 2018 class that ultimately signed with Ohio State, such as former five-star defensive tackle Taron Vincent. Vincent, a former teammate of Clemson’s Xavier Thomas and Mike Jones at IMG Academy, considered Clemson one of his top schools during his recruiting process.

It remains to be seen how the Meyer investigation will turn out, and how it will impact recruiting, but it is a situation we will continue to monitor.

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