Ohio State received a verbal commitment from 3-star quarterback Matthew Baldwin out of Austin, Texas (Lake Travis High School) Thursday night, giving them 19 commitments in the 2018 recruiting class so far.
Baldwin (6-3 195) tweeted out the news.
Committed! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/SkvkGAj5pN
— Matthew Baldwin (@matthewb_12) December 8, 2017
Baldwin had been committed to Colorado State, but began showing up on the radar of larger schools late this fall and decommitted from the Rams one week ago. Ohio State offered about three weeks ago, and Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky, and North Carolina soon followed suit.
Baldwin has thrown for nearly 3,400 yards with 41 touchdowns and 6 interceptions this season. He has also rushed for nearly 400 yards.
He is rated as the No. 17 pro-style passer in the 247Sports Composite and the No. 436 player overall. His commitment is not expected to impact current OSU quarterback commitment Emory Jones.
Baldwin’s commitment is a combination of need and insurance should a Buckeye quarterback choose to transfer during the offseason. Five quarterbacks might seem like a lot to have on the roster if everybody sticks, but it’s much more favorable than three, which is why the staff felt it necessary to land Baldwin.
Lake Travis is still in the 6A Division I playoffs and in their win this past weekend, Baldwin completed 12 of 14 passes for 194 yards with three touchdowns. They next play this Saturday in the Alamodome in the state quarterfinals.
Matthew Baldwin Highlights
Not all players are 5* but fill needs . It is now his opportunity to succeed. Welcome to OSU ! Make the most of your opportunity, MR. BALDWIN !
oops, point GUARD, not card!
He sees the field as thought he’s sitting up in C deck. Like a good point card, he always sees the guy who is breaking free “to the hoop”.
Already a decent height, maybe he adds an inch before redshirt freshman season. I like it.
Or another Joe Germaine?
A Joe Burrow clone. That is a compliment by the way! Quick release, excellent deep field accuracy. My ” Migraine” is starting to ease.
Perhaps the nail in the Emory Jones coffin.
OSU steals one from Colorado State and beats out Kentucky and Minnesota. The guy has no big offers. He camped at TCU and Oklahoma State but no offer extended. Is this another Stephen Collier?
Did you watch his highlight reel. Maybe another Dwayne Haskins!
He does not have Haskins arm nor his offer list. Yeah I watched video.
It’s hard not to get caught up in the numbers hype (no star to 5-star). But the reality is it doesn’t matter. As an example, Drew Brees only had two offers coming out of high school – Kentucky and Purdue. Aaron Rodgers had none. Russell Wilson was a two star prospect, Carson Wentz was I believe a two time national champion with one offer. I could go on – the reality is big offers are great and it seems a program has a better chance the more stars they recruit. But, after all is said and done it’s about which QB develops and adapts to the college game and the system they play in the best – see Justin Zwick v. Troy Smith