Ohio State offensive lineman Carson Hinzman was far too candid on a recent podcast appearance prior to the Cotton Bowl. His conversation with ‘The B&B Podcast’ has since been quietly deleted from both Amazon and YouTube, but it is still available on Listen Notes.
One particular claim involved the University of Miami and its recruiting practices. Hinzman said that the Hurricanes were offering big Name, Image and Likeness (read: financial) packages for top prospects to flip their commitment at the buzzer.
While that is not necessarily earth-shattering news, because college football programs all across the country are leveraging money in the modern era, it is probably not something that he should have discussed on such a public platform. Even if it was/is true.
Carl Hinzman, who started at center for the Buckeyes during the regular season, said that his team was in pursuit of an offensive lineman that ultimately went to Miami. He did not provide a name, but the Hurricanes signed only three high school offensive lineman in the recruiting Class of 2024 — and five total including transfers.
- Indiana IOL transfer Zach Carpenter (three-star)
- Three-star IOL Nino Francavilla
- Three-star OT Juan Minaya
- Three-star OT Deryc Plazz
- JUCO OT transfer Markel Bell (four-star)
According to Hinzman, one of those five players requested $1 million per year in NIL money. The unnamed player later committed to Miami because that’s not what Ohio State does.
He says that the Buckeyes don’t spend a lot of NIL money. Especially not on offensive linemen.
Ohio State doesn’t really like to pay guys a whole lot […]
Compared to other schools, that’s probably why we don’t really get those kind of recruits. But at the same time, we don’t really want those recruits that are just in it for the money.
— Carson Hinzman, via the B&B Podcast
Within that same portion of the conversation, Hinzman did mention two other recruits by name.
- Four-star running back Jordan Lyle
- Five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott
Lyle, a Florida-native, committed to play for Ohio State in April 2023. Miami worked hard to flip the No. 25-ranked running back and got him on campus multiple times from September to December. He eventually decommitted from the Buckeyes and committed to the Hurricanes right before the Early Signing Period.
Scott, an Illinois-native, committed to play for Ohio State in July. Miami worked hard to flip the No. 7-ranked player in the country but did not get him on campus. He eventually decommitted from the Buckeyes and committed to the Hurricanes at the end of November.
Hinzman claimed that their decisions came down to NIL because Mario Cristobal’s program threw a lot of money to both Lyle and Scott. They allegedly flipped because Miami could pay more than Ohio State.
Hinzman’s comments show an inability to adapt to the modern way of doing things. Especially when it comes to recruiting. He also pretty much admitted that the Buckeyes are NIL broke while touting the Hurricanes’ ability to land top talent with deep pockets. Not a great look!