Ohio State uses 'NCAA Football 14' to announce college football recruit signings

Zac Al-Khateeb

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Ohio State uses 'NCAA Football 14' to announce college football recruit signings image

Ohio State has taken signing announcements to a whole level with the 2019 recruiting class.

It all started on Tuesday, the day before college football's early signing period, when the Buckeyes' Twitter account tweeted this out:

MORE: 2019 early signing tracker

That set up one of the more memorable recruiting gimmicks we've seen in some time, right up there with ECU's pirate-themed scholarship offers: using the popular video game "NCAA Football 14" to announce the Buckeyes' signed recruits. More specifically, Ohio State created players to match signed recruits and put together a brief "highlight reel" — all of them against either Michigan or Penn State, for those interested.

The first player to get the "NCAA 14" treatment was linebacker Cade Stover, Mr. Football in the state of Ohio for 2018. His highlight reel showed him tackling Michigan running back Karan Higdon for a loss:

Then there's four-star offensive tackle Ryan Jacoby, who was shown bowling over Rashan Gary:

Four-star safety Ronnie Hickman was shown picking off Penn State's Trace McSorley:

That's only scratching the surface on the "highlight reels" Ohio State has put out — so far. Kudos to the Buckeyes for finding a fun way to put a new spin on college football recruiting.

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.