Ian Moore, Marc Nave work to be 'fundamentally' impressive as Ohio State commits
For Marc Nave and Ian Moore, taking the practice field for an Ohio State football recruiting camp was not about being seen. To two of the Buckeyes’ four 2024 offensive line commits, it was just about getting work in.
It was about continuing the process of transforming into the offensive linemen coach Justin Frye wants them to become
“It’s like a practice, honestly,” Nave said. “It’s not really like trying to get exposure. It's like really just working on what you’re doing and how the coach wants you to do it. They hold you to a higher standard because they know you are going to be coming here in the next year. Coach Frye, he does that.”
With six months before he joins Ohio State as an early enrollee, Moore said he already feels at home with the Buckeyes. The four-star offensive lineman from New Palestine, Indiana, camped with Frye and graduate assistant Mike Sollenne twice around his official visit with the Buckeyes June 9-11.
Ohio State 2024 OL commits @IanMoore2024 and @marcnavejr work with OL coach Justin Frye pic.twitter.com/o9aRggLFEO
— Colin Gay (@_ColinGay) June 8, 2023
In past camp settings, Moore said he found himself trying harder with something to prove in front of coaches. Now, Moore said he’s practicing the same fundamentals he knows he will soon be honing every single practice.
“It’s not as much as impressing,” Moore said. “It’s more just having him be OK with what I am doing like footwork wise, hands wise. More fundamentally impressing him rather than just being good.”
Nave described Frye as “really precise,” taking the three-star offensive guard through intricate drills highlighting his feet and how he should step at the line of scrimmage. Nave said Ohio State offensive guard Donovan Jackson also pulled him aside and gave him pointers on his sets.
“Being my size, a lot of guys really can’t move their feet like that,” Nave said, standing at 6 feet 5, 315 pounds. “And obviously, you win with your feet. You have to have good feet to be able to block really fast and good D-linemen.”
Relationships important to Ohio State 2024 OL commit Ian Moore
On-field development was not the only thing on Moore’s mind during his camps at Ohio State.
For him, especially with Nave next to him during his first camp, it was about relationship building, getting to know them as players after having already developed a relationship off the field.
Those off-the-field relationships, Moore said, were his priority throughout his official visit, especially with five-star offensive tackle Brandon Baker, who also visited Ohio State that weekend.
“Kind of my job in my eyes — I didn’t get this from coach Frye, I didn’t get this from coach (Ryan) Day — but I was really trying to work with Brandon a lot,” Moore said. “I was trying to get to know him a little bit. He’s real cool. I feel like we’re pretty high on his list. Hopefully. We still got (time). I think he wants an end of the season commitment, so I think we still have three, four months.”
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Relationships are Moore’s priority. He already knows how important bonds are with Nave, Deontae Armstrong and Devontae Armstrong with months before each signs with Ohio State.
“We’re all going to have our bad days, we’re all going to have good days,” Moore said. “But it’s really how we react when we get back to our dorms, how we hang out with each other. I feel like you have to be the tightest with your (position group). Me and Garrett (Stover), we’re really cool, really close, but I’m not going to be spending every single practice with him. I’m going to be spending it with my three other guys, so getting those relationships started is very important.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State 2024 OL Ian Moore, Marc Nave work at recruiting camps
