COLUMBUS, Ohio — For quite a long time this offseason, it seemed as if Ohio State was the team to beat for Vernell Brown III.

Brown, a five-star receiver from Florida who is rated the No. 25 overall prospect and No. 6 wideout in the 2025 class, was once in the driver’s seat of his recruitment. But things pivoted over the last few weeks and months, and the allure of staying Florida was too much to pass up.

The talented wideout committed to Florida on Sunday, the same school that his father played at from 2001-2005. He chose the Gators over offers from Ohio State, Miami and Florida State.

Ohio State’s 2025 class remains at 24 commitments, with three pledges at the wide receiver spot. Four-stars Quincy Porter and De’zie Jones, as well as three-star Bodpegn Miller, make up Brian Hartline’s crop for the 2025 cycle.

The Buckeyes are still looking for a fourth in the class, and the likeliest candidate appears to be four-star Phillip Bell out of Mission Viejo, California.

With new Oregon commit and five-star Dakorien Moore shutting down his recruitment, the Buckeyes will likely not have a five-star receiver in the 2025 class.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Guardians will cap a three-game series against the San Diego Padres today – Sunday, July 21 – at Progressive Field. The matchup is available on multiple streaming services for free.

The game will broadcast live on Bally Sports Great Lakes with a first pitch slated for 1:40 p.m. Eastern. You can catch this game for free by utilizing streaming alternatives like FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which both offer free trials.

The game is also available on ESPN Plus. You can get a subscription to ESPN Plus for $10.99 per month. Another option is to sign up for an annual subscription for $109.99, which saves about 17% off compared to the monthly route.

View the entire Guardians TV schedule for the remainder of the season

Here’s more information on how to watch today’s Guardians-Giants game.

• What: Cleveland Guardians vs. San Diego Padres
• When: Sunday, July 21, 2024
• Time: 1:40 p.m. Eastern
• Where: Progressive Field | Cleveland, OH
• Channels: Bally Sports Great Lakes
• Best streaming options: FuboTV (7-day free trial), DirecTV Stream (5-day free trial) and ESPN Plus
• Cable Channel Finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DirecTv, Dish, Verizon Fios

The Guardians (59-38) are coming off a 7-0 loss against the Padres on Saturday. After exploding in the post All-Star opener on Friday, the offense vanished as they continue to float around 20 games over .500.

Cleveland holds a five-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central and have the second-best record in the Amercian League and the third-best record in Major League Baseball.

The Guardians fell to 31-12 at home. They have won each of their last eight games following a home loss.

For the first time in weeks, Cleveland will enter a game not perched atop the American League. As it stands, they trail the Baltimore Orioles by half a game. There have been concerns that they are running out of gas. The signs are there – ripping through a dominant bullpen, seeming to come up empty in timely hitting spots and an offense vanishing in thin air, at times.

On Saturday, Padres (51-50) pitcher Dylan Cease struck out 10 and San Diego combined for a one-hitter in a dominant interleague display. The Guardians have scored seven runs in their last three games.

The Guardians have lost 11 straight when scoring three or fewer runs. The Padres have lost six straight games when scoring three or fewer runs.

Cleveland will get another shot to right their wobbly ship today.

The Guardians pitching staff boasts a 3.71 overall ERA, which is seventh in the league. The offense, which is struggling recently, is near the top ten in OBP (3.16), OPS (.721) and home runs (109).

Guardians players to watch

All-Star Jose Ramirez comes in with 23 home runs, 79 RBI and 102 hits. He has crossed the plate 71 times and stolen 18 bases. Ramirez is slugging. 513.

All-Star Josh Naylor touts 22 home runs and 70 RBI while crossing the plate 55 times. He has a .804 OPS.

All-Star Steven Kwan is batting .351 with nine home runs, 27 RBI and six steals.

Watch Guardians-Padres for free on DirecTV Stream

Padres players to watch

All-Star Jurickson Profar leads San Diego with 14 home runs, 59 RBI and 103 hits. He touts a .298 batting average.

Jake Cronenworth has tallied 14 home runs, 58 RBI while crossing the plate 50 times. He is slugging .438. on the campaign.

All-Star Luis Arraez has 25 RBI and crossed the plate 50 times. His strikeout rate is just 5.6%.

Watch Guardians-Padres for free on FuboTV

Starting pitchers

Cleveland

Ben Lively will toe the rubber for the Guardians. He is 8-5 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Lively has tallied 78 strikeouts this season. He has allowed 16 hits and 11 runs in his previous 16.2 innings of work. But he has lasted five or more innings in five straight starts.

San Diego

Michael King will take the mound for Padres. He is 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. King has amassed 129 strikeouts. He has a 2.74 ERA and .228 allowed batting average in road games. King has lasted five or more innings in four straight appearances.

Here’s part of a breakdown on the looming trade deadline from Guardians beat writer Paul Hoynes.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — From the outside looking in, MLB’s trade deadline may be one of the most exciting times of the season.

From inside looking out, not so much.

“I think the trade deadline stinks,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “It does. You’re either losing people you love or you’re gaining somebody that you don’t know. And it can be scary for people … it’s very real.

“In theory it sounds good where it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s go get this, let’s go get that.’ But there are a couple people that have to go away when that happens.”

The July 30 trade deadline is 10 days away. The Guardians own the best record in the American League at 59-37, but they need help, especially in the starting rotation. If they can’t add a starter, perhaps they’ll seek help for the offense or the bullpen.

Vogt said the best approach in talking to his players as the deadline approaches is be direct and honest.

“I think it’s having that open dialogue of it’s OK to not be OK with this,” said Vogt. ” It’s OK if this doesn’t feel good for a few days. And we’ve had some moves like that on our team this year that were unpopular. It hurts. It hurts us.”

Vogt said he has confidence in Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff, Matt Forman and the rest of the front office that they will take the team chemistry that has been created into account with any deal that is made.

“They’re very thoughtful and very smart with what they want to do,” said Vogt.

[Watch in the player above: Ohio State Highway Patrol releases five-year report on road fatalities]

CLEVELAND (WJW) — State troopers and local police are now being more vigilant for drivers on a local interstate who are speeding and who aren’t wearing their seat belts.

Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this week announced the launch of the state’s first Speed & Seat Belt Safety Corridor on a “dangerous” 8-mile stretch of Interstate 90 between East 55th Street and East 260th Street.

About a third of all crashes there since 2021 involved a motorist who was unbuckled, and more than 400 crashes there since 2021 involved speeding, according to the release.

State troopers there have handed out more than 450 tickets for speeding and more than 700 citations for seat belt violations.

“Officers and troopers are constantly encountering drivers on this section of I-90 who are driving recklessly with no care for their own safety or the safety of others,” DeWine is quoted in the release. “We’re giving this stretch of I-90 extra attention because many of the fatal and severe-injury crashes here could have been prevented with lower speeds and seat belts.”

The effort involves the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Department of Transportation and police from Cleveland, Euclid and Bratenahl, according to the release.

Motorists can expect “no tolerance” speeding and seat belt enforcement as well as new signage reminding them to buckle up and watch their speed.

Though drivers and front-seat passengers are required to wear seat belts in Ohio, only about 84% of them actually do — 72% in Cuyahoga County — which is below the national average, according to a 2023 state survey.

Nearly two-thirds of all fatal crashes statewide since 2021 involved an unbuckled motorist, according to the release. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates wearing a seat belt can cut the risk of injury by about half.

Not wearing a seat belt is a secondary offense in Ohio, meaning drivers can’t be pulled over just for that.

“It’s not about issuing tickets, it’s about saving lives,” DeWine said. “By buckling up, you are much more likely to survive a car crash or walk away with minor injuries.”