Ohio State faces more recruiting competition for J.T. Tuimoloau… from an unlikely source.

How much will playing basketball at the next level play into J.T. Tuimoloau’s recruiting at Ohio State? Other schools have offered.

Ryan Day and the Ohio State football coaching staff have been working the 2022 recruiting trail hard in the past few months and currently have the No. 1 ranked class. However, there is still one big catch in the 2021 class who is yet to make his decision.

The Buckeyes seem to be leading the race to land highly sought-after defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, the No. 3 rated player in the 2021 class according to 247Sports composite rankings. However, things just got a bit more interesting in the Tuimoloau sweepstakes.

OSU has been the mild favorite to land the Sammamish, WA product for quite some time now, but there have been roadblocks every step of the way thanks to COVID-19 and NCAA dead period restrictions. Tuimoloau and his family have made it clear that they are going to be patient and wait to visit schools and make the best decision for his future.

Now the Bucks have had another obstacle placed in their path. Not only is J.T. Tuimoloau a stud on the football field, but on the basketball court as well. Two of the schools still in on the chase for the Eastside Catholic star’s services have offered him a spot on their basketball teams to try and temp Tuimoloau to stay closer to home.

The Oregon Ducks have offered Tuimoloau a position with the basketball team, joining The Washington Huskies who offered a basketball spot last year.

As is the case with many five-star athletes, they accel in many different athletic endeavors and J.T.T. is no different. The question is, how much of a draw will playing college basketball be for the youngster?

6-foot, 5-inches, and 277-pounds might look good in some scarlet and gray basketball shorts.

Um… Chris Holtman. Line one, please. Ryan Day would be forever thankful.

 

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