The Ohio State football program is used to being on top of the Big Ten when it comes to recruiting rankings. It’s in the top five or ten in the country most years as well, but when it comes to the Big Ten, no other program usually comes close to competing.
But something funny happened in the middle of the 2022 recruiting cycle. Penn State grabbed the top spot in the conference and had OSU looking up at a team in the heartland for the first time in a long time in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Sure, the Nittany Lions taking the spot had to do mostly with grabbing a slew of commitments, but it was still there, published on recruiting websites for all to hear, and for Penn State fans to thump their chest over. And thump they did.
That’s now changed, and the Buckeyes are back on top of the Big Ten and are firmly in the top five at No. 4 overall in the country. This can all change, but that’s where things are less than a week from the start of the early signing period.
Five-star prospect Sonny Styles will be joining the Ohio State football team sooner than expected. https://t.co/3n8STfs0De
— Buckeyes Wire (@BuckeyesWire) December 8, 2021
Ohio State now has a total of 18 commitments to Penn State’s 25, and an average rating of 94.10, second only to Alabama’s 94.78, and miles better than the Nittany Lions’ 90.56.
So, who else is ahead of the Buckeyes? Alabama currently sits in the top spot (no shocker) with 306.89 total points, followed by Georgia (305.16), and Texas A&M (303.22). Rounding out the top ten behind OSU is the aforementioned Penn State at No. 5, followed by Notre Dame (276.36), Texas (261.59), North Carolina (255.52), Clemson (237.11), and Stanford (233.52).
And remember, Ohio State still has room for this class to grow unlike some of the others ahead of it. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out down the stretch.
[listicle id=36587]
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.