Tag: Malik Hartford

Ohio State football starts Josh Proctor at free safety against Indiana

The Buckeyes have made their choice at safety #GoBucks

Coming into Week 1 most of the starters for [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] were set, but the starting free safety spot was still up for grabs.

True freshman [autotag]Malik Hartford[/autotag], Syracuse transfer [autotag]Ja’Had Carter[/autotag] and sixth year veteran [autotag]Josh Proctor[/autotag] were options to start. All three were expected to play against Indiana.

Well, that question has been answered. Proctor was on the field for the Buckeyes’ first defensive series of the game.

The senior has a great deal of experience for the Buckeyes. He was a starter on the 2020 team that went to the national title game and entered 2021 as a starter but his season ended with a leg injury in Week 2.

Last season he started four of first five games of the season before seeing his role get diminished with [autotag]Ronnie Hickman[/autotag], [autotag]Lathan Ransom[/autotag] and [autotag]Tanner McCalister[/autotag] getting the majority of the snaps at safety.

Proctor is playing well. He has a tackle for loss on each of Indiana’s first two drives, but I expect Hartford and Carter to also get snaps. The free safety starting job could remain a question mark throughout the beginning stage of the season.

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Safety Malik Hartford sheds his black stripe

Malik Hartford joined the Buckeye Brotherhood on Friday. #GoBucks

A trio of players officially became a part of the Ohio State football “brotherhood” on Friday. Not only did tight end Jelani Thurman and walk-on Chase Brecht receive the honor, but safety Malik Hartford did also.

Hartford committed to the Buckeyes as a four-star prospect rated as the No. 11 safety in the 2023 class according to the 247Sports composite. He has impressed in spring ball and is pushing for playing time consideration as a freshman heading into 2023.

He was happy to be a new member of BIA (Best in America) and had a few words to say during a short ceremony to remove his black stripe.

“First off I want to thank God, want to thank my family. Thank all you guys — appreciate BIA,” Hartford said. “Shout out coach Mick (Maroti) and the strength staff and the nutrition staff for getting me right. Go Bucks.”

As a reminder, we keep track of all of the black stripe removals throughout the year as they happen if you are into that sort of thing. Check back often for that and other spring news.

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Ohio State football class of 2023 scouting report: Malik Hartford

Ohio State football class of 2023 scouting report: Malik Hartford #GoBucks

The Ohio State football recruiting class of 2023 is complete and despite some murmurs of negativity in the crowd, this class is fantastic from top to bottom. One of the studs of this class is a four-star homegrown safety from right in the backyard of Ohio State. Malik Hartford is from Lakota West in West Chester, Ohio, and comes to campus with an insane amount of hype.

Hartford is regarded as a top 70 prospect in the country and a top five safety in the class and has all of the traits to see the field early and often for the Buckeyes. The back half of the defense returns some exciting pieces, but there is definite room for improvement. Lathan Ransom brings the experience back and expectations are high for Kye Stokes, but there is plenty of room for a young gun to see action.

Name: Malik Hartford

High School: Lakota West (West Chester, OH)

Height: 6-feet, 2-inches

Weight: 175 pounds

4-Star Edge

Where each Ohio State signee landed on ESPN’s final 2023 recruiting rank update

What do you think about these rankings? #GoBucks

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that certainly is the case with [autotag]ESPN[/autotag] and the 2023 [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] football recruiting class.

There are certain attributes that prospect evaluators like over others, and that is why you often see significant disparities between the major recruiting services. One might like a prospect much more than the other but it still gives you a good idea of how much potential the player has.

Now that the high school season is over and the all-star games have been played, ESPN made the final update to its class of 2023 rankings. Find out below where each Buckeye signee was ranked in the top 300 and a quick takeaway of the rankings.

Thoughts on Ohio State’s signees after All-American Bowl

These seven were very impressive

The Buckeyes were very well represented at the [autotag]All-American Bowl[/autotag] on Saturday afternoon. [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] had the most players of any school in the country playing in the game, seven, and each of them got their opportunity to play.

Some shined a bit brighter due to being a focal point of the East and West’s offense. Keep in mind, this is an all-star game, the coaches try to get everyone playing time so it’s  bit scarce.

It was still a very impressive showing for Buckeyes who will be on campus soon. The future is very bright with these seven and here are some thoughts on each of their performances during the All-American Bowl.

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Watch: Highlights of Ohio State signees at All-American Bowl practice

The Buckeyes have a ton of talent in San Antonio this week #GoBucks

While one of the two high school all-star games has already been played (check out this report on Noah Rogers at the Under Armor All-American Bowl), the other game has yet to happen but the prep is going on now.

Formerly known as the [autotag]Army All-American Bowl[/autotag] — now known as the [autotag]All-American Bowl[/autotag] — the game features seven [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] signees. It is a great indicator of future talent as the list of former players is very impressive. It includes Ohio State stars of the past [autotag]Chase Young[/autotag], [autotag]Ezekiel Elliott[/autotag], [autotag]Garrett Wilson[/autotag], and many others.

Plenty of current Buckeyes that have made impacts in their careers like [autotag]C.J. Stroud[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaxson Smith-Njigba[/autotag] were participants in the game as well. Since the contest will be played this Saturday, plenty of practice highlights are being shared around Twitter. Here are the best of the Buckeye signees so far during practice.

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Where each 2023 Ohio State football recruit landed on 247Sports updated rankings

It’s no surprise that this class is ranked as one of the best in the country. #GoBucks

When you assemble one of the top-rated recruiting classes in the country, you are bound to have plenty of players who are among the highest-rated in the nation. That is exactly the case for Ryan Day and his Ohio State Buckeyes football program.

The evidence is here, as 247Sports has updated their Top 247 recruits and it is littered with Buckeye commitments. In total there were twelve future OSU stars that made the list with room to add a few more before the early signing period and the traditional signing day in February. Find out below where each of those 12 verbal commits landed in the updated rankings.

(Note: This list has now been updated from 12 to 13 players with the verbal commitment from quarterback [autotag]Lincoln Kienholz[/autotag] on Wednesday, December 14th.)

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ESPN names this 2023 Ohio State verbal as their key commit

Who do you believe is the most important commit in the ‘23 class for Ohio State? #GoBucks

With the early signing period just around the corner and the fact that many players opt to end their recruiting at this time, it is time to look at who will be linchpins for every class. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren looked at the top 25 classes and selected one recruit from each as their key verbal (subscription may be required).

For Ohio State, it was defense end [autotag]Jason Moore[/autotag], ESPN’s 53rd overall ranked player. VanHaaren views Moore as “a player who has room to refine his game, can be important in the pass rush.” He also mentions the possibility of adding [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag] (don’t expect it) and [autotag]Damon Wilson[/autotag] to the defensive line haul. He fails to mention [autotag]Matayo Uiagalelei[/autotag], who I believe is much more likely to join the class than Keeley.

VanHaaren is correct about depth at the position, as the Buckeyes have three seniors ([autotag]Zach Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Javontae Jean-Baptiste[/autotag], and [autotag]Tyler Friday[/autotag]) as the position. [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] will have to find some younger players to step up next year to play opposite [autotag]J.T. Tuimoloau[/autotag].

The improvements on the defense do warrant a defender to be selected, but in my eyes it’s a member of the secondary that needs to be highlighted. The defensive back commits of [autotag]Calvin Simpson-Hunt[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Hartford[/autotag], [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Bonsu[/autotag], [autotag]Cedrick Hawkins[/autotag] or [autotag]Jermaine Matthews[/autotag] would be on the list, but they are ranked lower than Moore.

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Ohio State football recruiting class of 2023 high school performance tracker

Ohio State football recruiting class of 2023 high school performance tracker #GoBucks

As we eagerly await the kickoff of the contest between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes, we can pass the time by monitoring some of the top high school prospects that have committed to the Buckeyes in the class of 2023. As it stands, Ohio State currently has the fourth-ranked class in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but the hope is they will rise up these rankings.

This class appears to be offense-heavy with a few stud receivers and some intriguing offensive linemen, but the Buckeyes need to add some more defensive help. I wanted to provide a brief recap of some of the top recruits in the Ohio State class and how they have performed so far during their high school season.

Boom! Ohio State gets commitment from four-star safety Malik Hartford

Ohio native, Malik Hartford chooses the Buckeyes!

Ryan Day recently hinted that Ohio State could see a wave of commitments start rolling in. Well, today the Buckeyes saw one such commitment come to fruition. Malik Hartford made his intentions known live on CBSSports HQ Wednesday afternoon when he unzipped his hoodie to reveal an Ohio State t-shirt.

Hartford is rated as the No. 11 safety in the country by 247Sports composite rankings for the 2023 class. The four-star recruit and Cincinnati native chose the Buckeyes over Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and West Virginia.

Hartford’s commitment doesn’t come as too much of a surprise as all crystal ball predictions had him landing in Columbus.

With Hartford’s commitment, Ohio State now has six members in the 2023 class that is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation. He becomes the second safety to commit to the Buckeyes, joining the No. 22 ranked safety, Cedrick Hawkins, from Cocoa, Florida.

Notre Dame currently has the No. 1 ranked class in the country, but if Day’s prediction comes true, Ohio State could begin to close that gap quickly.

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