Tag: ohio state recruiting

Five-star 2021 prospect J.T. Tuimoloau cancels visit to Alabama, will make college decision soon

Arguably the top prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle has canceled his trip to Alabama and will choose between OSU and three other schools soon.

The end of one of the wildest and tight-lipped recruiting journeys is close to ending, but not without a final, surprising twist.

Five-star 2021 defensive line prospect J.T. Tuimoloau finally got to visit Ohio State last weekend and seemed to have one whale of a time. He followed that up with a mid-week visit to Oregon and was supposed to finish things off in Tuscaloosa with Nick Saban and Alabama. However, the trip to the Crimson Tide program has now been canceled with the Tide no longer being in the five-team race according to Brandon Huffman of 247Sports. Tuimoloau will now choose between his four other finalists, Oregon, Washington, USC, and yes — Ohio State.

“I’m going to focus on the four schools I’ve visited,’ Tuimoloau told Huffamn. “Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, and USC.”

The Buckeyes have long been thought to be the slight leader for the premier prospect from the state of Washington, but it was thought to be a very razor-thin lead. And with as quiet as Tuimoloau has been about the process, having Alabama as the last destination on a whirlwind tour in June was thought to be a problem for the other schools vying for his services.

Tuimoloau is apparently now ready to end this well-thought-out and thorough process and doesn’t need to take an unneeded trip to Tuscaloosa.

“It’s just a feeling I’ve had for a while now and after getting back from my official visit to Oregon, we decided not to take the trip to Alabama,” Tuimoloau told 247Sports.

According to Huffman, the No. 2 defensive line prospect and third overall recruit in the class according to 247Sports will now go into decision mode with his family, and that there’s a feeling he’s had for a few weeks that will need to be sorted out.

“I think I have a pretty good idea of what each of the four schools I’ve visited offer and now I’m going to discuss things as a family and come to a decision,” said Tuimoloau.

There is no official timeline for the announcement, but if indeed Tuimoloau is canceling high-profile visits and talking about feelings he’s had, you can bet that we’ll hear something very soon. Especially seeing how most of Ohio State’s 2021 class is already accounted for and either enrolled or on the way. Whether or not it has the highest-rated defensive prospect ever to commit to OSU as a part of that group or not remains to be seen.

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Jack Sawyer changes number… could this mean J.T. Tuimoloau is heading to Ohio State?

Jack Sawyer has switched his number, leaving J.T. Tuimoloau a number he would like to wear. Desperation, or a sign of things to come?

Head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State football team are hot on the trails of the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes. However, there is one more big fish they’re hoping to snag in the class of 2021… the big fella from Sammamish, Washington, J.T. Tuimoloau.

Tuimoloau took his long-awaited visit to Columbus this past weekend after the NCAA finally lifted the extended dead period due to COVID-19. From the sounds of it, Ohio State was everything Tuimoloau and his family had expected and more.

Much was made of OSU coaches and a few players showing up at the John Glenn International Airport to greet Tuimoloau. The players were all wearing jersey No. 33, Tuimoloau’s high school number. Many (mostly Alabama fan sites) cried the move reeked of desperation. However, there may be more to the story.

If you remember, another highly touted Buckeye recruit wore No. 33 in the spring game. Jack Sawyer is the No. 4 overall rated player in the 2021 class and has been on campus since January as an early enrollee. Just a few days ago, Sawyer switched to his old high school No. 40.

An odd move for a freshman not even into his first fall season. Could this mean the prized Tuimoloau is heading to Columbus?

It’s all speculation at this point. The defensive end and his family have been extremely quiet throughout the entire recruiting process. And of course, Tuimoloau is still scheduled to visit Nick Saban and Alabama in the coming days.

But we can dream. Imagine Sawyer and Tuimoloau on each side of the defensive line. That would be a nightmare scenario for any offense.

We should know soon where the No. 3 prospect in the land according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings will call home, and Buckeye Nation is keeping its fingers crossed.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Five-star 2023 athlete has Ohio State football in his final three

Ohio State made it into the top three of a five-star 2023 football prospect.

Ohio State is still working on the 2022 football recruiting class. Heck, there’s still a big fish out there for the 2021 class. However, it’s that point in the recruiting cycle when we start to hear some buzz and chatter for the next class as well, this time, the 2023 one.

There hasn’t been an official commitment in the class yet for Ohio State, but there have been offers and a lot of evaluation with camps and visits now occurring. And, on that note, the Buckeyes just made it in the final three for a five-star prospect for the class, athlete Treyaun Webb.

Out of Trinity Christian in Jacksonville, Florida, Webb is currently rated as the No. 4 athlete and 34th overall prospect in the class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. And … he just included OSU in his final three according to an announcement he made on Twitter.

The other two schools in the running are the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners. There’s no solid footing on which way Webb is leaning at the moment, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on things as information is made available.

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Ohio State loses out to Oklahoma on top 2022 running back

Ohio State didn’t get this one, but it wasn’t really expected anyway. Plus, OSU just landed a 4-star running back anyhow.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been making moves as far as the running backs in the class of 2022 go. On the same day the Buckeyes gained the commitment of Dallan Hayden, another star running back, Gavin Sawchuk, made a commitment of his own.

Sawchuk is ranked No. 2 among running backs in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports composite, and he had his schools narrowed to Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC. Early on Tuesday, the high school star from Colorado committed to the Sooners.

It is not shocking for a kid coming out of Colorado to pick Oklahoma over Ohio State — and as discussed earlier — the Buckeyes are in good hands with their current crop of young runners. However, this is a prospect to keep monitoring moving forward should there be a change in heart.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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BOOM! Ohio State gets commitment from four-star running back

The Buckeyes add another highly recruited player to their impressive 2022 class. This time, it’s a four-star running back out of Tennessee.

The Ohio State football team got some great news after a weekend of hosting yet another talented crop of potential future Buckeyes. Four-star running back, Dallan Hayden gave his verbal commitment OSU earlier today.

Hayden hails from Memphis, Tennessee, and is the No. 237 ranked player according to 247 Sports composite rankings. He is the son of former University of Tennessee and NFL running back, Aaron Hayden. His brother Chase plays at Illinois.

Hayden is described by national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu as college-ready.

“Has a college-ready build at a sturdy 195 pounds,” writes Trieu. “Highly productive junior season which showed he could break long runs and hit creases with burst and acceleration but is also a physical runner who will lower his shoulder and initiate contact when he needs to. Runs hard, and does not stop on contact. Shows wiggle and elusiveness but mostly appears to be a one cut and go back. Has shown that he can catch the ball and run routes and uses his physicality as a pass-blocker as well.”

The Tennessee product chose Ohio State over the likes of Notre Dame, Illinois, Auburn, and his home state Volunteers.

This is another big hit for Ryan Day and the 2022 class he and the rest of his staff are putting together. The Buckeyes recently took back possession of the No. 1 class ranking and are looking to add more in the coming days as they prepare to host another big group of recruits again this weekend.

We’ll keep you posted as more “BOOMS” drop in Columbus.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Best tweets and photos from Ohio State football’s big recruiting weekend

Here are some of the best videos, photos, and moments from Ohio State football’s past weekend of recruiting visits.

June has already been a whirlwind and it continued last weekend. It’ll still go on for the foreseeable future as Ohio State welcomes current commitments and potential targets on campus now that the dead period has been lifted by the NCAA.

We saw plenty of action from the first week when many flocked to Columbus, and we got a lot of photos, tweets, and feedback from this past weekend as well, especially since priority target and top 2021 recruit J.T. Tuimoloau arrived on campus for the first time.

As we like to do from time to time, we thought we’d cobble together some of the best photos, reactions, and other Twitter moments from the weekend for your perusing and viewing pleasure. So off we go as recruiting continues to be at a fever pitch within the Ohio State football program.

NEXT … Best Twitter moments and photos of last week’s recruiting efforts

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Ohio State 5-star commit Quinn Ewers set to compete at 2021 Elite 11 finals

Ohio State five-star 2022 quarterback commit Quinn Ewers is preparing to take part in the Elite 11 Finals.

The Elite 11 has become one of the most followed high school quarterback competitions for big-time prep prospects to showcase their abilities. The competition has been around since 1999, and many of the alumni go on to do some pretty special things in college and the NFL.

It all starts with regional competitions that sort out the best of the best, with the finals usually taking place at Nike headquarters for those deemed worthy to advance based on their performances. Last year’s event was scrapped because of COVID-19, and this year’s event will be in Southern California.

This year, one of the participants is five-star Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers. If you follow college recruiting at all, you know that Ewers is considered the consensus top prospect in the entire 2022 class. He has bedazzled and impressed many at the regionals and other camps and competitions so far, and now he is going to get his shot to showcase himself at arguably the most prestigious quarterback competition on the planet.

Joining Ewers in Los Angeles is another stacked and talented high school crop of college signal-callers. You can get a look at all 18 players looking to become Alpha-Dog of the camp so far by visiting our sister site List Wire.

In the meantime though, this year’s Elite 11 finals will run from June 30 through July 3. We’ll be on top of how Ewers stacks up against the rest of the best.

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Ohio State football shares video showcasing Columbus

It was 614 Day on Monday and the Ohio State Football Twitter account shared a pretty neat video showcasing all that Columbus offers.

The Ohio State football program is a unique one. It’s one of the best college football programs in the history of the sport and located in a large city with plenty to offer. With NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) legislation making its way to an amateur college campus near you soon, that should give the Buckeye program an advantage over teams that are located in — and in some cases — are almost the only heartbeat of a small college town.

So yeah, a program that already recruits at the top of the food chain might just get even better with an amateur athlete’s ability to make money off of his abilities because of the opportunities afforded him.

That’s where the latest “recruiting” video comes in. Make no mistake about it. It might be cloaked as a celebration of Columbus, but it’s also about what the city in the heart of Ohio can do for an athlete that comes to play football on the banks of the Olentangy.

Either way, Columbus is a neat, fun, and upcoming city to spend your time in, and that in itself is pretty cool. Click on the below and see the video shared by the Ohio State Football Twitter account.

Way to roll out the red carpet for 614 Day OSU. We see what you did there.

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Ohio State makes cut for four-star linebacker, son of former NFL star

Ohio State football is in the running for linebacker Josiah Trotter who is the son of a former NFL All-Pro.

Ohio State football is in the midst of hosting and securing some of the top talent in the 2022 class. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking into the following year’s class as well.

Josiah Trotter is a four-star linebacker in the 2023 class from Philadelphia and has cut his list to four schools. Ohio State has made the shortlist along with Clemson, Penn State, and South Carolina.

Trotter plays his high school football at St. Joseph Prep in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If that sounds familiar it’s because Ohio State signed two players from that same high school last year in Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr, son of former NFL star Marvin Harrison.

Speaking of former NFL stars, the name Trotter may also sound familiar, as in Jeremiah Trotter. Jeremiah is Josiah’s father and played 11 seasons in the NFL and was an All-Pro two times.

Trotter is ranked as the 11th best linebacker in the class of 2023 according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. Trotter’s older brother, Jeremiah Jr. signed to play with Clemson and was a freshman last season. It will be interesting to see if the pull of family will sway the younger brother’s decision or if he chooses to blaze his own trail.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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WATCH: Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers throws football into orbit

Watch as 2022 five-star Ohio State quarterback commit Quinn Ewers absolutely launches a football an astounding distance through the air.

Ohio State football is still putting together its 2022 recruiting class, but it already has a few five-star prospects that have verbally committed. It has all added up to the Buckeyes perch atop the team rankings according to almost every recruiting service out there.

One of those five-star commitments comes by way of Southlake, Texas product Quinn Ewers. He has a perfect composite score of 1.0000 according to 247Sports and impresses everyone that sees him throw the pigskin. He’s still got one more year of high school ball, but there are many already comparing him to the likes of Trevor Lawrence and Vince Young when it comes to sheer talent.

Well, some of that talent was on display last week when Ewers made his way to the Quarterback Retreat in Los Angeles. He dazzled many with his ability to spin the ball across his body and on the run, but there’s another video that surfaced that shows off his arm strength.

Watch as Ewers drops back and absolutely launches the football into Earth’s orbit. It honestly looks a little like an enhanced video of a throw you’d see in a commercial, except it’s the real thing. It’s hard to tell how far the ball travels because of the camera angle and distance, but some have reported that it traveled 70 yards. All we know is that it looks ridiculous — and far.

Absolutely crazy. With the wide receivers Ohio State already has on campus, and the others that are on the way, the combination of Ewers and the pass catchers could be something to behold on the banks of the Olentangy in the next few years.

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