Tag: ohio state recruiting

Four-Star defensive lineman has Ohio State in top three schools

Can Larry Johnson get another top lineman to Ohio State? Four-star defensive lineman Christen Miller has the Buckeyes in his top three.

There is no off-season for Ohio State football. The team is currently in the middle of spring practice and is preparing for its pro day scheduled to take place on March 30. And of course, the staff continues to talk to high school students about being future Buckeyes.

A four-star defensive lineman out of Ellenwood, Georgia has made it known that there are three schools that are clearly at the top of his list. Where do we go for news like this? Twitter… because social media has all the breaking news.

On that note, Hayes Fawcett recently shared on his Twitter feed that Christen Miller says Ohio State, USC, and Georgia are the clear leaders in his recruitment. Fawcett has made a name for himself by being the go-to guy for edits when recruits are ready to make any kind of announcement.

At 6-foot, 5-inches, and 285-pounds, Miller would be another nice addition to the collection that Larry Johnson is putting together on the defensive front. As of now, Georgia looks to be the leader according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions.

However, a lot can happen before a recruit announces his decision. We’ll see if Johnson can work his magic and get another top D lineman to head north to Columbus.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Four-star linebacker Jalon Walker chooses Georgia

The recruiting arms race continues with four-star 2022 linebacker Jalon Walker choosing the Georgia Bulldogs over several blue-bloods.

The Ohio State football staff has been working its tail off on the recruiting trail, but it just wasn’t enough for top 2022 football recruit, Jalon Walker. The All-American has decided to announce his intentions to enroll at Georgia over his other finalists, which included Ohio State, Clemson. Alabama, and Auburn. To be fair, OSU was really not in the race at the end, and it appeared to be between Clemson, UNC, and Georgia.

The four-star linebacker from North Carolina is ranked as the 50th best prospect in the nation and the fourth-best outside linebacker according to theĀ 247Sports Composite Rankings with prototype size at 6-foot, 2-inches, and 220-pounds.

The pandemic obviously hurt the Buckeyes’ chances with the star as he was unable to visit campus due to the COVID-19 situation. With Walker’s top ten including a majority of southern schools, it was already an uphill battle. On the bright side, Ohio State already holds commitments from three other four-star linebackers in C.J. Hicks, Dasan McCullough, and Gabe Powers.

Ohio State still has the top-rated recruiting class for 2022 and is in the mix for plenty of other four and five-star prospects. The Buckeyes’ focus will continue elsewhere.

Ohio State still in the hunt for top 2022 receiver from Georgia

Top 100 wide receiver 2022 prospect Kojo Antwi out of Georgia has scheduled a visit to see Ohio State coming up.

Brian Hartline and the Ohio State Buckeyes have been putting in work recruiting some of the best receiving talent in the country. Hartline has fast become known for his ability to get the top pass catchers to bring their talents to Columbus.

The Buckeyes have already received verbal commitments from the nation’s No. 1 receiver in five-star Caleb Burton and another in four-star Kiyon Graves. But the OSU wide receiver coach is hoping to add one more big name to the class.

Kojo Antwi is the No. 1 receiver out of the talent-rich state of Georgia and the No. 8 ranked wideout in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Antwi has offers from all the big boys and trimmed his list to eight in late December. Included on his list were Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Southern Cal.

The highly sought-after receiver is in the process of scheduling campus visits once the NCAA ends the dead period and has scheduled a date to visit Ohio State. Antwi will head north to Columbus on the weekend of June 18-20 to check things out.

This would be yet another huge commitment if Hartline can continue to work his magic to bring another big-time receiver to the scarlet and gray. The Buckeye’s 2022 class currently sits at No. 1 in the nation.

 

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Ohio State still in the hunt for top 2022 receiver from Georgia

Top 100 wide receiver 2022 prospect Kojo Antwi out of Georgia has scheduled a visit to see Ohio State coming up.

Brian Hartline and the Ohio State Buckeyes have been putting in work recruiting some of the best receiving talent in the country. Hartline has fast become known for his ability to get the top pass catchers to bring their talents to Columbus.

The Buckeyes have already received verbal commitments from the nation’s No. 1 receiver in five-star Caleb Burton and another in four-star Kiyon Graves. But the OSU wide receiver coach is hoping to add one more big name to the class.

Kojo Antwi is the No. 1 receiver out of the talent-rich state of Georgia and the No. 8 ranked wideout in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Antwi has offers from all the big boys and trimmed his list to eight in late December. Included on his list were Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Southern Cal.

The highly sought-after receiver is in the process of scheduling campus visits once the NCAA ends the dead period and has scheduled a date to visit Ohio State. Antwi will head north to Columbus on the weekend of June 18-20 to check things out.

This would be yet another huge commitment if Hartline can continue to work his magic to bring another big-time receiver to the scarlet and gray. The Buckeye’s 2022 class currently sits at No. 1 in the nation.

 

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Ohio State included in final five of 2022’s top rated offensive tackle

Ohio State was included in the final five of five-star 2022 offensive tackle Zach Rice. The football recruiting efforts continue.

Moves are being made for the 2022 recruiting cycle and Ohio State made another top prospect’s final five list. This time the young stud is a five-star offensive tackle from Lynchburg, Virginia. Zach Rice is a 6-foot, 6-inch, 305-pound star for Liberty Christian, and the Buckeyes are one of his top choices along with Notre Dame, Alabama, North Carolina, and Virginia.

247Sports currently ranks Rice as the No. 11 overall player in the nation, andĀ Rivals is not far off, also ranking him safely in the top 20 at No. 17 overall. Both recruiting services have Rice as the number one offensive tackle for the 2022 class.

It’s obvious Rice is a highly sought-after recruit and this trimmed list has now excluded programs such as Georgia, LSU, and Oklahoma, who have all offered the talented prospect.

Rice has clearly put a lot of time into making this list, adding comments for every school that made the cut. He mentions his mom being very active talking to Alabama, and that he appreciates the staff at North Carolina. He called Notre Dame O-line university and added that he has a good relationship with the other Ohio State commits.

Virginia appears to be the sleeper in this group as he has family that has attended the university. It is still very early in the process, but it is good to see the Buckeyes making moves and thinking about the future. So far there has been no date set for Rice and his potential official visit to Ohio State, but we will be on alert.

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.

 

Fab Four: Selecting Ohio State football’s Mount Rushmore of all-time recruits

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Ohio State football legend’s son commits to Buckeyes

Ohio State has a legacy recruit that has joined the football team as a preferred walk-on. Orlando Pace’s son, Jalen joins the class of 2021.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are still hoping for one last commitment to the 2021 recruiting class, but in the meantime, they snagged a recognizable name in Jalen Pace who has accepted an offer to be a preferred walk-on at outside linebacker.

The reason Pace is sounding familiar is due to his father being Ohio State legend and NFL Hall of Famer, Orlando Pace. The former number one overall selection is easily one of the greatest to ever wear the scarlet and gray, and his lengthy resume includes being named a unanimous All-American twice and taking home the Lombardi Award twice.

Obviously, with Jalen being a walk-on, expectations are set much lower, but the newest Buckeye was receiving a few offers from the FCS level including from Dayton, and despite currently standing at 6-foot, 3-inches, and only 193-pounds, the linebacker from St. Louis, Missouri has a large enough frame to become a solid contributor down the road.

It’s so easy to focus on the four and five-star recruits when it comes to Ohio State and the plethora of athletic freaks that enroll on a yearly basis. But one must remember that the Buckeyes have a history of churning out fantastic walk-ons like Kyle Andrews, Nate Ebner, and — most notably — Terry Glenn.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Ohio State recruit Caleb Burton seems to be growing tired of the rumor mill

The rumors continue to swirl that Ohio State commit, WR Caleb Burton will flip back to Texas, but that doesn’t seem likely at this point.

Caleb Burton, the No. 1 receiver in the 2022 recruiting cycle decided to make his commitment to Ohio State early back in November of 2020. We’re seeing more and more recruits making that monumental decision early, well before national signing day. I’m sure there are a variety of reasons for early commitments, but one reason has to be to relieve some of the pressure of constantly answering the question of where you’ll play your college ball.

However, that doesn’t keep the rumors from floating, and Burton seems to be done with it. The five-star receiver hails from the state of Texas where the world revolves around high school football. And Ohio State has been plucking some of the Lone Star state’s best for years.

Tom Herman couldn’t secure the No. 1 overall player in the 2022 cycle, Texas high school quarterbackĀ Quinn Ewers. As a result of that, results on the field, and other recruiting snafus, Herman was let go and Steve Sarkisian was hired to lead the Longhorns. Sark led a prolific offense at Alabama and now fans in Austin are hoping to get some of that in-state talent to stay home.

Could Sark potentially flip Burton back to the Longhorns? Speculation has run rampant.

Burton for one doesn’t look to want any part of it. He’s reconfirmed his commitment to the Buckeyes several times, but some just can’t let it go. The Texas receiver went to Twitter once again, this time just to let people know they can believe what they want.

It seems Burton has made his decision and it doesn’t look like he’s budging. Believe what you want… Caleb Burton doesn’t care anymore. And that’s great news for the Buckeyes and the current No. 1 ranked class in the nation.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Breaking down the Ohio State football 2021 roster by recruiting rankings

Ohio State football lost a lot of talent, but the cupboard isn’t bare. We look at the roster for 2021 based on player recruiting rankings.

To win games in big-time college football, you have to recruit well and develop well. For Ohio State, it has done both, and it all starts with the kids it brings to campus first. OSU is routinely in the top five or recruiting classes on an almost yearly basis, so it starts with only the best ingredients to deliver you the gourmet college football team you’ve been accustomed to seeing.

Knowing all of that, we thought it’d be fun to break down the Ohio State roster based on the 247Sports Composite rankings to see how absurd the talent is that’s still in Columbus. On paper alone, it sure looks like the Buckeyes are poised to make another run at a Big Ten championship, College Football Playoff appearance, and national title.

So off we go, a look at every major player on the Ohio State football team, and what the recruiting rankings said when each came out of high school.

Ohio State offers No. 1 DT in 2023 recruiting class

The Ohio State football program has extended an offer to the top defensive tackle in the 2023 recruiting class, James Smith.

If you follow Ohio State recruiting at all, by now you know that it is putting togetherĀ another fantastic class for 2022. It’s currentlyĀ rated as the No. 1 class in the country, and the Buckeyes continue to add to it.

But in the world of big-time college football recruiting, the next cycle is always on tap and in-stream, while the current class is still being assembled. That’s exactly what happened on Wednesday when Ohio State extended an offer to the No. 1 defensive tackle in the 2023 class.

James Smith is out of Montgomery, Alabama, and ranked as the No. 3 overall player in the class according to 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot, 3-inches, 270-pounds, and already has offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Penn State, and Tennessee.

It’s too early to know where Smith stands in his recruitment, but you have to believe the home state Crimson Tide will factor in hard as things progress. It’s obviously way too early to get excited one way or another, but as things become more clear, we’ll be all over it.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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