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Ohio State is in the driver’s seat for Kyion Grayes by a considerable margin
Last week, I had a chance to catch up with four-star wide receiver Kyion Grayes, who is set to take a multi-day unofficial visit to Columbus later this month. Grayes previewed his upcoming trip to Ohio State, his parents’ excitement about checking out the school, and reaffirmed that the program remains atop his leaderboard during our conversation.
I wanted to reach out to a couple of sources, however, to see where things stand here, and when a commitment could arrive. According to the people I spoke with, Grayes may end up making his decision shortly after the trip.
I’ve heard that Ohio State is ahead of Oregon, the other school in his top two, by a lot, and that it is a question of when, not if, he will commit to the Buckeyes. It is a possibility that if Grayes and his family are blown away on this trip, then a decision could soon follow.
I did also hear, however, that Grayes and his family have been working on setting up a visit to Oregon. I’m not too sure if plane tickets and hotel rooms have been booked; if they have been, then they could opt to take that visit so they don’t lose out on the money they spent, assuming refunds are not an option.
Either way, it was described to me that it’s Grayes committing to OSU is expected, even if he ends up visiting Eugene.
If you recall, I hinted at a 2022 commitment the week of the national championship game. Grayes was the one I was referring to, but he wanted to extend his recruitment out a little in order to take a visit and be 100 percent sure of his decision.
As has been the case for the past two months, I feel very confident that Grayes will wind up at Ohio State, which is willing to wait a few weeks for him to decide.
Who the commits may have been hinting at last week
As we posted on the board on Thursday, multiple Ohio State commits have hinted at another prospect joining the 2022 class. Joining in on the fun on Twitter were the recruiting stars Bennett Christian, CJ Hicks andDasan McCullough, as well as five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Everyone has been tight-lipped about this upcoming commitment as it appears the prospect set to team up with the Buckeyes wants this to be a secret. Andy and I have tried our best detective work and putting some pieces of the puzzle together, but there’s nothing on the surface that stands out.
Several sources have indicated to our own Kevin Noon, however, that three-star offensive lineman Aliou Bahcould be the prospect they were referring to. Kevin even went as far as to submit a FutureCast on Bah’s profile in favor of the Buckeyes.
Also worth noting is that Bah recently tweeted this out to his 2,000-plus followers: “soon….” That was followed by Dasan quote-tweeting him and saying, “I’ll see you soon.” followed by the chestnut emoji.
I did reach out to one of the pledges about when the commitment should occur, and received somewhat of a timeline. I was told that whoever is joining the class should be announcing “near the end of the month.”
So, unless there are any surprises, we’re not expecting a “Boom” over the next week or so.
Some people may wonder why the Buckeyes may end up taking Bah, who is one of the lower rated offensive linemen they are pursuing, especially when they have so many options on the table. Those options include five stars Julian Armella, Kam Dewberry and Zach Rice, as well as Rivals100 members Kiyaunta Goodwin andGunner Givens.
I noted in last week’s “BuckeyeGrove Instant Access” podcast, however, that I have not gotten the impression that any of these recruits are a slam dunk for Ohio State. I also mentioned that they could consider expanding their board because after signing only three o-linemen in 2021, there’s a little bit more of a need to sign more OL in this cycle.
Bah is good enough to play at powerhouse IMG Academy, so he would not be a bad pickup by any means. Andy and I personally feel, however, he has some bad weight he needs to shed off and will be more of a project at the next level.
Nation’s sixth-ranked DT has Ohio State in his top five
Well, that did not take long.
Christen Miller, who is a borderline Rivals100 prospect, has the Buckeyes as one of five finalists in his recruitment. The reason for the first statement in this section is that Ohio State offered him just four days ago.
It’s pretty impressive that OSU is so high in the mix for a recent offer who is less than two months from announcing his decision. The Georgia-based recruit unveiled a top four of Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Indiana on Jan. 30, and set a commitment date for April 4, but he noted the day of last week’s offer from Ohio State that the program is in his final group.
We imagine that Ryan Day’s staff has been in touch with him for a while now, and that he’s had the Buckeyes high on his radar prior to being given the green light. BuckeyeGrove has not yet caught up with Miller, though we are hoping to get in touch with him this week.
In my opinion, I don’t think it’s an absolute necessity for him to visit Columbus, as Jaheim Singletary did not do so prior to committing to Ohio State. There are actually some similarities between Singletary and Miller as they both had UF and UGA in their top group, included Ohio State as a finalist shortly after receiving an offer from them, and there’s no clear-cut leader for their services leading up to the decision.
Definitely keep an eye on Miller.
Andy Anders’ Report
Recent 2022 offer says Ohio State is among his top schools
A name that few are acquainted with in the class of 2022 but many should now become familiar with is three-star athlete Jake Pope.
The Georgia native has landed offers from Alabama, Georgia, Auburn and Michigan in the past month.
And, on Friday, Ohio State threw its hat into the ring, extending an offer to the Buford High School standout.
“When I was on the call with them, I liked everything the coaches had to say,” Pope said. “The campus looks really nice as well.”
If Buford rings a bell, that’s because it’s the high school Ohio State sophomore guard Harry Miller attended during his prep football career.
Pope was a freshman when Miller was a senior, so the two weren’t extremely close when Miller attended Buford. But last year’s starting left guard at Ohio State was one of the first to reach out to Pope when the offer came through.
“He said ‘Congratulations’ and told me it’s a good place, and that I should come there,” Pope said.
Pope’s recruitment is really just beginning, so his list of top schools is expansive. It includes North Carolina, Notre Dame, Alabama, South Carolina and Ohio State. He said more will “pop out,” too, once he gets more familiar with their respective coaching staffs.
In-state Georgia should be another name to watch.
This past weekend, he took a visit to Alabama, and while I’m sure such momentum in one’s recruitment can generate excitement, I doubt Pope will make a decision or narrow his list before he visits several more of his top schools.
I’ll have a full story out on my conversation with Pope Tuesday, so be on the lookout for that.
Joshua White includes Buckeyes in top six
Speaking of 2022, four-star defensive end Joshua White released his top six on Sunday, and Ohio State made the cut alongside Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Georgia and Arkansas.
I’ll admit to being surprised when White listed the Buckeyes alongside his other top schools. When we spoke back in November, it seemed as though Ohio State had backed off.
I asked him if the two sides were talking at that time and he said, “not like that.”
Has Ohio State reverted course in the past few months? I don’t believe so, not in a major way. White did say this today when I asked whether Ohio State’s communication with him had picked back up:
“A little bit. But it’s getting better.”
That indicates to me the Buckeyes are still more interested in other defensive ends for the class of 2022, and they are in on a number of them, as per usual under defensive line coach Larry Johnson.
Rivals100 prospects Caden Curry, Omari Abor and Enai White all pop into mind immediately.
If Ohio State decides to fully pursue Joshua White at some point soon, it would have a legitimate shot, I believe. White said all of his top six schools are on equal footing. He plans to take visits before making a commitment.
Whether or not the team makes a push remains to be seen, but at this point I wouldn’t expect White to end up wearing scarlet and gray.
