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Buckeye fans should be stoked about the program's newest commit
We had to keep the secret for a couple of days, but it is finally official: Kye Stokes is a Buckeye.
Getting this exclusive video interview was a great way to end our trip, and we also got to learn a lot about Stokes and what led to this decision.
His head coach, Evan Davis, walked us through the process of how Stokes was offered by the Buckeyes, and what led to him committing. Davis told us that he campaigned heavily for the Buckeyes to offer him, and reached out to Tony Alford on behalf of Stokes over a week ago.
Alford and Davis have known each for over a decade, and there is a lot of trust between the two of them. This led to Stokes being offered six days ago, and that was followed up with three days straight of Zoom calls between Stokes and the program.
Over that 72-hour period, Stokes and his family conducted roughly a handful of Zoom meetings with Ohio State’s staff. The Buckeyes were expecting him to take a visit first before making his decision, but Stokes did not want to wait any longer to pull the trigger.
There is a lot to like about who Stokes is on and off the football field.
Davis told us that he has a 5.5 GPA (weighted cumulative) at Armwood High School. Stokes is also set to graduate with over 60 college credit hours, and intends on early enrolling at Ohio State.
What also impressed me is that Stokes called every single coaching staff that was recruiting him and told them about his decision. This is a young man who is mature beyond his years, and I would not be shocked if he winds up as a team captain down the line.
As for what he brings to the football field, you can check out my breakdown of his skill set HERE.
I will note here that Davis highlighted Stokes’ long arms and ability to play all over the field as some of his top attributes. He also said the 6-foot-2, 178-pounder, who also runs track, has ran a 10.7 100-meter dash, so Stokes will bring speed to the secondary as well.
Ohio State always looks for recruits that are both talented on the field and would fit their culture well. In Stokes, they are getting exactly just that because of his playmaking skills, leadership qualities, and production in the classroom.
Two-school race for Richard Young?
One of the final stops of our Southern Swing trip was at Lehigh Senior High School, where we got to speak with big-time 2023 target Richard Young.
Young, the highest-rated running back on Rivals in his class, went in-depth with us on his interest in Ohio State. He told us that the Buckeyes are near the top of his recruitment, contact with Alford occurs roughly four times per week, and he even referred to OSU as “Running Back University.”
If you missed it, you can check out our full conversation HERE.
We did a little bit of digging here, and it definitely seems like Ohio State is going to have a very good shot at landing Young.
We were told that the belief is Young’s final choice will ultimately come down to Alabama and Ohio State. On the same token, however, we heard that his recruitment is going to be stretched out a while, and we should not expect him to drop a top two anytime soon.
This lines up with what Young told us, which is that he won’t be committing until the Under Armour All-America Game in January 2023.
It may sound like a broken record at this point, but Alford is owed a lot of credit here. He’s established good relationships with not only Young, but also his family as well. Young told us in our interview that out of all the coaches he’s speaking with, Alford is the one who is “stepping up” more than everyone else.
Alford also has a strong bond with Young’s head coach, James Chaney. This is important as Chaney is expected to accompany Young on his visits, and is helping to guide him in the recruiting process.
You won’t see me put in a FutureCast on his profile for quite a while, but I think Buckeye fans should like where things stand with Young right now.
Tony Alford is a force on the trail
Kevin recommended I put this into the Skull Session, and I concurred with him immediately.
Throughout our multi-day trip this week, Tony Alford’s name was continuously brought up and given high praise for what he’s done on the trail. Here are the players from our trip that Alford is running point on: Damari Alston, Jaheim Singletary, Justice Haynes, Payton Kirkland, Richard Young, TJ Stranahan and Treyaun Webb.
One of the things that has made Alford, and frankly Ohio State’s program in general, successful is that he cultivates bonds with both the players and their families. This was talked about a couple of times during our Southern Swing trip, and it was also mentioned that Alford focuses on building relationships with prospects prior to offering them.
While speaking with Webb, he even referred to Alford as a "father figure." I asked a couple of other players, including Young, if they felt that same way about Alford, and they agreed with what Webb said.
We also spoke with a couple of coaches that spoke very, very highly of Alford as both a coach and a person.
One of the coaches said that out of the hundreds of college coaches he knows, Alford is the one he is the closest to. He also said that if Alford ever gets the chance to run his own program, he is “going to kill it.”
This trip just reaffirmed to us that with Ohio State offering over a dozen Florida-based players in the 2023 cycle already, the expectation should be to land three or more of those targets, in my opinion. As long as Alford is still on the staff, they will continue to have success in the Sunshine State given the connections he has and his style of recruiting.
South Florida Roundup
Before wrapping up this Skull Session, I wanted to talk about a trio of Rivals250 targets from South Florida that we spoke with this week.
Starting with Ryan Turner, Ohio State has put themselves in an excellent position to land him. Area recruiter Keenan Bailey has been in his ear on a daily basis, and the duo of Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes are also letting him know he’s a priority for the program.
We had one board member ask recently if Turner is a take for the Buckeyes. I posed that question to Turner himself, and he said the staff is ready for him to commit whenever Turner wants to.
Florida has been stepping up here and Penn State will get an official visit from him, but I still view Ohio State as the favorite for Turner’s services. As long as they continue to prioritize him and they knock it out of the park on his official visit from June 11-13, I believe the Buckeyes will be able to add him to their 2022 class.
Switching over to his high school teammate, Kenyatta Jackson, the Buckeyes are also very high on his leaderboard. In fact, the fifth-ranked weak-side defensive end on Rivals.com says Ohio State is one of four programs – along with Florida, Oklahoma and Oregon – that are in his unofficial top schools list.
This isn’t breaking news, but Jackson says he’s very intrigued by Larry Johnson’s resume and the players he’s developed. He’s been compared to Chase Young by Johnson, and the Buckeyes view him as a good fit in their defense.
It’s hard to tell where exactly they fit into the mix here, but residing in Jackson’s top four and being one of only a pair of schools to have an official visit scheduled by him are good signs for the Buckeyes.
Marvin Jones Jr. is definitely a tough player to get a good read on. This is likely due to the fact that his dad played college football and in the NFL, so Jones Jr. has likely been prepared well on how to handle the media.
He did not reveal much during our conversation, and echoed some of the same sentiments that Jackson did. Jones Jr. did mention that Ohio State’s opportunities off the field are appealing to him, but he does not yet have a group of finalists.
The Buckeyes will receive an official visit from him the weekend of their home opener against Oregon, and I do believe the Buckeyes have a legitimate shot at landing him.
I would probably side with FSU right now as they are the legacy school and the campus is only a few hours from his home, but we’ll see if his officials to Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma lure him out of the Sunshine State.
