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Joseph Hastings' Report
The latest on Omari Abor, Buckeyes in top three for Kenyatta Jackson
One of the most interesting storylines remaining in the 2022 class for the Buckeyes is how the rest of their defensive line recruiting efforts will play out.
In my opinion, the interior of the defensive line is a little bit easier to predict since we know who is definitely not going to end up in this class. When parsing through the offer list on our site, you could essentially eliminate five-stars Keithian Alexander, Travis Shaw and Walter Nolen, as well as prospects committed elsewhere, such as Curtis Neal and Keith Miles Jr.
Also, prospects like Jamari Lyons and Nick James are not as high on the board as others they’re considering. As such, some envision this DT class likely featuring Chris McClellan, Hero Kanu and Kenneth Grant/another offered recruit, which appears to be how things are trending.
With defensive ends, however, I could see this playing out several ways. I would not be shocked if any two of the following targets end up in this class: Caden Curry, Enai White, Gabe Dindy, Kenyatta Jackson, Omari Abor or Shemar Stewart. Also, if one commits and that, coupled withJack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau signing with the Buckeyes, affects their pursuit with the other five, I could absolutely see them putting on the full-court press for Ernest Cooper, a Rivals250 defensive end they hosted for an official last month.
In this section, I want to zero in on two of these recruits: Abor and Jackson.
Starting with Abor, I caught up with his father, Randy, on Saturday just to talk about where things stand in his recruitment. Randy informed me that his son is focused on Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and USC at this time. He also said Abor is likely to drop his top five in the first week of August, with the Buckeyes likely to make the cut.
Now, the concern everyone in Buckeye Nation has with Abor is the potential depth chart concerns he may have with the program. This is understandable as Sawyer and Tuimoloau are elite prospects that may end up playing opposite of each other along the d-line in the near future.
Randy did acknowledge that concerns about the depth may be weighing on his son’s mind, but that Omari “knows Larry Johnson is one of the best.” He also said that Omari thinks he’s just as good or better as anybody Ohio State has or is getting. The combination of Omari’s trust in Johnson as a coach and his belief in his own skill set seems to indicate that while the roster outlook at his position may be a factor, it is not going to knock the Buckeyes out of contention.
“For as far as I know, OSU is still one of the top schools of his choice,” Randy told me.
Right now, I truly believe the schools likeliest to land Abor are Alabama, Ohio State and Texas. If I had to make a pick today, I would lean toward the Crimson Tide as they’ve made a strong push over the past few months and the family was blown away by last month’s official to Tuscaloosa.
The good news for the Buckeyes, however, is they have a lot of time to make up ground. Randy told me that Omari likely will wait until the Under Armour All-America Game in January to commit; if he graduates high school early, then he’ll make his decision in November or December.
Switching over to Jackson, the Rivals100 defensive end is someone we’ve talked about a few times over the past month or so.
According to his father, Kenyatta Jackson Sr., we may not be too far away from his recruitment being wrapped up. Jackson Sr. and I exchanged messages earlier today, and he told me that his son should be committing soon, but that they’re not going to rush anything.
The Buckeyes are in a good spot here as Jackson Sr. says they are currently in his top three. Joining Ohio State as finalists for Jackson Jr. are Alabama and Oklahoma, the latter of which is the school I think is likeliest to land him.
Jackson Sr. says that these programs are in the top group because of how they impressed the entire family during official visits last month. The in-state Florida Gators also got them on campus for an official, but they’re currently out of contention.
More specifically, Jackson Sr. says the Buckeyes have made this final group for one main reason: Larry Johnson. Jackson Sr. told me that Ohio State has “the best DL coach in the NCAA,” and the players he’s produced, namely Chase Young, is making the school a very appealing option.
Now, I do want to note something I reported earlier this month. From what I was told, the top four options at defensive end for Ohio State are Abor, Curry, Dindy and Stewart, and the staff is interested in seeing where those recruitments wind up. That will play a role in where things eventually go with Jackson Jr. and White.
It’s not yet clear if a commitment from Jackson Jr. would be accepted today, but they are close with Oklahoma in this one. The Sooners are the program I’d lean toward right now, with tOSU right behind them.
Nation’s No. 1 overall 2023 prospect is currently on campus
I wish I had more on this for today’s Skull Session, but I unfortunately don’t since the visit is currently ongoing. But, as some of you may have noticed, Lebbeus “L.T.” Overton is actually on Ohio State’s campus right now.
Overton, who is the top-ranked player in the 2023 class, posted on his Instagram story yesterday that he had arrived in Columbus. With today marking the beginning of a quiet period that began on Sunday and lasts until Saturday, Overton was able to step foot on campus and tour the facilities.
On his Instagram story, Overton posted videos of him in the weight room, at the basketball practice court, in the basketball locker room, and at The Shoe. Since Overton possesses an offer from Chis Holtmann’sprogram, this is likely a visit where Overton is spending time with both the football and basketball coaching staffs.
We’re going to be reaching out to Overton soon but, in the meantime, check out what he had to say about the Buckeyes during our conversation last month. You can read that full piece HERE.
"Just that certain status they have, especially with d-ends and pass rushers," Overton said. "They're always a playoff team. They always make it far. I have the mindset of a winner; I don't really like to lose. That program, they just have what it takes to win at all costs."
"Those are some of the best d-ends, pass rushers I've ever seen," Overton added. "Just seeing what he's developed over there is amazing."
Quick note on Christen Miller
I won’t spend too much time here as the belief is the ship has sailed in this one.
But, since it will make it to the board soon, I just wanted to mention that borderline Rivals100 defensive tackle Christen Miller tweeted on Saturday that his top four is coming soon. This will be his third top four, according to my count, and will almost certainly feature Ohio State and USC.
While the Buckeyes are likely to make the cut, USC is the prohibitive favorite to land Miller. I was recently told that this top four could be the precursor to a commitment to the Trojans.
The reason why he is probably going to drop this list is to build up some anticipation; Miller is not blind to the fact that most in the industry expect him to commit to USC, so the announcement was probably stretched out to build some suspense.
Miller would have been a great addition, but landing Kanu, Grant and McClellan would be a fantastic DT class for Johnson and company.
New additions to this Thursday’s cookout
When I first started reaching out to prospects to see who is going to be at this Thursday’s cookout, I initially thought there were going to be a lot of prospects at the event. Even though not everyone I’ve reached out to has responded back, it does not appear as if there will be dozens of big names at Ohio State this week.
But this does not mean it won’t be an event that could have some payoffs.
As we noted last week, the Florida-based trio of Derrick LeBlanc, Payton Kirkland and Richard Young will be in town for the cookout. Also venturing up from the Sunshine State is Tampa offensive lineman Clay Wedin. Fort Mill (South Carolina) product Jadyn Davis, a 2024 quarterback who was offered last month, tells me that he will be returning to Ohio State's campus this week as well.
Venice (Florida) cornerback Elliot Washington also told me recently that there’s a chance he may end up returning to Columbus after taking a multi-day visit in June.
This week on Monday, we also confirmed that priority in-state target Luke Montgomery is slated to return to Columbus in a few days. Montgomery, a Rivals100 offensive lineman who is being recruited by some schools as a defensive lineman, made his way to Ohio State twice last month.
And, earlier today, we reported that legacy target Alex “Sonny” Styles is set to be in attendance for the event. If you recall, Styles camped with the Buckeyes twice last month, working out with coaches from each level of the defense during his time in Columbus.
Montgomery and Styles were a couple of players that I talked about with Mike Singer of our Notre Dame site during our conversation that went live today. You can click HERE to watch that video.
We both came to the consensus that if Montgomery opted to commit today, then the choice would probably be Ohio State. The Fighting Irish will host him on campus this upcoming week as well, but the in-state Buckeyes have put themselves in the best spot for his services.
As for Styles, however, that is where we disagreed. I actually said my pick today would be in favor of Ohio State, while Singer believes it would be Notre Dame. This is not a surprise as both sides feel confident about their chances with Styles, whose father played for tOSU and whose brother currently plays in South Bend.
This recruitment likely won’t end for a while, however, so I’m not expecting him to be on commitment watch following the cookout.
Carson MacRae’s Report
Notes on Curry, Young and a 2023 DB
Going into next week’s cookout in Columbus, there has not been a ton to report, but I do have info on some major priority targets in both the 2022 and 2023 class.
With Caden Curry announcing his top five this week, it leaves a lot of questions about who’s really in the running for this recruitment. I posted a bit about on it in The Horseshoe Lounge, but I’ll recap here for those who missed it.
The three teams I have in this race are Ohio State, Bama and Indiana. I do not see Clemson or Oregon as a threat as Curry has stated to other schools’ insiders that it didn’t feel necessarily like home. Additionally, I’ve been told Oregon feels they’re not in a great spot in his recruitment.
This leaves the doors open for a three-man race. Tom Allen has a very good relationship with his family and Curry did not just include them because they’re his home state. Allen is doing a great job changing the way they’re perceived across the country.
Of course, Saban’s Crimson Tide are always a threat with his elite recruiting skills and his astounding resume. But I do see Indiana actually sitting in a better position at this time.
Now if I had to say where I see this one going, I just want to remind you all I have my FutureCast in for Curry to become a Buckeye and that was submitted almost two months ago. I do not expect that to change; I do just believe the only two real threats here are Bama and Indiana with the Hoosiers in a better spot than the Tide.
Another major player I have a couple of notes on is 2023 RB target Richard Young. Young is slated to be at the Ohio State cookout this upcoming week and I believe this is the turning point in this recruitment.
We will know shortly after the cookout where this one is heading because the Buckeyes are already leading here. Young has been very vocal about his belief in what the Buckeyes RB coach Tony Alford can do for him. He knows he wants to not only develop him as a player but also as a human.
If everything goes as planned, I would not be surprised to see Young commit earlier than expected. A lot of insiders think this one could run all the way into the end of his junior year but if Alford checks all the boxes for Young with this cookout, don’t be surprised to see him shut things down as early as September.
Finally, I had a chance to catch up with a source who’s very close to Buckeye cornerback target Ethan Nation. The source informed me that Nation is being looked at as a priority target for the Buckeyes and he’s going to be one of the major CBs the Buckeyes focus on in this next class.
Nation is pretty undersized at 5-foot-10 and roughly 155 pounds, but he may be the best coverage corner in this class. His speed is also something to be in awe of. His ability to close on receivers out of breaks is incredible and a source inside Columbus told me it’s a lot like watching Jeff Okudah at that stage in high school.
Nation is only a 2023 prospect, so they do expect him to grow in the next couple years before he would be in college but a lot of insiders from other programs as well as Ohio State seem to think he could be the top corner in this class when it’s all said and done.
The big players here are going to be – no shock – with Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia and Alabama. I assume some schools like LSU, Oklahoma and Florida are going to try to really press to get in the mix but last week, when I touched base with Nation, he said he feels like those were the four he could eventually see himself focusing in on.
