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Next bumper crop?
Depending on your standards for what constitues a bumper crop (mine are fairly high), it could be argued that you have to go back to either the 2012 or 2013 class for the last one of its kind in the state of Ohio. It has been my contention that 2021 will fall into that category, given what I believe to be a very strong top 10 combined with depth well into the 20's and 30's.
Much like the 2012 and 2013 back-to-back strong Ohio classes, it may not be much longer beyond the 2021 class to see another bumper crop in the Buckeye state. I am not talking about the 2022 class, however. As I've said before with '22, I think the depth is fine so far and I think we're seeing plenty of pretty good prospects, but maybe not quite the depth of great ones that you would need to see to elevate the class to a special one.
Fast forward to 2023. It is crazy early. Most of the prospects we're going to end up discussing in that class haven't played varsity football yet. But the intrigue at the top is pretty hard to ignore. Mentor defensive end Brenan Vernon, Pickerington Central ATH Alex 'Sonny' Styles and Findlay TE/DL/OL Luke Montgomery form a pretty outstanding early trio of prospects.
Even at this early point, I would have Vernon and Styles with a better long term projection than any prospect that I have seen in the 2022 class in Ohio and I'd have Montgomery as part of that top '22 tier with the likes of Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks and Tegra Tshabola.
The questions will always be about development and depth. Will the Vernon's and Montgomery's of the world continue to develop or will their development arcs flatten out? Will the depth fill in behind them or will we have a situation like 2020 where we knew about Paris Johnson and Darrion Henry early on and then very little depth filled in behind those guys, making it tough for Ohio State to put out a lot of offers in that class?
Those questions will only be answered with time, but I have to say it's been quite a few years since I've been as intrigued by the potential at the top of a class so early in the process as I am with what I'm seeing in 2023.
Buckeyes have juice with 2022 defensive backs
A big part of how Ohio State's 2021 recruiting class will be viewed is going to be based upon how Kerry Coombs and the rest of the staff fare in replenishing the secondary. The Buckeyes are low on numbers in the secondary and will need a pretty big overhaul of the cornerbacks room over the next 1-2 years.
So far, so good on that front as Coombs has helped reel in a trio of defensive backs already to go along with having the Buckeyes in the mix for more top talent down the road in 2021. But generallyl speaking, it takes two classes to really replenish a room that missed on numbers two consecutive years due to various circumstances, most notably the departures of Urban Meyer and Jeff Hafley in back-to-back Decembers.
The early outlook on 2022 is pretty positive so far. While Ohio State hasn't come close to formulating priority lists or serious recruiting boards for that class, there is no shortage of interest from many of the nation's top prospects here.
We featured Jyaire Brown out of New Orleans today and discussed his ties to Ohio, being born in Cincinnati. I'm generally incredibly skeptical of kids from that part of the country and their willingness to play at Ohio State. Those kids generally go to LSU or Alabama and if somehow that doesn't happen, it's usually a school like Georgia or Texas A&M or Texas that benefits.
But I believe Brown's interest to be very sincere. A lot of people in his family are still in the Cincinnati area and in talking with Jyaire at length in recent days, this one just feels a little bit different to me. I don't think this is a kid in search of having the Ohio State offer added to his recruiting profile for the status that may provide him among his peers. There is genuine interest here and it will be interesting to see how involved Ohio State chooses to get. Brown was supposed to be visiting some family in Cincinnati here in a few weeks. Unfortunately, even if that visit with his family happens, Ohio State will not be able to host him for an unofficial visit. But there will be other opportunities down the road to do so if the Buckeyes decide to get involved with Brown.
Brown isn't the only high profile class of '22 defensive back that has expressed interest in building relationships with the Buckeyes. Houston (Texas) North Shore product Denver Harris is another that has told me Ohio State is one of the schools he entered the recruiting process most hoping to hear from.
A source on the North Shore staff recently backed that up.
"He tells me all the time that Ohio State is the one offer that he wants that he doesn't already have," the source shared. "He mentions it to me on a weekly basis. It's real for him."
These have historically been difficult areas for the Buckeyes to recruit (though Donovan Jackson was a nice break through this winter), but it's just a small sampling of what the thoughts are out there from rising junior defensive backs. Ohio State is definitely a hot school right now for up-and-coming defensive backs who see not only the development and tradition of that position group at Ohio State, but the opportunities for early playing time that could exist after a couple of lackluster cornerback classes and some veterans heading off to the NFL.
