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2023 ATH “very interested” in Ohio State
Sophomore prospect Joenel Aguero is listed as a wide receiver by Rivals, but with other outlets considering him an athlete and Ohio State leaning safety the versatile speedster has earned such nomenclature.
The 2023 standout already holds offers from the Buckeyes, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State and USC among many others. He’s been laser-timed at a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash, with ample athleticism shown on tape.
His opinions on recent College Football Playoff Semifinal winner Ohio State? High, it would seem.
“Ohio State is definitely a great football program and it’s a school I’m very interested in,” Aguero told BuckeyeGrove.
Aguero hails from Lynn, Massachusetts and plays for St. John’s Prep, 2019 MIAA D-1 state champions.
The Buckeyes haven’t landed a player from Mass. since four-star teammates Camren Williams and Armani Reeves signed on in 2012.
It’s obviously early in Aguero’s recruitment -- Ohio State doesn’t hold a commitment from his class yet. But he’s already gotten a chance to speak to a number of coaches from the Buckeyes’ staff and they’ve left an impression.
“I like all of the coaches there,” Aguero said. “After I spoke with Ryan Day it made me like Ohio State even more. And I feel like it’s a school where I can come in and help the team win games.”
Aguero added the Buckeyes like him at both wide receiver and defensive back, but feels they’re probably leaning safety as their spot for him at the next level.
I’m conducting a full interview with Aguero tomorrow with a story to follow Tuesday, so be on the lookout for that.
Malaki making a mark
The Ohio State football team isn’t the only sport pulling high-rated recruits into Columbus for 2021.
Four-star small forward Malaki Branham, the No. 41 senior in the country, signed with Ohio State in November after a July commitment and his play in the high school ranks as of late has justified his high ranking.
Branham plays for Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, forever known as the high school that produced Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.
In his most recent contest for the now 7-1 Fighting Irish, Barnham scored 17 points and did it from all three levels in a 68-53 win.
Branham missed just one or two shots in the game according to BuckeyeGrove basketball recruiting analyst Jake Spegal, who scouted the future Buckeye via livestream Saturday. You can read Spegal’s full report HERE.
The Ohio native knocked down contested 3s, extended free-throw-line jumpers and driving layups against Pickerington Central.
This comes one game after an 18-point outing against St. Ignatius, and while I was unable to find his numbers from Sunday’s game, the Fighting Irish picked up another win against Cleveland Heights 69-37 to improve to 8-1.
If Branham continues finding his spots on the floor with such ease and leading his team toward a third state title in five years, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him bumped even higher in the next batch of rankings.
Joseph Hastings' Report
A bundle of juniors include Ohio State in their top schools
New Year’s Day of 2021 will be remembered by Buckeye fans as the day their team got revenge on Clemson in the College Football Playoff Semifinals.
Earlier that day, however, Ohio State landed in the top schools list for multiple prospects in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Let’s take a look at each prospect that has OSU in their top groups, and where Ryan Day’s program stands with them.
Top-30 junior Mykel Williams: Mykel Williams, who is the third-ranked strong-side defensive end on Rivals, put the Buckeyes in his top 10 a couple of days ago. Also making the cut for him were Alabama, Arizona State, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Penn State and USC.
As for why Williams feature Ohio State in this group, he spoke with Rivals’ recruiting analyst Chad Simmons about their inclusion on his list.
"Coach Johnson is a legendary coach and his guys perform very well in the NFL,” Williams said. “So, he really knows what he is doing."
I actually had the chance to speak with Williams roughly a couple of months ago, and he told me that despite not having visited Columbus yet, he has taken a virtual tour of the school. He also mentioned Ohio State’s development of their players is catching his attention the most.
What was interesting about Williams’ conversation with Simmons is that he said OSU is one of three schools he speaks with on a daily basis. The other two are the in-state Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers.
Williams is hoping to make his decision or cut down his list to three on June 29, so don’t expect a decision anytime soon.
Rivals100 safety Xavier Nwankpa: The Ohio State University have made the cut for Xavier Nwankpa, who is the sixth-ranked safety in the nation. Also making his top 12 on Friday were Arizona State, Clemson, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, LSU, Wisconsin, and Texas.
The way Nwankpa hyped this up earlier in the week, I was expecting for it to be a smaller list than what he released. As a result, there’s not as much to add here as it seems like his recruitment still has a good amount of time left until it’s over.
Either way, I have Ohio State as the favorite to land Nwankpa as I submitted a FutureCast in favor of the program in early November. The indication behind the scenes is that Nwankpa is the Buckeyes’ to lose, and multiple 2022 OSU commits speak as if he is already committed to the program.
From what I found in our database, no Iowa-based prospect has signed with the Buckeyes in the Rivals.com era. This would be a huge haul for Day and company with Iowa and Iowa State being two schools that typically come out on top for players from Iowa.
I have not spoken with him recently, but check out what Nwankpa told me back in September about Ohio State.
Rivals250 RB Dallan Hayden: The one prospect who cut down his list pretty significantly was Tennessee-based running back Dallan Hayden. The 19th-ranked RB on Rivals unveiled a top four that featured Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee.
Here is what Hayden said when discussing why the Buckeyes made the cut on Jan. 1.
“The football history speaks for itself, obviously,” Hayden said. “I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with the running backs coach. Feel like I’m building a really strong relationship with the head coach.”
Hayden says he likes what he’s seen from Ohio State this season, and believes he would fit in well with their offense because it’s the same style of offense his high school runs. He also has solid relationship with the coaching staff as he speaks with them on a daily basis.
Be on the lookout for my article on Hayden tomorrow morning.
Four-star ATH Dillon Tatum: Michigan-based prospect Dillon Tatum dropped a top schools list that featured a number of Big Ten programs. Besides including Ohio State, Tatum also has Baylor, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, USC and Wisconsin in his top 10.
Tatum listed the Buckeyes as one of a flurry of schools that reached out to him on Sept. 1, and told me that night that he was looking forward to building an even stronger relationship with them. I caught up with Tatum again today, and this is what he had to say about his bond with OSU’s coaches.
“I just feel like they’re a great program,” Tatum said. “I have two pretty good relationships with Coach Coombs and Coach Alford. I met both of them in person before the shutdown happened. It’s more so, ‘I know you, so I’m going to trust you more.’”
Tatum, who Ohio State likes on either side of the ball, says that since he took a visit to the school prior to the dead period, he’s not planning on taking a self-guided tour after his season ends. He also noted that he’s been impressed with how the program has performed so far this season, and has taken notice of Trey Sermon’s production these past couple of games.
Looking at his recruitment in general, there are currently two FutureCasts each that have been submitted for Michigan and Michigan State. The Wolverines may have the inside track in this one as his former teammate, Donovan Edwards, signed with them just over a couple of weeks ago.
Stay tuned tomorrow as well for a full story on Tatum.
A little more to add on Jaheim Singletary
Yesterday, I had the chance to be in attendance for five-star DB Jaheim Singletary’s commitment ceremony, which ended with him verbally pledging to the Buckeyes.
Now, Saturday’s announcement by Singletary was not too much of a surprise as Ohio State started gaining some momentum a few weeks ago, and was seen as the favorite heading into yesterday.
What most want to know, however, is if we believe this is the end of Singletary’s recruitment.
I did not want to ask him about other schools on his big day, but the assumption is that coaches will continue to reach out to Singletary, and he will probably still stay in touch with them. Mind you, these prospects have real relationships with people on these coaching staffs, so it’s never a surprise when recruits stay in touch with other programs than the ones they’re committed to.
Based on my conversation with his mother, however, I feel confident in saying I would side with Singletary signing with Ohio State over the field when it’s all said and done. This was the quote from my time with Joyce Anderson, Singletary’s mom, that really stood out to me.
“And I just want him to go somewhere because Jacksonville’s streets are so violent here, and I’m not saying it won’t happen nowhere else. But I just want him somewhere elsewhere.”
Jacksonville is admittedly not the safest city to live in as violent crimes occur frequently in the city. From my time with Anderson, it seems like she is happy that her son is not only leaving the city, but is moving out of the state and far away from Jacksonville.
She is also all on board with the coaching staff, academics at Ohio State and the opportunities on the field in Columbus to get him to the NFL.
I was indeed a little hesitant about saying that this one is completely over, but after speaking with Singletary and his mom, I definitely feel like he’s solid with his commitment.
Ewers dominates in the playoffs… again
Once again, Quinn Ewers impressed in the playoffs.
On Saturday, Ewers tore apart Euless Trinity’s defense with 450 yards passing and six touchdown passes. Those 450 yards in the air was a career-high for the five-star quarterback.
You can watch his highlights HERE, but I continue to be amazed by Ewers and how well he can throw the deep ball. Yesterday proved why he is one of, if not the best, throwers of the deep ball in the nation as he dropped several passes exactly where it needed to be for touchdowns.
I mentioned a week ago that Ewers’ game seems to be influenced by Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, and he showed some shades of Mahomes yesterday. If you fast forward to the one-minute mark in the video, you’ll see Ewers complete a ridiculous left-handed pass as he was being tackled to the ground.
There just isn’t more to say about Ewers that hasn’t been said before; his pinpoint accuracy, the zip he puts on the football, how comfortable he is in the pocket or scrambling to either side, and his footwork were all on display yesterday.
Ewers and his teammates at Southlake Carroll High School have advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2011, where they’ll take on Duncanville this Saturday.
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