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With the visit/coach movement shutdown going on and Ohio State coming off a big run of commitments, I thought it would be a good time to reset everything and take a position-by-position look at where things stand and what Ohio State's recruiting priorities are right now and moving forward.
Offense
Ohio State is good at quarterback right now with Kyle McCord firmly entrenched in the class and doing a great job on the recruiting trail as well, I might add. Obviously there is going to be an interesting numbers situation on this roster when Kyle arrives in Columbus. Gunnar Hoak and Justin Fields will both likely be gone at that point (though I guess we need to wait and see how all of this plays out in terms of the timing of football returning).
Even if McCord only makes for three quarterbacks on the roster, I don't anticipate Ohio State bringing in another body in 2021 at this point. Would a Chug or Hoak type as a one-year grad guy for depth make some sense? Perhaps, but I think Day and Dennis will relish the opportunity to be able to load three very talented young QB's up with reps next spring.
Running back is also likely finished. If Donovan Edwards called up today and wanted to commit I am virtually certain that Ohio State would accept the commitment, but I just don't find it very realistic at this point that another top flight back is going to be jumping at the opportunity to join this class.
The real focus here will be on getting TreVeyon Henderson on campus as quickly as possible once everything opens back up and really Evan Pryor as well as he had an unofficial visit slated for March too. Keeping those guys in the fold will be the big priority here.
Not a ton of mystery on offense at this point, but perhaps wide receiver could bring some intrigue down the road. Right now it is all about Emeka Egbuka and Troy Stellato. Those are the two guys. I don't think they'd take any other receiver commits at this point, but would certainly take both Egbuka and Stellato if both want in. Ultimately that could be a tough sell even for Brian Hartline. So many young receivers on the roster right now that one of these guys might like their opportunities for early playing time better at another school but they are definitely 1 or 1a for each kid right now.
If they land just one, I could see them potentially stopping things there, but if they somehow miss on both, the board probably gets reshuffled and we get some intrigue here in the fall with some new targets. Looking like 1 or 2 more receivers to finish out the class.
Tight end is pretty straight forward right now. Ohio State would like to add a second one to this class and they almost surely will. Sam Hart is a nice start for the Buckeyes and has allowed them to really zero in on top target Hudson Wolfe. Much like with the receivers, I think Ohio State will wait to see what Wolfe does before taking another player at the position. Wolfe, to me, is an Alabama/Ohio State/Tennessee battle right now with official visits likely telling the tale.
The Buckeyes could get four-star Kentucky standout Jordan Dingle if they pushed here, so it will be interesting to see how long Dingle keeps his options open. In a perfect world, Wolfe would decide before Dingle but trying to predict decision time frames right now is like trying to time the bottom of the stock market.
Offensive line is probably where most of the excitement will take place in terms of offensive recruiting over the next 6-8 months. Two outstanding players in the fold already and the remaining pool of targets is just as intriguing. I still really like Ohio State's chances to ultimately land top tackle target J.C. Latham after thing open up and he makes visits to OSU and LSU (and possibly a few others). As I reported a few weeks ago, a lot of internal discussions about postponing JC's April announcement until they can get out and make some final visits. I believe that will happen and that we won't see a decision this month.
Can never count out LSU in recruiting, but just think the Buckeyes have the best relationships with Latham and his family at this point and that it will have to take a big turn on a future visit for something to change.
Jager Burton, David Davidkov, Pat Coogan, Tristan Leigh and Rocco Spindler probably round out the rest of the top targets right now. I know Ohio State would also love a crack at Nolan Rucci out of Pennsylvania but I don't find that one to be particularly realistic at this point. Especially without being able to get him on campus this spring. Spindler is also probably a long shot. I think OSU is a distant third for him right now. I also don't believe Leigh and Latham would end up at the same school.
That being said, the number here is at least four, so at least two more. If they could snag three from the above group, I think they'd have to do it.
Defense
With more room to play with and a monster pool of targets still out there, there is likely going to be more mystery and intrigue around defensive recruiting between now and the finish line.
Defensive line is a top priority right now. A dream start really with Michael Hall and Jack Sawyer and now Larry Johnson, Ryan Day, and the rest of the defensive staff will look national to fill in at least three, and maybe four, more prospects around those two Top 100 prospects.
Getting five-star DE/DT J.T. Tuimoloau on campus is priority No.1. The feeling right now is that they have done everything they can here from afar and that if they can get him on campus, they can pull this one off. Tuimoloau doesn't take a lot of visits, even to programs on the West Coast, so it'd be even more proof of how serious the interest is on his end.
Tunmise Adeleye is another guy that will be in the headlines regularly and he has an August 1st announcement date set, though that is probably a wait-and-see thing right now as we wait to find out when visits will be allowed again. I think Ohio State leads today and Tunmise has been pretty friendly with several of the commits including Ben Christman and Jack Sawyer so there are some good relationships being forged there within the recruiting class.
Tywone Malone is another priority as a true one-tech defensive tackle and elite talent. I believe Ohio State has the upperhand here as well, but all indications are that Tywone will take his time and wait until perhaps this winter to decide.
Maryland defensive tackle Marcus Bradley is another prospect that OSU really likes. I think OSU and Maryland are in a battle right now and that it will likely come down to one of those two programs.
I think things have slipped between Ohio State and Michigan four-star Damon Payne over the past few months, but he's definitely worth keeping on the board for now as he's probably next up after Malone and Bradley in terms of the true defensive tackles.
Huge list of names that are still kind of lurking on the periphery as well; Jahzion Harris, Jahvaree Ritzee, Najee Story (needs a good senior year), Quintin Somerville (needs to visit), Aaron Armitage and George Rooks.
Linebacker is kind of interesting right now. Barrett Carter would certainly have a spot, but I expect him to stay in the South. Definitely priority number one at the moment, however. I don't think they're in a hurry to add here unless it is Carter. Maryland's Greg Penn is one prospect that likes Ohio State a lot, but just not sure that's going to be a fit. Penn is kind of a throw back MIKE, not sure that is what Ohio State is really looking for at this point.
One name to keep on the back burner is Raesjon Davis out of Mater Dei in California. The LSU pledge was part of the big California group that came through in early March, marking his second unofficial visit to Columbus. If Davis decides to take official visits, I'm told OSU would one hundred percent be on that list. No real indication at this point that he is not solid with LSU, but just something to keep an eye on.
Also there is Monroeville (PA) Gateway star Derrick Davis who could potentially be an outside linebacker. He is kind of a wild card right now as a guy who OSU really likes but I think is still trying to figure out his place in their defense, could potentially just be brought in as an athlete.
The secondary remains very interesting. It likely would have become even more interesting during the Spring Evaluation Period as Kerry Coombs was going to be out and about evaluating and trying to help form his priority list.
But in the mean time, I have picks in for OSU to add Kentucky athlete Jantzen Dunn and IMG Academy DB Kamar Wilcoxson to the trio of JK Johnson, Devonta Smith, and Andre Turrentine. I'm feeling pretty good about the Dunn pick right now, though there is no decision time frame there at the moment. I think OSU is in the driver's seat for Wilcoxson, though that certainly has a chance to be downright volatile.
I actually think this could push to six though, even if I'm right on the Dunn and Wilcoxson picks, I think they'd want another pure corner in that group. They'll recruit Tony Grimes all the way through the winter, though it's a bit of a long shot at this point. They've been pretty aggressive with Mater Dei (CA) star Jaylin Davies and I think they have some momentum there right now, but they need to get a visit down the road.
No reason to think Jordan Hancock is having second thoughts about the Clemson pledge right now, but also no reason to think Coombs and the staff won't keep trying there. From there, I think you'll see this list expand and evolve as normal activity returns.
