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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 5/19: Tyler Gerald, Donovan Peoples-Jones offered

The Ohio State coaching staff took the recruiting trail by storm over the weekend, throwing out a slew of offers to a ton of athletes across the country.

By Austin Kemp
Student Sports

It was a busy weekend for the Ohio State football staff on the recruiting trail, starting off with an offer going out to Ohio native Tyler Gerald. Gerald, a 6'5 offensive lineman, is just starting to blow up with his recruiting process. So far the big-man has four offers coming from Virginia Tech, Kent State, Toledo and, of course, the Buckeyes. Gerald is not yet ranked by 247Sports, but as of right now, he's considered a 100% crystal ball lock to Ohio State—with 12 predictions going that way. Gerald is a class of 2016 prospect.

Following the Gerald offer, the coaching staff headed north and offered two prospects from Cass Tech High School. Remember, the Buckeyes were able to pull Damon Webb from Cass Tech in the 2014 class. The first offer was to 2016 defensive tackle Mike Onwenu. With the Buckeyes reaching out to him, it was Onwenu's first offer, with plenty more to come. Just a sophomore in high school, Onwenu possesses great size, checking in at 6'2 and weighing 310 pounds. The other offer was to 2017 athlete Donovan Peoples-Jones. Like Onwenu, it was Donovan's first offer, but he's also drawn interest from Michigan and Michigan State in the very early stages thus far. Donovan has made his mark at the wide receiver position so far in his first year of high school ball and at 6'1, should grow into even more of a dangerous receiver as he matures.

Staying in Michigan, sophomore running back Matthew Falcon earned his first offer from the Buckeyes as well. Falcon, from Southfield High, goes 6'1 200 pounds and looks to be heading in the direction of a power back by the time his senior season rolls around. In no way does he have a leader right now, but it doesn't hurt that Ohio State was the first program to take notice. Expect both Michigan and Michigan State to be the lead competition to land super-soph Matthew Falcon.

It isn't in the norm to see 8th graders get offered, but that's just what the Buckeyes did as they reached out to and offered safety Tyreke Johnson from Trinity Christian High School in Florida. The same school that one-time commit Ben Edwards attends. Tyreke is a long and rangy player who already stands at 6'1 and holds a slew of other offers including Miami (FL) and LSU. Johnson will more than likely grow into one of the top safety prospects in the country by the time he enters into high school.

The final offer of the weekend was sent to 2016 athlete Daelin Hayes. Already standing at just over 6'3 and weighing 235 pounds, Hayes is a dominant running back, but also has a knack for making plays at linebacker. Hayes is the number two ranked player in the state of Michigan and that stock should continue to rise.

Quick Hits:

-2015 linebacker Justin Hilliard was on campus for a visit this past weekend. Ohio State is the top-dog to land Hilliard and Urban Meyer should be able to wrap this one up in the end. However, no current decision date is set.

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