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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets - Chauncey Gardner names top 10

Get caught up with the latest Ohio State recruiting news.

By Bret Favachio
Chauncey Gardner
Chauncey Gardner
247Sports

It was another busy, news-filled day in the Ohio State recruiting world on Wednesday. The Buckeyes received good news on a top defensive back for the 2016 cycle, and the staff sent out four new offers to prospects in Florida and Virginia.

Gardner names top group

'16 CB Chauncey Gardner released his top ten list on Wednesday afternoon. The Buckeyes found themselves in the group of ten and will now have to out battle some of the nation's best programs to land the ninth-best cornerback in the country.

Gardner is a product of Cocoa High School in the state of Florida. That's the same program that produced '15 CB signee Jamel Dean and '17 ATH Bruce Judson, who pledged to Ohio State after the national championship victory. The 6'0, 194-pound defensive back currently grades out as the 105th-overall player in the class and the 15th-best player in the state of Florida.

Gardner was previously committed to Florida but backed off of his pledge at the beginning of the year. Yesterday, we profiled the impact that new running backs coach Tony Alford could have on Gardner's recruitment, so check that out for a deep dive into the process surrounding this top prospect.

Four prospects snag Buckeye offers

The lone offer sent out for the current recruiting class that came on Wednesday was to '16 CB Carlos Becker. Ohio State joined a host of programs including Florida, Florida State (offered yesterday), Kentucky, Michigan State, NC State, Pittsburgh, and more to offer the three-star player.

Three Virginia prospects were also offered by the Scarlet and Gray yesterday. '17 WR Tahj Capehart, '17 DT Eric Crosby, and '17 RB Khalan Laborn were the three recipients. There is no doubt that the Buckeyes are hoping to maintain their momentum in the state after adding three players from Virginia in the last two cycles.

Tahj Capehart seems to be well on his way to being one of the best pass catchers in the 2017 class. The 5'10, 170 pounder from Landstown (VA) already holds offers from Arizona State, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, and a few others.

I was able to get a reaction from Eric Crosby about landing the Buckeye offer. The Ocean Lakes (VA) defensive lineman didn't hide the fact that he was pleased with the news. "Let's just say I was very excited to get an offer from the national champions," he said. The Buckeyes joined Clemson, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and more on Crosby's offer sheet.

Lastly, Wednesday was a huge day for Khalan Laborn. He added six offers from the likes of Arizona State, Charlotte, Florida State, Ohio State, Virginia, and  Virginia Tech. Coming into the day, it was only Old Dominion and Rutgers that offered the 5'10, 180-pound running back.

2016 prospects talk with Fickell, Meyer

'16 LB Tuf Borland took to Twitter to say that he had a phone conversation with Luke Fickell. Borland is a four-star linebacker from Illinois who has seen the Ohio State campus multiple times in the past. Like Borland, '16 DT Antwuan Jackson also talked to an Ohio State staffer, but in this case it was head coach Urban Meyer. Jackson seemed very excited about his talk with Meyer, according to this tweet. Jackson is also a four-star prospect and one of the best defensive tackles in the country.

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