Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets - Joshua Hammond to visit, JUCO tackle offered

It was a relatively quiet Wednesday in the recruiting world for Ohio State. However, two high school prospects announced that they will visit the program sometime in March. Plus, Ohio State sent out one new offer and has the attention of one upcoming prospect out of Georgia.

Three-star WR to visit

According to Derek Tyson of ESPN.com, '16 WR Joshua Hammond will make a visit to the Buckeyes' campus next week. It will be the first visit that the 6'1, 180-pound Hallendale (FL) receiver makes to Columbus thus far.

Ohio State, while showing interest prior, really jumped into the mix for Hammond back in January when WR coach Zach Smith made a visit to his school to extend an offer. The Buckeyes joined a group of offers that stands at 24 at the moment and includes programs like Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and many more.

Hammond grades out as the 59th-best receiver in the 2016 class. He also finds himself ranked as the 50th-best player in the state of Florida and 348th overall. The 247Sports Crystal Ball currently has him projected to be a Gator, or else in South Bend with the Fighting Irish.

New JUCO offer

Ohio State sent out one new offer on Wednesday and it was '16 JUCO OT Malcolm Pridgeon who was on the receiving end. The Nassau C.C. prospect is huge, standing at 6'8, 280 pounds. Offers from big programs are nothing new for the New York player. Alabama, Arizona State, Louisville, Virginia Tech and a few others have already offered thus far. If the Buckeyes find a way to add him to the fold, it would be only the second JUCO prospect to land with Ohio State in the Urban Meyer era. The first was East Mississippi CC WR Corey Smith.

2017 ATH likes the Bucks

While the Buckeyes already have four commitments in the 2017 cycle, another name to keep an eye on is '17 ATH Khalil McClain of Creekside (GA). In an interview with Chad Simmons of Scout.com, McClain says that while he has no offers right now, Ohio State is one school showing the most interest.

The 6'3, 215-pounder actually grew up as a fan of the Buckeyes according to the interview. McClain raved about the Buckeyes to Simmons and talked about what he likes:

I have always liked Ohio State. It is just something about the way they play -- I have liked them for a long time. I started watching them when they had Terrell Pryor and I have liked them ever since - McClain to Simmons

He is listed as an athlete because he can pretty much do it all. Simmons acknowledges that McClain could play WR, TE, or LB. 247Sports lists him as a tight end at the moment. McClain recently transferred from Valdosta (GA), which is the same school that '15 CB Josh Norwood, an Ohio State signee, attends. McClain is now at Creekside in Georgia which is also a name that may be familiar to Buckeye recruiting fans. Creekside is the program that produced Venzell Boulware, a prospect that Ohio State courted but who ultimately wound up signing with Tennessee.

New Cass Tech player emerging

As we all know, Ohio State is actively attempting to build a strong pipeline to Detroit Cass Tech High School in Michigan, and so far, so good. The coaching staff has been able to pull three of the program's prospects in the last few years. It first started when Damon Webb led the way with the commitment back in the 2014 cycle. Then the flood gates seemed to open. On National Signing Day 2015, the Buckeyes were able to ink two more -- '15 OL/DL Joshua Alabi and '15 RB Mike Weber.

In a surprise to no one, Ohio State is still making strong efforts to land some other Cass Tech standouts. '16 OL/DL Michael Owenu, '16 SAF Demetric Vance, and '17 WR Donovan Peoples-Jones are all Cass Tech players that already hold an offer from the Bucks. But there is a new name to watch out for -- '17 ATH Jaylen Kelly-Powell.

The 6'0, 183-pounder is already on the radar for plenty of schools. He holds offers from both Miami (OH) and Northwestern. Kelly-Powell is also receiving interest from programs like Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, and Wisconsin. The rising product from Cass Tech is scheduled to visit Columbus later this month according to 247Sports' Bill Kurelic.