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A rough couple of days for the Ohio State program, with losses in the NCAA tournament to Arizona and the women losing on a buzzer beater from North Carolina. The football program, however, got some good news on Monday, when a couple of high-profile recruits set their visit plans in the immediate future. In fact, these recruits will be on campus this weekend, starting on Friday and potentially going as far as Sunday.
Big news: Country's No. 1 overall prospect Rashan Gary, 4-star QB Tristen Wallace visiting #OhioState Saturday (VIP) http://t.co/bioFZtqPK0
— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) March 24, 2015
'16 defensive tackle Rashan Gary has made plans to be in Columbus on Saturday and will be on campus to check out what the Buckeyes have to offer. Gary stands at 6'4, 290-pounds, and runs a 4.74 40-yard dash, which is pretty impressive speed for a defensive tackle. Gary is rated as a five-star according to the 247Sports Composite, and is ranked as the number one overall recruit for the class of 2016, including the top ranked prospect at any position from the state of New Jersey.
He holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, and Wisconsin, among a long list of others. In 2014, Gary accumulated 55 tackles and 14 sacks. As of now, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State seem to be the teams with the best chance of signing Gary. The Crimson Tide have a commanding lead as of now, with the Wolverines a distant second in the 247Sports Crystal Ball:
'16 quarterback Tristen Wallace was committed to Texas Tech not too long ago, but since March 5, when Wallace decommitted from the Red Raiders, he's been taking his time to see what programs have to offer him at the next level. Now, Wallace has plans to visit Ohio State this weekend, in what is quickly shaping up to be quite a huge recruiting weekend for the Buckeyes coaching staff.
Wallace is a 6'3, 228-pound dual-threat quarterback that can run the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds. His blazing speed and throwing ability have the 247Sports Composite rating him as a four-star, and ranks third in the nation among dual-threat quarterbacks, including the 19th best prospect at any position from the state of Texas. He holds offers from Baylor, Nebraska, Ohio State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, and UCLA, among others.
When you consider that Wallace is from the same high school that Dontre Wilson is from, you can bet that they'll be hanging out this weekend. Being reunited with a former teammate might do some good for Ohio State's chances and help them gain some ground on Texas, who currently leads the pack in the 247Sports Crystal Ball:
In 2014, Wallace threw for 603 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 535 yards on the ground with eight rushing touchdowns. It's worth it to note that one of Wallace's current high school teammates is making the trip with him, but is in the class of 2017. '17 wide receiver Kadarrian Nixon is still extremely early in his recruiting process, but by making the trip with Wallace, Nixon could find some doors opening up for him sooner rather than later. Nixon already holds three offers from Louisville, SMU, and Texas Tech. Expect that list to grow over the course of the 5'8, 170-pound receiver's recruitment.