Ohio State DE commit becomes 5-star rated

Chase Young (Hyattsville, MD / DeMatha Catholic) has been garnering rave reviews during the last few months leading up to National Signing Day 2017. With a strong senior season, Young has also been backing up claims that he is one of the best members in this year’s class.

The blue-chip prospect committed to the Buckeyes in July 2016 and has shown he has the athleticism and aggressive mindset to excel at the defensive end position. He was a constant force in the U.S. Army All-American game, earning a tackle for a loss, a QB hurry and he recovered a fumble.

His hard work was recognized on Monday when Rivals.com released their updated rankings for the 2017 class. Young jumped up into the top 10 in the newest addition, being slotted at eight, but more importantly, he was awarded a fifth star.

Young is the only DE commit in Ohio State’s 2017 class but he will be joined by defensive tackle commits Haskell Garrett (Las Vegas, NV / Bishop Gorman) and Jerron Cage (Cincinnati, OH / Winton Woods.) There is also still a very real possibility that the Buckeyes land the country’s top DT in Marvin Wilson, but we will not know anything more than that until signing day.

Along with Young, nine other Buckeye commits landed in the new Rivals 100. Five-star outside linebacker Baron Browning landed just behind Young at No. 9 and Jeffrey Okudah, Wyatt Davis and Shaun Wade all made the top 25, giving the Buckeyes 20 percent of the country’s top 25 recruits.

Make sure to check out the complete rankings to see where the other Buckeye commits landed.

Buckeye coaches meet with 4-star LB commit

Urban Meyer and other members of the Buckeyes coaching staff met up with outside linebacker commit Pete Werner (Mount Vernon, IN / Cathedral) on Monday and it seemed like Werner enjoyed the visit.

The four-star OLB committed to the Buckeyes just over a month ago and his commitment came at an important time, as four-star OLB Antjuan Simmons, now a Michigan State commit, decommitted from the program only a month prior.

Werner is joined by five-star Baron Browning as the only two linebacker commits in this year’s class.

Thad Matta visits 4-star SF commit

The Ohio State football coaches weren’t the only ones travelling to visit recruits yesterday, as Buckeye basketball head coach Thad Matta traveled to watch four-star SF commit Darius Bazley (Cincinnati, OH / Finneytown Secondary Campus) compete in action.

Bazley is one of just three commits Matta has earned in the 2018 recruiting class and he is currently the highest-regarded. 247Sports has him ranked just outside of the top 50, landing at No. 51, and he is seen as the top overall recruit in the state of Ohio.

The 6-foot-7, 185-pound forward is a crucial part of Thad’s class in 2018, so it comes at no surprise the he is putting in time to ensure it stays that way. In a year where Matta and the basketball program have been heavily scrutinized, strong recruiting will certainly help comfort Buckeye Nation.