West coast Ohio State target reveals he is willing to go out of state for college

Out of state is an option

With National Signing Day about one month away, Urban Meyer and Ohio State are prepared to put the finishing touches on an already tremendous recruiting class for the 2017 cycle. As of Wednesday night, the Buckeyes stand at No. 2 in the recruiting rankings—just behind Alabama. The targets still on the board for the Scarlet and Gray will give Ohio State an opportunity to make this a closer race with the Crimson Tide and maybe even surpass an equally outstanding class put together by Nick Saban.

One target the Buckeyes are looking to reel in is ‘17 defensive tackle Jay Tufele from Bingham (UT). The four-star prospect from out west is currently graded out as the 56th overall player in the class, the fourth best defensive tackle and the top player from the Beehive State.

The day after Christmas, Tufele announced his top five schools.

Yesterday, in a published interview with Brandon Justice of Landof10.com, Tufele mentioned that he’s going to go to the place that is best for him. “If that’s to go out-of-state, than I will go out-of-state.”

In regards to the Buckeyes in general, Larry Johnson has done an outstanding job here. The staff was able to get Tufele on campus in November as he took a visit to Columbus to watch Ohio State defeat Michigan in double overtime. Tufele relayed to Justice that it was “really cool” to be in Ohio Stadium and that it would be “really awesome” to play in The Game one day.

Right now, the Buckeyes have received 20 percent of predictions on the 247Sports Crystal Ball. They are the only other non-Utah team to receive a prediction that is included in his Top five. The expectation for now is that Tufele will announce on NSD, so if Ohio State is in the lead, they will have the opportunity to close the door. If not, they have about one month to change his mind.

No decision yet for Holmes

With Saturday just two days away, Ohio State coaches and fans will have their eyes locked on the Army All-America game. The main reason being ‘17 safety Jeffrey Okudah and cornerback Darnay Holmes will be making their collegiate declarations.

Ohio State certainly seems like the odds on favorite to land Okudah. As for Holmes, things definitely seem to be more up-in-the-air. As of Wednesday, in an interview with Jeremy Birmingham of Landof10.com, Holmes states that he has not made a decision yet. The Calabasas (CA) standout did tell Birmingham that he will have a set decision when his family arrives in San Antonio. When will that be? Later today according to Holmes.

Browning ready to fill McMillan void

On Wednesday, the Ohio State defense took a major —yet expected— hit when starting middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan announced his plans to forego his senior season in Columbus to enter the NFL Draft. For now, the expectation is that Dante Booker will likely be the guy to step in with the loss of McMillan.

With that being said, ‘17 outside linebacker Baron Browning of Kennedale (TX) certainly doesn’t lack the confidence to be that guy instead. The five-star standout revealed to Bill Kurelic of 247Sports that he hasn’t played inside since his freshman year in high school. However, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder stated that he wants to “come in, earn a spot and contribute” for the Buckeyes when he enrolls.