Ohio State football and basketball host standout recruits

After Iowa ran away with a huge victory over Ohio State last weekend, many fans and recruits were left wondering how the Buckeyes would bounce back against Michigan State.

They weren’t disappointed.

Flocking to Columbus to see what the Buckeyes would do against the Spartans, many future and potential Ohio State football players made their way to the Ohio State campus to see the game with their own eyes.

Having a great time, a number of recruits walked away from Columbus highly impressed with what J.T. Barrett, J.K. Dobbins, Mike Weber, and the Buckeyes put together at Ohio Stadium in the 48-3 win over Michigan State.

Want to know what some of the prospects had to say? Land-Grant Holy Land caught up with a few of the weekend visitors and grabbed their thoughts on the game and more:

RB John Branham Jr.

Class: 2019

Town: Columbus, OH/Northland

Offers: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kent State, Toledo, et al.

Thoughts: “The visit was great. I had a good time. We came to the Oklahoma game earlier but this game you could see the intensity in warmup was much greater. As always tailgating was everywhere. Coach Wilson wanted me to come back after the Oklahoma game so we did. The stadium staff was very welcoming too.”

WR Rashawn Williams

Class: 2020

Town: Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King

Offers: Ohio State, Kentucky, Syracuse, Central Michigan, et al.

Thoughts: “The trip was good. The three hour drive gave me a chance to bond more with my coach and quarterback. I got to see a lot of players on both sides perform at a high level that are from Detroit The atmosphere was great, and the fans were great.”

ATH Kalil Branham

Class: 2020

Town: Columbus, OH/Northland

Offers: Cincinnati and Toledo

Thoughts: “We had fun. It wasn’t cold at all. The players were more hype than last time. It was a good game. I don’t like to see fans leave early, but I had a good time.”

2019 standout talks OSU visit, offer

On hand to see the start of a new era of Ohio State basketball, a pair of 2019 prospects left the 31-point win over Robert Morris on Friday with a chance to play for the Buckeyes.

“My visit was awesome. Very humbling experience and flattering to be thought highly of by a program like Ohio State,” 6’4 wing Harlond Beverly of Southfield Christian (MI) told Land-Grant Holy Land.

“I got to see the arena, the practice and training facilities. I really like the setup of the campus and how close everything is in terms of walking distance between classes,” Beverly added. The four-star standout averaged nearly 13 points a contest last season as a sophomore.

Starting to pick up new interest weekly, Beverly now holds offers from not just OSU, but the likes of Michigan State, Baylor, Missouri, and Xavier. While some teams might’ve beat them to the punch in terms of offering him a scholarship, the chance to play at Ohio State isn’t something Beverly is taking lightly after spending time with the Ohio State coaching staff.

“They were just telling me how they have offered a limited amount of kids so far in my grade and really feel I can contribute to the program. The offer from OSU means a lot to me especially because of their fast play style. With Coach Holtmann I really feel like I could excel in that type of system,” he said.

Holtmann and staff also offered Salpointe Catholic (AZ) small forward Majok Deng. A four-star recruit, the 6’5 Deng adds the scholarship from the Buckeyes to a list that already consisted of programs such as Arizona, California, UCLA, and Utah.

Considered the 29th small forward and 105th overall prospect in the 2019 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Deng accounted for 15 points and eight rebounds a game as a junior to help pace the Lancers to an overall record of 21-10 and a deep run in the Arizona state playoffs.