Highly coveted 4-star defensive tackle to visit Ohio State this weekend

There’s only one more home game left in the 2017 season for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The time just flies by when you’re having fun.

Anyway, Urban Meyer has already had his weekly press conference, and we are now at the midway point of the workweek. That means OSU football is, once again, happening in just a few days. With Illinois coming to town, the Buckeyes will be playing more than just host to the football team from Champaign; they’ll be playing host to one of the country's best defensive recruits.

Friday visits on a Saturday

Defensive tackle Tyler Friday (Ramsey, NJ/Don Bosco Prep) will be coming to town this week to visit Ohio State. Midmorning Tuesday, he made the announcement on Twitter.

Friday is a member of the 2018 recruiting class, and is one of the more highly sought DTs. According to the 247sports composite, the New Jersey native is considered the No. 3 prospect at his position, the No. 2 talent in the Garden State, and the No. 64 prospect in the entire class.

Since joining the Big Ten, the New York area has become not only a big TV market, but a recruiting destination. Recently, the Buckeyes have gone to NJ to find their next star; back in 2013, Eli Apple committed to Ohio State after being a star at Voorhees (NJ).

But if the Bucks are going to get Friday, they’ll have to wrestle him away from other top programs. Currently, Michigan is seen as the real candidate to land the stud DT. Looking at the 247sports Crystal Ball, four of the six predictions point to Ann Arbor being the place Friday spends his college days. However, the latest prediction (added on Nov. 7) has been submitted as “foggy.” Could the upcoming trip to Columbus be a reason for that prediction?

Schools like Alabama, Penn State, UCLA, and Miami (FL) have already made offers to Friday. In total, 20 schools have put in the offer in hopes of getting the Don Bosco Prep prospect.

What would a program be getting in Friday? Well, there are video highlights of him posted to Hudl—and he looks like the real deal.

We’ll see what all happens on this visit, and we’ll keep you posted if any more news breaks.

Wray transferring to new high school

Max Wray (Franklin, TN/Franklin) already signed his letter of intent to be a Buckeye, and will be an early enrollee come January. His brother, Jake Wray, a member of the 2020 class, is seen a possible candidate to become a Buckeye—but that possibility may have gotten just a little bit tougher to fathom.

An article by Barton Simmons of 247sports stated that Jake Wray would be transferring from Franklin high school at the end of the semester. The new landing spot for Jake will be just outside of Atlanta at Marietta HS.

The younger Wray brother won’t be the only star on the new team. Already a few other top-100 prospects are on the Marietta squad, according to 247sports. In addition to Ohio State, SEC programs Alabama and Georgia have already made offers to Jake. Of those future teammates who hold top-100 status, two of them are projected to go to Georgia, while the other one has Florida as a favorite.

Right now, the 247sports Crystal Ball has five votes in for the younger Wray—and all of them support the idea of him going to Ohio State. But those predictions were cast before this change of high schools.

Quick hits

• It was mentioned yesterday that the Buckeyes could be picking up a four-star cornerback in Christian Tutt. However, that didn’t happen; it was the Auburn Tigers who came out victorious in the recruitment of Tutt.

• Former Buckeye basketball forward Derek Funderburk has committed to NC State. Funderburk, who was dismissed from OSU in June by Chris Holtmann, is currently at a junior college, and will be eligible to compete with the Wolfpack in the 2018-19 season.