Ohio State focused on in-state recruits

With the immense amount of highly-talented recruits Ohio has to offer in the 2018 college football recruiting class, Urban Meyer has made it clear that his program will up its efforts in recruiting in-state players. The coaching staff has already successfully attained one elite Ohio recruit in four-star running back Jaelen Gill (Westerville, OH / Westerville South) and it appears two more in-state targets are interested in joining him.

Alex Gleitman of Bucknuts recently reported that Ohio State will be hosting two top-ten in-state recruits this weekend and one of those recruits took to Twitter to confirm the visit.

Tyreke Smith (Cleveland, OH / Cleveland Heights) confirmed he will be visiting the program during spring practice this Saturday. The four-star defensive end is the No. 7 ranked recruit in Ohio and has been able to accumulate an impressive amount of scholarship offers heading into his senior season.

Along with the Buckeyes, Smith holds offers from Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisville and a handful of others. However, the Buckeyes are seen as the clear favorite to earn his commitment, as the 247Sports Crystal Ball gives the Buckeyes a 73 percent in landing him.

A strong visit this weekend would only raise those odds, and with reports of him wanting to return to Columbus in a few weeks for the spring game on April 15, there is a chance Smith could be on commitment watch in the coming months.

Gleitman also reported that outside linebacker Christopher Oats (Cincinnati, OH / Winthrop Woods) was planning on visiting Ohio State this Saturday. The four-star OLB is seen as the No. 8 recruit in Ohio and while he hasn’t racked up as many offers as Smith, the offers he has received are some of Ohio State’s biggest competitors.

Oats is seeing the majority of his recruitment take place in Big Ten country, as schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Nebraska are all courting Oats. Also, fellow in-state school Cincinnati is heavily recruiting him.

While the Buckeyes are seen as the runaway favorite in his recruitment, this weekend’s visit will be critical in separating the program from the field, most notably Cincinnati, who will likely be Ohio State’s biggest competition in this one.

Ohio State on top for Georgia CB

The only other state the Buckeyes seem to be focusing on as much as Ohio would have to be Georgia. What seems to be at least a monthly visit for Ohio State coaches, the hard work is starting to pay off as a blue-chip cornerback reportedly has the Buckeyes on the top of his list.

Tre Douglas (McDonough, GA / Eagles Landing Christian Academy) spoke with Chad Simmons of Rivals.com recently and said Ohio State is the No. 1 school for him.

2017 has been kind to Douglas, as his recruitment has skyrocketed in the last few months. Programs like Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, USC, Maryland and Nebraska have all presented the four-star CB a scholarship offer since the start of the new year.

Ohio State offered Douglas back in July of last year and it appears the early work has put the Buckeyes in prime position to land him. Douglas told Simmons he plans on committing this spring, and with no other program outside of Georgia making a major impact in his recruitment, the Buckeyes are close to stealing a good one from the peach state.

Buckeyes make the cut for rising OT

You know Urban Meyer is one of the best college football recruiters when Ohio State is included in a blue-chip prospects top 10 list before giving him a scholarship offer.

Three-star offensive tackle Rafiti Ghirmai (Frisco, TX / Wakeland) included the Buckeyes in his top 10 schools Monday. Along with the Buckeyes, Ghirmai included Alabama, LSU, TCU, Florida, UCLA, Oregon, Florida, Michigan and Texas in his list of schools he will be focusing on going forward in his recruitment.

Ghirmai has been seeing more interest from top programs in the last couple months than ever before, and while the low star-ranking may question some of Buckeye Nation, a top 10 list this impressive should silence any doubters.

While the Buckeyes have yet to offer Ghirmai, the two have obviously been in contact with one another. Expect the Buckeyes to try and get him on campus sometime this year and if all goes well, an offer to follow soon.