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Ohio State basketball recruiting stays on the full-court press

Another basketball offer goes out as Holtmann continues momentum.

Eric Ayala
247sports

We are only nine weeks away from the highly anticipated season opener for Ohio State football as they take on Big Ten conference foe, Indiana. With the players currently going through the grueling summer workouts, you’d think all of the attention would be solely focused on the gridiron Buckeyes. However, since his hire, Coach Holtmann has the Ohio State men’s hoops squad with several pairs of eyes glued to its every move. As his first season begins to take shape in his new home, Holtmann and the rest of his former Butler staff have wasted no time at all as they look to put their mark on Buckeye basketball.

4-star baller receives OSU offer

Recruiting and being as active as they can, Buckeye fans have to be pleased with what they are seeing out of this new staff as their first season approaches. With his former success at Butler and already pulling a former Bulldog commit to Ohio State’s recruiting class in Ohio’s Kyle Young, it’s not hard to see that recruiting will take a serious priority.

Yesterday, Holtmann pitched his latest offer when Eric Ayala (Wilmington, DE/Putnam Science Academy) came on the receiving end of the most recent Ohio State offer. Ayala, a four-star guard, can play multiple spots on the floor and with his 6-foot-5, 180-pound frame, he creates the serious ability for miss-matches. Ranked as the No. 5 combo guard in the country and the top overall player in his home state of Delaware, it’s easy to see why Eric has nearly 30 scholarship offers.

Schools offering Ayala consist of the likes of Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, LSU, Illinois and Oregon. Currently though, the smart pick for this 2018 star is Syracuse. With every 247sports crystal ball prediction in favor of the Orange, this race may already have a strong leader. Can Holtmann and the new momentum behind the Buckeye program find time to draw interest from Ayala? With the possibility that he could re-classify to the 2017 class, sooner may happen faster than later.

Top WR trending toward OSU?

Ohio State’s 2018 recruiting class sits not only at the top of the Big Ten, but the entire country. With a loaded list of commits, Ohio State football fans have the thinking this can (and will be) the year the Buckeyes claim the recruiting national championship crown. Meyer and his staff are scouring the country on the daily and their pursuits are definitely paying off as the momentum in the 2018 class doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon.

One position that hasn’t yet seen a commit for the Buckeyes is in the receivers corps. However, top prospects such as Missouri’s Kamryn Babb and in-state Huber Heights Wayne star L’Christian “Blue” Smith are thought to be leaning towards the Buckeyes – so there hasn’t been a realconcern for why their isn’t a receiver in the fold for 2018. When the time is right, it’s nearly guaranteed the Buckeyes will land two, maybe three studs at the receiving position; but in recruiting, patience is key.

As recent as Wednesday night however, some rumblings surfaced when a 247sports crystal ball prediction favored Ohio State when it comes to current five-star receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown (Anaheim, CA/Mater Dei). The 6-foot, 190-pound phenom boasts nearly 30 college offers and a top three ranking at his position as well the third best player from a loaded state of California for the 2018 class. Easily a top wishlist type prospect for any program in the country, a crystal ball prediction in favor of the Buckeyes is certainly worth mentioning.

Though St. Brown is most closely associated with Notre Dame and USC, when it comes to Urban Meyer and recruiting, the efforts can’t go unnoticed. It looks as though both parties have each other’s attention and if adding a player like Amon-Ra is possible, the saying “the rich get richer” may just find a whole new meaning. We will see if there is substance to this single crystal ball prediction, but one thing is always for certain: when it comes to recruiting, never count out Urban Meyer.