Ohio State looks to get another elite offensive prospect from Georgia

Today marks being only 55 days from the kickoff to Ohio State’s 2017 football season. With a little bit of a bitter taste from the end of the 2016 season, it’s not too surprising to see the Ohio State coaching staff and players amped up for the highly anticipated 2017 season. With this season’s lofty expectations, just like every season in Columbus, Urban Meyer knows the rest of this summer and into fall camp has to be clicking on all cylinders for his team to be fully prepared. One thing that seemingly never stops clicking on all of those cylinders is the efforts Ohio State is placing into recruiting. With each and everyday a new type of success story in some way, it’s a great time to be a Buckeye fan.

It’s never too soon

Let’s be real clear: the first and foremost priority for Urban Meyer and his staff in recruiting is looking at the present class of 2018. However, when you’re Ohio State, and seeing the type of success that you are, it’d be silly not to entertain the class of 2019 if there’s a genuine interest in one of the nation’s top young prospects.

Owen Pappoe (Grayson/Loganville, GA) is that 2019 prospect the Buckeyes are interested in. Yesterday, Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts wrote a piece on Pappoe and his current relationship with Ohio State and what is next on the recruiting circuit for him and the Buckeyes. With two Georgia natives currently already committed to Ohio State in the 2018 class with Emory Jones and Brenton Cox, the Peach State has a rich tradition being linked to Ohio State and these two are hoping it continues after they’re already well into their Buckeye careers with a guy such as Pappoe in the mix for 2019.

The 6-foot, 210-pound monster is only 16 years of age, but boasts a high four-star ranking that will surely be a five-star title when all is said and done. Listed as the top overall outside linebacker in the 2019 class, Pappoe is also the top prospect in the talent-rich state of Georgia. With 40 offers already, it’s easy to see why Owen is the top at his position and, according to Bill Kurelic, Owen has every intention of visiting Columbus, Ohio, again in the near future to check-in on the Buckeyes.

As things stand right now, the early favorites on the 247sports crystal ball predictions have Florida State and Clemson as the leaders in this recruitment—but Pappoe has made no secret of his interest in Ohio State. With Urban Meyer’s track record in Georgia and historic recruiting success, it may just be a matter of time before Ohio State joins the fold as a serious threat to land another top prospect.

Bucks make the cut for 4-star

Ohio State’s incredible 2018 class already has commitments from two offensive linemen in Max Wray and Matthew Jones. With the ever so popular recruiting sage of in-state Ohio top prospect Jackson Carman, the top offensive tackle in the 2018 class, Ohio State is hoping to keep the best at home if they can fend off Clemson and USC as the top threats. That alone would be a triple threat for any recruiting class, but when Meyer and his staff are doing this well with their recruiting efforts, more are sure to be interested in joining the fold.

Yesterday, four-star offensive tackle prospect Darrell Simpson (Northwest/Justin, TX) released his top eight schools via his Twitter account and let it be known that a commitment date will soon follow. The 6-foot-7, 340-pound monster of a tackle has over 20 offers, and that’s no surprise as he grades out as a top 15 tackle in the country for 2018.

Making the cut included TCU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. As stated earlier, the Buckeyes have quite the package deal with their two commitments and look to land another so the “is there room” scenario may be tricky when it comes to Simpson. However, with every indication currently pointing to Oklahoma as the landing spot for Darrell, that may not be a factor after all. Time will tell, but Simpson doesn’t currently seem to be leaning towards Ohio State.