While the 2018 recruiting class is at the forefront for the Buckeyes, the coaching staff in Columbus is already building relationships and getting offers out for next year’s cycle. One name to keep an eye on going forward would be ‘19 OT Bryan Hudson of Scott County (GA).

Hudson is a 6'5, 292-pounder that has already garnered an offer from Ohio State. In addition to the offer from the Scarlet and Gray, the sixth-highest-graded Bluegrass State prospect in his class has also snatched up opportunities from 13 programs including Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and more. With that being said, Hudson opened up about the Buckeyes’ standing in his recruitment.

In a brief interview with 247Sports’ Bill Kurelic, Hudson revealed that Ohio State was one of the programs that has his attention at this time.

“Ohio State, LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, (but) by no means a top four,” Hudson said. “But those are (schools) standing out right now.”

While Hudson did mention three other programs, the Buckeyes should undoubtedly be confident in their position for the time being. At this moment, Hudson has two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions: one in favor of Ohio State and the other going to the in-state Kentucky Wildcats. The interesting thing about that is Kentucky wasn’t mentioned to Kurelic from the Georgetown native. Who knows if that means the in-state program is not in play; in fact, I would doubt that is the case. But he did specifically mention the Buckeyes, so that’s definitely a good sign.

If Ohio State is ultimately able to land the four-star prospect, he would be paired with ‘19 OT Doug Nester of Spring Valley (WV), who committed to Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes five days ago.

That would be a tremendous haul amongst the offensive line, make no mistake about it. Hudson is currently graded as the 217th overall player in the class and the 26th-best offensive tackle. Ohio State is also focused on guys like Devontae Dobbs of Belleville (MI), who recently visited for Friday Night Lights in July, and Quinn Carroll of Edina Senior (MN) at the position.

Former Buckeye target set to decide

Just about a year ago, Ohio State dropped an offer to '18 DT Aeneas Hawkins of Archbishop Moeller (OH), and would subsequently become the favorite for the Queen City standout.

However, despite a few stops in Columbus for unofficial visits, it was evident that the Buckeyes did not make a major push for the 6'3, 295-pounder. Hawkins, who is a low four-star prospect for now, still had plenty of great options on his plate.

The class's 23rd-highest-graded defensive tackle has compiled an offer sheet that consists of over two dozen programs. After sorting through offers from the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, and more, Hawkins finally has narrowed it down to two schools: The Nittany Lions and the hometown Cincinnati Bearcats. A decision is coming in just a few hours.

With that being said, despite the fact that his father played at Clifton at Cincinnati, it looks like the Buckeyes will have to duke it out with Hawkins a few times on the next level. Right now, the 247Sports Crystal Ball currently favors Penn State.

We will see if the decision to not make a move on Hawkins comes back to bite Ohio State. Either way, the Buckeyes will take their chances, as five-star DT Taron Vincent of IMG Academy (FL) is already in the fold, and someone like Tommy Togiai of Highland (ID) may potentially join him.