Ohio State tight end commit picks up 5-star rating

247sports issues TE Ruckert a 5-star rating

On Monday, Rivals released an updated ranking list for the class of 2018 prospects. On that list, tight end Jeremy Ruckert (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) showed up as a four-star TE, and was ranked No. 83 overall.

On Tuesday, 247sports did a reevaluation of the prospect, and good news came in: Ruckert was awarded a five-star rating. Even better, Ruckert made a significant climb up the overall board of 2018 prospects. Before, the Lindenhurst native was No. 35 on the big board of prospects; now, he sits at No. 11—and is considered the best TE, and best prospect in the state of New York. Additionally, the 247sports composite, an aggregation of all the recruiting grades, has Ruckert as a five-star product.

So, it appears that Ruckert is the real deal.

Ruckert wasn’t just given the five-star rating, though. He went out an earned it. Earlier in the summer at Nike’s The Opening camp, Ruckert went out and showed that he was the best TE in ‘18.

Plenty of high-profile schools were in pursuit of Ruckert before he verbally committed to Ohio State on July 17. In fact, 29 schools made an offer to the TE, including the likes of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, and Michigan.

4-star PG takes visit to Ohio State

Transitioning to the basketball recruiting circuit, it was a big Tuesday for Chris Holtmann and the Buckeye basketball team. OSU played host to four-star point guard Noah Locke (Owings Mills, MD/McDonogh School).

Locke is using one of his five allotted visits on the Buckeyes, and according to Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch, Holtmann’s squad edged the basketball powerhouse Kansas for the last visit spot.

Below is the visit schedule for Locke:

There is stiff competition for the Owings Mills, Md. prospect. Fellow Big Ten foe Michigan, SEC power Florida, and Xavier, who made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, are in the mix.

The 247sports Crystal Ball predictions are fuzzy with Locke. Forty percent have him going to Kansas, but since the Jayhawks didn’t make the final visit list, their chances of getting Locke take a hit. Providence and Michigan both split 20 percent of the votes in the Crystal Ball. Granted, there were a total of five votes, but the votes make sense— UM and Providence got visits with Locke.

However, the wildcard here seems to be Ohio State. Holtmann’s squad issued an offer to Locke back on July 24, and shortly thereafter, Locke included OSU on his shortlist. If the Buckeyes were going to make a move and gain even more rapport, this visit will be their best shot. A good visit may very well steer Locke in the direction of Columbus, Ohio for his collegiate career.