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Right now, the Ohio State Buckeyes are in California preparing for a showdown against Washington in the Rose Bowl. Even though the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’ is on the docket for the Buckeyes, there’s still recruiting to be done.
Fortunately, the work that’s been put in for the 2019 and 2020 classes are seeing dividends—and there may be even more good news to come in the following weeks and months.
On Wednesday, Ohio State found out that they were still in the mix for five-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, an elite prospect from the 2020 recruiting class. On Christmas Day, the Washington, D.C., native hinted on Twitter about something happening at 5 p.m. ET the day after Christmas. Lo and behold, this tweet popped up shortly after 5 p.m.
— Rak (@RakimJarrett) December 26, 2018
At the end of the video, Jarrett posted the logos of six schools: USC, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama and Ohio State. Ranked as the 27th best overall prospect in the ‘20 recruiting cycle, it’s no wonder that major programs are interested in the wideout. Over 25 offers have come through for Jarrett, who also carries the prestige of being graded as the No. 4 WR and No. 2 DC prospect, according to the 247sports composite.
A Polynesian Bowl selectee, the 6-foot, 182-pound speedster would be a huge get for any program. In the early going, the 247sports crystal ball has nine predictions casted for Jarrett. Of those nine, an overwhelming eight of the picks have gone in favor of the Buckeyes; the remaining vote was for the Maryland Terrapins, a program that isn’t too far at all from Washington, D.C. Could things change in the coming months? Sure.
Mike Locksley was recently hired as the new football coach at UMD, and a big recruiting win could come by keeping Jarrett close to home. However, the pedigree of Ohio State will be hard to shake off.
With a slew of recent Buckeyes hearing their name called on draft day, the OSU program has the added benefit of not only being an NFL factory, but a highly-successful football team. Ryan Day will be taking over after the bowl game, and who knows how well his tenure will be. But what we do know is that he’s been the brains behind the most prolific pass-happy Buckeye offense of all-time, and to keep that up, he’ll need wide receivers.
In the 2020 class, there’s already two wideouts verbally committed. However, with the high turnover rate for guys going onward to the NFL Draft, underclassman will have their opportunity to shine in Columbus.
Will Jarrett be part of the Buckeye program? We’ll just have to wait and see. But things are shaping up pretty good for Day and the program.