Ohio State continues to make the cut for top recruits

Ohio State spring practices are underway and Urban Meyer appears to be learning just as much about the upcoming season's roster as are the fans.

With position battles underway and losing assumed starting middle linebacker Tuf Borland, the idea of next man up has never held more true. Meyer is one of the best at ensuring that when the team loses a top level talent for whatever reason, the team has talented players on the sideline willing and able to step up.

The main reason Meyer has been successful at replacing talent is his incredible knack for recruiting. With the spring season upon us, a rather slow 2019 recruiting class will likely pick up steam in the coming months. Ohio State has already successfully secured commitments from three blue-chip recruits and is hoping to continue that streak.

Four-star WR lists Ohio State in top 8

One of the positions the Ohio State Buckeyes target every year is wide receiver. Meyer knows that it is critical to have speed and athleticism on the outside of the field to create space for the run game. Fortunately for the Buckeyes one of the top WR’s in the 2019 recruiting class included Ohio State in his top eight schools moving forward.

Jameson Williams (Saint Louis, MO / Cardinal Ritter College Prep) took to Twitter Monday afternoon to release his top schools and Ohio State has made the cut, but they will have some stiff competition during the rest of Williams recruitment.

Along with Ohio State, Williams included Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Florida State in his list of schools he will focus on for the remainder of his recruitment.

Williams is one of the top WRs in the 2019 recruiting class. The 247Sports Composite Rankings have him listed as the No. 43 WR and the No. 249 overall recruit. Williams is also the No. 6 rated prospect from the state of Missouri.

Williams has the hands and speed to excel as a receiver in college; and standing at 6-foot-2, he has the size to go up and grab contested balls. However, if Williams wants to truly succeed at the next level, he will need to add some muscle as he currently weighs in at 160 pounds.

Offered by Ohio State last summer, Williams has managed to find himself on campus for an unofficial visit, but look for the Buckeyes to get him on campus either this spring or during the season for an official visit. While it is still rather early in Williams’ recruitment, Ohio State is viewed as the favorite to land Williams holding 100 percent of the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions.

Four-star safety lists Ohio State among top schools

Late Sunday night, one of the top safeties in the country took to Twitter to announce his top schools. Land-Grant Holy Land’s own Charles Doss briefly mentioned this in Monday’s State Secrets column but we are going to dig into this a little bit more. As it isn’t every day a recruit lists a school in their top schools without holding an official offer yet.

Jalyn Phillips (Lawrenceburg, GA / Archer) has been seeing his recruitment take off in the early months of 2018. Since the turn of the year, Phillips has received numerous scholarship offers from some of the top college football programs in the country, but not Ohio State.

However, despite holding an impressive 54 offers, Phillips has somehow found a way to narrow his decision down to 10 schools and while Ohio State has yet to officially offer him, the team found itself included in his list. Along with Ohio State, Phillips also included Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Clemson, USC, Nebraska and Tennessee in his top schools.

Similar to the WR position, defensive backs will remain a priority year in and year out for Ohio State recruiting. As long as the Buckeyes’ DB machine keeps churning out NFL-ready players in the secondary, Meyer and the Ohio State coaching staff will need to keep bringing in the best high school talents to cover the attrition.

Phillips is currently just the No. 29 S in the country and the No. 353 overall recruit in 2019, but if he continues to impress at spring camps and has a successful senior campaign, his rankings will surely climb.

As his rankings climb, expect even more offers to come in for Phillips, including the coveted Ohio State offer. If this does in fact happen, look for the Buckeyes to try their best to get him on campus as the kid already holds the University in high regards.

Phillips recruitment will be one for Ohio State fans to follow because it could be a situation where they would be in the driver’s seat immediately following an offer.

Ohio State hosts multiple recruits for Monday morning practice

The Ohio State football coaching staff had a busy Monday morning as the team took part in spring practice. On top of this, multiple recruits found themselves on campus to watch the practices. Below are just a couple of the recruits who were on campus yesterday:

Isaiah Gibson

Position: 3-star defensive tackle

Class: 2019

Town: Springfield, OH / Springfield

Size: 6-foot-4, 263-pounds

Notable Offers: Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, West Virginia, Cincinnati

Darrion Henry

Position: Defensive end

Class: 2020

Town: Cincinnati, OH / Princeton

Size: 6-foot-6, 260-pounds

Notable Offers: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Cincinnati