Ohio State sends offer to No. 2 WR in 2020 class

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been one of the more active teams in the recruiting process this spring. The Buckeyes have earned multiple commitments in the last month including four-star OT Jake Wray, the teams first commitment in its 2020 class.

However, the recent string of commitments is only the beginning for Ohio State as the program continue to build towards the future. The Buckeyes have targeted a plethora of the nation’s top talents and continue to offer elite prospects in the country.

Monday was no different as the Buckeyes officially sent a scholarship offer to a former Miami 2020 wide receiver commit, Leonard Manuel (Ocala, FL / Vanguard.)

Despite only receiving an offer to play for the Buckeyes this week, Manuel is a name that is familiar among those following Ohio State recruiting. Just last week, Manuel announced his top 11 schools since de-committing from the Hurricanes and the Buckeyes made the cut.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Buckeyes’ WR coach Zach Smith have taken the reigns in recruiting Manuel, and the two have done an excellent job. Georgia is currently the favorite to land a commitment from the elite WR prospect, but Ohio State has been gaining ground in his recruitment this spring and are thought to be legitimate contenders in his recruitment.

Manuel is undoubtedly one of the country’s best athletes in the 2020 recruiting cycle. The 247Sports Composite Rankings have him listed as the No. 2 WR in the country and he is the No. 13 overall prospect despite position.

He has yet to visit any school since his de-commitment and he has plenty of time to visit schools, giving that he has two years of high school football to complete before he has to make a decision. Look for Ohio State to try and get him on campus multiple times in the next year in efforts to secure a commitment. With the Buckeyes looking to lose an enormous amount of talent at the position following this season, the WR position will be one of the more crucial positions for the Buckeyes in the 2020 class.

Top Ohio State target sets commitment date

As was previously mentioned, Ohio State has been busy adding multiple members to its 2019 recruiting class in the last month. The Buckeyes will be looking to add to this impressive haul later this year as one of their top targets has settled on a decision date.

Three-star safety prospect Jalyn Phillips (Lawrenceville, GA / Archer) announced Monday afternoon that he will announce his decision on his birthday this summer.

Phillips recently included Ohio State among his top schools and has already started taking official visits to those schools, most recently being Oklahoma.

The Sooners are thought to be the leading contender in Phillips recruitment, as the announcement comes on the heels of his visit to Norman, Oklahoma. However, he will likely take advantage of the four remaining official visits allocated to him by the NCAA in the coming months.

If Ohio State is serious about trying to secure a commitment from Phillips they will almost certainly have to be one of those teams to get him on campus. If Meyer and the Ohio State coaching staff are successful in this attempt, the Buckeyes would have to be considered a serious contender for his services.

Phillips is currently a three-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but after a successful spring camp season, he could easily see a fourth star added next to his name if he has a strong senior season. He is the No. 26 safety in the 2019 recruiting class and is the No. 370 overall prospect.

Future Buckeyes all over new ESPN Top 300

ESPN announced their first Top 300 rankings for the 2019 recruiting class Monday morning and several future Buckeyes were included. Making ESPN’s cut were the following:

• No. 74 OT Doug Nester
• No. 78 ATH Ronnie Hickman
• No. 206 OT Ryan Jacoby
• No. 225 RB Sampson James
• No. 245 ATH Steele Chambers
• *Not ranked was DE Noah Potter

As was noted by ESPN’s college and recruiting reporter Tom VanHaaren, the Buckeyes are sitting among the top college football programs in the country with five commits making the list.