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Ohio State continues to host top talents

The Ohio State football team played host to a couple of the country’s top targets at Monday morning’s practice.

By Dan Hessler
Nick Cross | @Nick_Cross26

Another day, another top prospect in Columbus

Coming off a holiday weekend, the Ohio State football team was back in full force preparing the the upcoming season. While position battles continue to play themselves out, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff are hard at work trying to replace a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball.

Meyer has gotten this Ohio State football program to elite status, despite losing top talent to the NFL Draft year after year. One of the main reasons behind the program’s success is the coaching staff’s success rate in the recruiting game. It seems that every day, Ohio State is playing host to multiple of the country’s top high school football players—and Monday was no different.

4-star S Nick Cross

Class: 2019

Town: Hyattsville, MD/De Matha Catholic

Size: 6’1/207

Offers: Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn, Oklahoma, Penn State, Michigan State, etc

Cross has been one of the hottest names in the recruiting world for the class of 2019, and for good reason. The blue-chip safety plays for one of the top high school football programs in the country, and one that has a familiar name for Ohio State fans.

Cross is former teammates with current Buckeye defensive end Chase Young, who is coming off a very impressive freshman season. While Cross isn’t viewed as highly as Young was coming out of high school, he is still viewed as one of the top at his position, and if his senior season lives up to expectation, he will likely see his name climb the ranks of most national college football recruiting databases.

The 247Sports Composite Rankings have Cross listed as the No. 10 S in the class to go along with the No. 184 overall ranking. Cross is also seen as the No. 3 prospect from the talent-rich state of Maryland.

It appears the four-star prospect’s visit to Columbus went as well as expected and Ohio State has to like where it sits in his recruitment. Cross, who holds a reported 32 scholarship offers, has yet to officially release a top schools list but one would have to assume the Buckeyes would be on it.

As it stands today, Notre Dame is viewed as the favorite, holding 75 percent of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions but look for the Buckeyes to try and get that to swing more in their favor as the recruiting season takes off in full force this spring.

3-star ILB Marcel Lewis

Class: 2019

Town: Clinton Township, MI/Chippewa Valley

Size: 6’1/205

Offers: Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, etc

While Marcel Lewis has yet to receive an official scholarship offer from Ohio State, he could likely see one head his way in the coming months. Lewis plays inside linebacker, which is a position of need in Ohio State’s 2019 recruiting class.

While the class as a whole has moved rather slowly, there hasn’t been much noise regarding Ohio State’s efforts at recruiting the position. The Buckeyes have offered the likes of five-star Shane Lee, four-star Lance Dixon, and three-star Keith Maguire, none appear to be Ohio State leans. Because of that, the Buckeyes will need to expand their search and Lewis could be their go-to. Also, poaching a recruit out of Michigan is always a nice benefit.

A three-star recruit, Lewis is seen as the No. 25 ILB in the country and is the No. 18 recruit from TSUN. While these ranking may appear low, Lewis has an undeniable skill set and has the potential to become a high-level college football player.

Currently, the 247Sports Crystal Ball is split 50/50 between Michigan and Michigan State, but if Lewis were to receive the coveted Ohio State offer, they would have to be viewed as a legitimate contender.

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