Star-studded list of recruits ready to invade Columbus for Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights Preview

Tonight marks the annual Ohio State Friday Night Lights recruiting event which always leads to loads of talent and usually a commitment or two in favor of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Usually slated for July, Ohio State, Mark Pantoni, and the rest of the coaching staff decided to move their popular event to June. The move now looks to be a brilliant idea. With the new NCAA recruiting calendar, the ability to host senior recruits for “official” visits is allowed starting in the Spring rather than the start of the recruit’s senior school year. Due to this, the Buckeyes know they can host their top targets at this highlighted event in hopes of securing pledges to add to an already impressive 2019 class.

With so many stars in attendance for tonight’s event, the “Boom” watch will be one to pay close attention to as this evening could be a special night.

The receivers situation

Ohio State’s current roster has a very complete receiver group that will once again bring a lot of experience to the field this coming fall. However, because that group is loaded with seniors, and perhaps a player or two who might leave early for the NFL Draft, Ohio State knows they need to find the “next man up” with their 2019 class. Starting off with a huge boom, the Buckeyes were able to invade Texas and land Garrett Wilson. The 5-star prospect would be a crown jewel for any recruiting piece, but Ohio State and Urban Meyer know that Garrett is just one of the high-powered offensive threats they need to land. Tonight may just take a step in that direction.

St. Louis receiver prospect Marcus Washington is one that has been long linked to the Buckeyes and Ohio State has no problem with that. The 6-foot-2, 195 pound receiver is the tenth ranked player at the position in the country and Missouri’s second best player. In attendance tonight, a commitment isn’t expected, but could happen. As things currently sit, Washington is set to announce his college decision on August 7, but with 100 percent of the 247sports crystal ball predictions in favor of the Buckeyes and Washington being on campus tonight, it’s not totally out of the question to think maybe there’s a possibility the excitement will cause Marcus to commit on hand and give the Buckeyes an early gift rather than waiting until August. Time will only tell and luckily, time is not far off.

The list doesn’t end with the previous mentioned Washington. In fact, the Buckeyes will also play host and roll out the red carpet to another Texas receiver, Elijah Higgins. Much like the committed Wilson, Higgins is also from the same city as Garrett, Austin, Texas. With the two being close friends and even 7-on-7 teammates, one would think this certainly doesn’t hurt Ohio State’s chances with Higgins as it’s more than logical to think that Wilson has been in his ear talking about and promoting his future school to a friend who also has the opportunity to suit up in the same uniform. The 17th best receiver in the country has a history with Stanford and the home state, Texas Longhorns, but Ohio State does of course have more than a puncher’s chance here with Higgins. Having Elijah in the Horseshoe tonight with the music going will surely have him feeling the Ohio State love. Because this is his official visit to Columbus, all of the stops will be pulled out and who knows, maybe the Buckeyes play the Texas “two-step” and get more than a solid pair of receivers for their 2019 class.

Looks like a successful visit for Britt

Even though this evening is the highlight of the week and weekend for the Buckeyes, that doesn’t mean the rest of the week hasn’t been full steam ahead for other recruiting efforts. The staff was not only able to host their one-day camps last Saturday, but also play host this week, including yesterday to prospects from around the area looking to impress the Buckeye coaching staff. Yesterday, Indianapolis, Ind., native Justin Britt made the three hour drive east to check out the Ohio State football program and what they have to offer.

The 6-foot-4, 285 pound Britt is listed as an offensive guard and currently grades out as a 3-stat prospect. More specifically, Britt checks in as seventh best player from Indiana and the 17th best guard in the 2019 class. Probably most linked to the Iowa Hawkeyes, Justin also holds offers from the likes of Michigan State, Purdue, Louisville, Arizona, Cincinnati, and more. The Buckeyes have not entered this recruitment yet, but it’s not certain that they won’t eventually. Having Britt on campus yesterday was obviously a step in the right direction as far as a potential offer is considered, but further evaluation seems to be the factor right now. It’s important to note though, Britt sure seems to be interested as this visit, while not too far in distance is still on his own dime proving the Buckeyes have significance in his mind.

Friday Night Lights may just mean something more

The heading may give it away, but yesterday, an Odessa, Texas native in Peyton Powell announced that he would be making the long trip north to see Ohio State for Friday Night Lights. From the same school, Permian High, that produced the Friday Night Lights book and film, Peyton is a prospect sure to garner some attention this weekend. A 6-foot-2, 197 pound receiver, Powell’s ranking may not be truly indicative of how solid he actually is. Checking in as a 3-stat prospect and a top 40 receiver in the country, his offer list alone is worth noting. With over twenty schools in the mix, Powell has more than enough to choose from.

Schools such as Nebraska, Virginia, Ole Miss, Baylor, TCU, and recently Texas have their offers already extended. With the Texas offer coming not even a month ago, that has many believing the Longhorns have the clear lead for his services. However, with a list that is complete and a surprise visit update in favor of Ohio State tonight, there’s no guarantee there’s a leader for Peyton. The Buckeyes do have their eyes on higher ranked prospects at the spot and do find themselves in great shape for multiple guys so their interest in Powell may be a bit of a slower pace. A solid performance in competition tonight though could have the staff thinking otherwise. We shall see very soon.

Quick Hits:

• 3-star Missouri prospect, Etinosa Reuben takes his official visit to Ohio State starting today. Ranked as Missouri’s tenth best player, many believe Reuben to see a major increase in his ranking when all is said and done.
• 2019 3-star WR, CJ Boone, also of St. Louis will unofficially visit Ohio State for FNL. The Buckeyes are in on two top St. Louis, Missouri area receivers already. Will Boone be a priority?
• 2020 4-stat corner back, Miles Brooks of Trinity Christian Academy will be at Ohio State tonight. A school that has already produced multiple Buckeye players currently on the Ohio State roster, the staff would love that to continue. Brooks is already highly ranked as the sixth best corner for the 2020 class.