4-star Ohio State WR target will make college decision on Friday

Believe it or not, we are wrapping up the first month of the 2018 college football season. So far, the Ohio State Buckeyes have done very well on the field, and look to remain unbeaten after Saturday night’s primetime matchup with Penn State. But before the Bucks play the game in State College, Penn., they may pick up a huge win on the recruiting trail.

Decisions, decisions

Four-star wide receiver Jameson Williams (St. Louis, MO / Cardinal Ritter College Prep) tweeted out on Wednesday morning that he was making his college decision on Friday.

OSU has been very keen on getting more wideouts stockpiled, as an exodus is expected at the end of the 2018-19 season. Between graduation and the NFL Draft calling, wide receiver spots will be aplenty in next season’s run for a spot in the College Football Playoff. If Williams commits to the Buckeyes, it’ll be a huge get for Urban Meyer and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline.

The St. Louis native holds over 40 offers, with the likes of Alabama and Oregon in the fray for his commitment. There’s a good reason why so many schools have made offers: Williams is the No. 2 prospect in the state of Missouri, the No. 40 WR in his class, and is ranked No. 130 in the entire class regardless of position, according to the 247sports composite.

Eighteen predictions have been forecasted in the 247sports crystal ball, with 17 of them pointing to Ohio State being the school Williams commits to. The one remaining vote was declared as cloudy, meaning no specific program was selected.

If the Buckeyes do land Williams, he would become the 15th member of the 2019 class, and would join five-star Garrett Wilson as WRs in the class. When his announcement is made, we’ll have you covered.

A flip in the making?

With Williams on the verge of making his decision, a Buckeye offer to another 2019 recruit may be enough to flip a decision.

After linebacker Kane Patterson decommitted from OSU for Clemson, the Bucks needed to fill the void with another LB. On Wednesday, they may have found their guy as three-star Tommy Eichenberg (Cleveland, OH / St. Ignatius) picked up the Scarlet and Gray offer—and let everyone know about the good news on Twitter.

Already verbally committed to Boston College, the Ohio State offer may be enough to pull him out of the clutches of Chestnut Hill, Mass. Recruiting predictions are split on whether it’ll be OSU or BC that gets the 6-foot-3 inside linebacker when signing day arrives.

In-state recruiting was something Meyer and the coaching staff have mentioned before, but a handful of high-profile recruits went outside the state for their college playing days. Getting Eichenberg would be a step in the right direction for Ohio-based recruiting. The Cleveland native is the 14th best prospect in the state and the 19th best ILB, according to the 247sports composite.

Could he flip his commitment sometime this weekend? Who knows. But the fact that Eichenberg, an Ohio kid, got an offer from Ohio State may be enough for him to really think about what school he wants to go to. Especially if Meyer and the staff can get him on campus, it may spell bad news for Boston College—and very good news for Ohio State.

Birthday balloons

Between a decision on the horizon, and an offer going out to an Ohio native, what else could be happening on the Buckeyes’ quest for more top recruits? Well, having the team’s logo on a Twitter graphic for another recruit proves that you’re not out of the race.

Four-star WR Peyton Powell (Odessa, TX / Permian) celebrated his birthday yesterday, and put up a trio of graphics on Twitter. While one graphic was from Arkansas, and another was from TCU, the leading photo was of an animated Powell holding up three balloons, with the logos of Ohio State, TCU and Texas being shown.

Oklahoma was thought to be a favorite to land Powell, but if that was the case, conventional wisdom points to an OU balloon being put into the Twitter graphic. TCU and Ohio State share a decent amount (20 percent apiece) of the 247sports predictions for Powell.

Maybe I’m looking to much into a picture, but if Ohio State was out of the race, their balloon would’ve been replaced with another program.