It has been a roller coaster of a week for Ohio State football to say the least.
With the news coming Friday that the defensive end Chase Young was suspended indefinitely, Buckeye Nation had every right to have a slight panic attack. There is still no official update on Young’s status, as the Buckeyes remained undefeated without their best player against Maryland this past Saturday. There is, however, some good news in regards to the OSU roster.
Ohio State is constantly recruiting to ensure the future is as bright as the present, and the Buckeyes have again found themselves in the recruiting headlines.
Ohio State offers 2023 QB
It really never is too early to start preparing for the future when you are in charge of running one of the nation’s most prestigious football programs. In the Buckeyes case, Monday provided a chance to offer a 2023 QB an official scholarship offer. You read that right — Ohio State offered a high school freshman an opportunity to suit up and play for the Scarlet and Grey almost four years from now.
Malachi Nelson (Los Alamitos, CA/Los Alamitos) took to Twitter late Monday evening to show off his most recent scholarship offer.
God is So Good I just received a HUGE Offer from Thee #OhioState University ⚪️ #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Vc02zM2lEd
— ✨Malachi Nelson✨c/o 2023 (@MalachiNelson9) November 12, 2019
Alongside Ohio State, Nelson already holds five other scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Oregon. Those are some big name programs.
Understandably, there have not been any star rankings submitted for Nelson yet as the 247Sports Composite Rankings has not ranked the 2023 class yet. That being said, Nelson has already shown he has the potential to be one of college football next big QBs, and will likely be near the top when the rankings do get released.
Again, it is super early in Nelson’s recruitment and there is no reason to speculate a leader just yet. However, getting in the running early will only help Ohio State’s chances when his recruitment takes off.
No. 1 DE in 2021 has Ohio State in top 10
The news concerning Chase Young dropped this past Friday and, understandably so, dominated the headlines. As a result, it was easy to miss that Ohio State got some good defensive end news that same day.
The No. 1 DE in the 2021 recruiting class, and the No. 1 overall prospect, announced his top-10 schools Friday, and the Buckeyes made the cut.
thank you to all the coaches that have been recruiting me and all the organizations that have believed in me.. here’s my TOP10.. (other schools can still contact) #17thBirthday pic.twitter.com/se95KMjOFL
— Korey Foreman (@koreyforeman54) November 8, 2019
Korey Foreman (Corona, CA/Centennial) included Ohio State on his short list, alongside a bunch of the nation’s top programs such as Alabama, Clemson, and LSU. The full list can be seen in the above tweet.
Currently, USC is the front-runner in his recruitment, but that is mainly as a result of being the hometown team. Outside of that, Alabama has recently upped it’s interest in Foreman, and is the only school to host him on campus to this point.
While that may seem to be bad news for Ohio State, it is not. The reason being because the Buckeyes, like many of the others included in his list, still made his top-10 even without an official visit to this point.
Going forward, that will need to change if Ohio State is going to have any chance at earning a commitment from the talented defensive end. The presence of Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes’ on-field product — while impressive — will only go so far in Foreman’s recruitment, so expect OSU to do its best to get him on campus multiple times in the coming year.
Quick Hits:
- Ohio State 2020 quarterback target CJ Stroud earned 2019 Elite 11 MVP. The rising QB has been trending towards the Buckeyes as of late, and the program now holds 100 percent of the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions. Check out some behind the scenes footage of him the Elite 11 posted to its Twitter page.
Check out a behind the scenes look at the 2019 Elite 11 MVP @CJ7STROUD as he preps for one of his biggest matchups of the year.
— Elite11 (@Elite11) November 11, 2019
: https://t.co/4DrRAdh1Qx pic.twitter.com/ZQM1qD0HH9
- Want even more future Buckeye highlights? Check out five-star OT Paris Johnson Jr.’s senior season highlight reel.
Senior Season Highlights..https://t.co/Gu5LDKWi9Q
— Paris Johnson Jr. (@ParisJohnsonJr) November 11, 2019