State Secrets: Buckeyes getting close to another boom?

As you read this, Ohio State has touched down in Indianapolis, waiting for its shot at a third consecutive Big Ten Championship when they take on Wisconsin Saturday night. A game that could mean so much to the Buckeyes in regards to their postseason hopes and dreams, Ryan Day isn’t letting this team look past the Badgers. The ‘one game at a time’ mentality is the sole focus for the squad and while many have been looking ahead to the playoff and all of the scenarios that come with it, the objective is rather simple: Win, and everything else will take care of itself.

Win is exactly what Ohio State has done all season. Whether it’s on the field or virtually in every award available, this Buckeye team has exceeded every expectation to this point and are looking to keep that moving forward with a win tomorrow night and potentially two more after that. While their counterparts and conference foes have been able to hit the ground recruiting this week, Ohio State has been hard at work practicing. Though they haven’t been devoting all of their efforts to recruiting this week, the greatest recruiting pitch is that they are still playing.

Make no mistake about it though, while Day and staff have been on the field, Mark Pantoni and his squad have kept the foot on the gas doing everything they can to finish their 2020 class and continue building their already loaded 2021 class. Right now is truly an incredible time to be a Buckeye fan. Enjoy it. Runs like this are special.

Could a “Boom” be coming soon?

Ohio State’s success this season has been because of every single position group on the field, but countless times it’s been said that you win in the trenches and that has remained completely true this season. The Ohio State defensive and offensive lines have dominated every opponent and that’s a clear reason why they’re undefeated to this point in the year. Specifically with the O-line, every member of the five-man front made at least first or secnd All Big-Ten honors and that right there will stand out to any prospect the Buckeyes are going after.

With their 2021 class, the Buckeyes have already landed Ben Christman, Ohio’s No. 2 prospect and the No. 10 offensive tackle in the class which shows how solid of a start Ryan Day and Greg Studrawa are already on. Reloading is always important, so while that start is positive as already mentioned, selfishly, Ohio State will be going after several other top targets from across the country and, as in most cases, the success on the recruiting trail looks as if it could be repeating itself yet again. One prospect who fits that bill is Texas native, Donovan Jackson. A 6-foot-4, 310 pound offensive tackle, Jackson is highly touted and coveted by every top program in the country. Ohio State looks to be in pretty good standing with the OT at this point in time.

The nation’s No. 8 tackle prospect has certainly been outspoken with his intrigue of the Buckeye program, but after multiple crystal ball predictions in Ohio State’s favor yesterday, the Buckeyes are looking like the front-runner to land him. In fact, later yesterday afternoon, Donovan took to his twitter account to announce that he plans to commit this coming January and while all the momentum lately has been Scarlet and Gray, the timetable for his decision tends to give way that his choice could easily be Ohio State. If so, the 4-star would further boost the 2021 class by giving it another top 50 prospect in the nation. This recruitment is not completely over, but he looks to be trending toward Columbus.

Awards are better in twos

It was mentioned earlier, but Ohio State’s been adding quite the impressive individual player awards resume this season and that isn’t just with the current Buckeyes. In fact, in the current 2020 class, commit Cam Martinez (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) has seen his trophy case get rather full of as of late. Last year, as a junior, Martinez was named MLive’s High School Player of the Year for the state of Michigan. Last week, Martinez received the award again for the second-straight season. An incredible accomplishment due to the in-state talent, Martinez’s accolades prove why Ohio State is more than excited to have him in the fold. As if that’s not enough, not even a week later, Martinez received another top player award when he was named Michigan’s Mr. Football on Thursday.

An incredible high school career for the nation’s No. 15 athlete, Martinez finished his senior campaign with 2,124 yards rushing and 36 touchdowns as well as 1,258 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air. A dynamic playmaker to say the least, the Buckeyes will have some serious fun deciding where he will play when he begins his first season at Ohio State.