Buckeyes offer 2020 offensive lineman

The Ohio State Buckeyes have finalized their 2019 recruiting class and have quickly moved onto 2020. While a lot of eyes have been on 2020 quarterback Jack Miller as he moves onto the Elite 11 finals, the Buckeyes just offered another 2020 offensive lineman that is sure to catch some attention. Tate Ratledge is a 6-foot-5, 290-pound four-star lineman out of the Darlington School in Rome, Georgia.

Ratledge already holds offers from 22 different schools and has received offers from schools like Michigan State, West Virginia, North Carolina and Nebraska in the past month. He also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Florida and is one of the more sought after offensive line recruits in the 2020 class.

The Buckeyes already have 2020 commitments from five-star tackle Paris Johnson Jr and four-star guard Luke Wypler. A commitment from Ratledge as well would really put the Buckeyes in a great place in the offensive line department to help protect Miller.

Ratledge is currently ranked fourth in the offensive line category and sixth in the state of Georgia, according to Rivals. His current school, the Darlington School, is a hot bed for recruits and Ratledge is just one of many highly touted recruits to come from there. It would also be nice if Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day could go into SEC country and take a recruit back to the Big Ten and away from Alabama or Georgia.

Ratledge’s recruitment is sure to be one to watch for Buckeye fans and it will be interesting to see how it develops over the next couple of months.

Familiar Ground

St. Thomas Aquinas has been kind to the Buckeyes in past years. From Joey Bosa to Nick Bosa, to Damon Arnette and Jordan Battle, Ohio State has pulled some elite prospects from the Florida powerhouse.

Now in the Day era, they look to do the same exact thing in the 2020 recruiting cycle. On Wednesday, offensive tackle Marlon Martinez announced on Twitter that he picked up an offer from the Scarlet and Gray.

Graded as a three-star, Martinez is the 65th best OT and 86 best prospect from Florida, according to the 247sports composite. Over 20 schools have already come knocking, including the likes of Florida and Auburn—two SEC programs that are coming off bowl victories against Big Ten institutions.

O-line is always a position of need. And with the track record OSU has in the trenches, that becomes a big selling point for athletes looking to get to the next level. 2020 is a long way out, but Day and the Bucks are now officially in the running for another St. Thomas Aquinas standout.