Signing Day 2019: We’ve got everything you need to be ready

The day is finally upon us. Sure, most recruits officially signed back in December, but there’s still plenty left for today, and it’ll still be a busy day as coaches across the country put the finishing touches on classes they’ve been working towards tirelessly for months now.

That’s true for the Ohio State Buckeyes as well. Despite signing all but one member of their class back in December (more on that unsigned recruit in just a moment), and despite the small size of the class (will finish with likely 17 signees), Ohio State still has some things to watch today. For all that you need to watch to keep up with the Buckeyes, we’ve got you covered.

We talked about it last week, and again yesterday, and nothing has really changed for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has three main targets, and they’re all on the offensive line. Those three targets: Doug Nester, Dawand Jones and Enokk Vimahi are all set to announce their signing day choices. Let’s break down when we’ll know where those guys land, and what to expect from those announcements.

Doug Nester: We’ll start with the Buckeye commitment, though we can only say that for a few more hours. Nester has been looking around for weeks following the announcement that Meyer would be stepping down, and despite Ohio State’s best efforts, I think this one is going to be a loss. Nester has been looking for a reason to depart the class for a while now, and I think he found that reason this past weekend.

Nester will be announcing at 5 p.m. ET from his high school auditorium, and unless something crazy happens, the choice will be Virginia Tech.

Dawand Jones: One of the most freakish athletes in the country, Jones is a player that Ohio State thinks can develop into a dominant force at the next level. he visited Columbus back in January, and hosted Ryan Day and Greg Studrawa on Saturday. This really came down to Ohio State and Penn State, but Ohio State feels very confident here, and I do too.

Jones is set to announce his school at 6:30 p.m. local time, and I expect that he will be donning a scarlet and gray hat when that time comes.

Enokk Vimahi: A late addition to Ohio State’s recruiting targets list, the Buckeyes have been going hard in this recruitment for the past few weeks, and that hard work has paid off. Enokk loved his visit to Columbus, and Ohio State has overtaken Oklahoma as the second team in this two-team battle with USC.

We saw quite a few late cycle surprises from Urban Meyer, and I think Ryan Day gets his first today. Enokk is announcing his commitment at 12:30 pm, and I’ve got the Buckeyes pulling the upset and stealing Vimahi away from USC.

Grad transfers

Another topic of discussion for Buckeye fans recently has been graduate transfers, and specifically, Rutgers guard Jonah Jackson, who visited this past weekend. While Jackson won’t be announcing today (he still wants to take some visits elsewhere, specifically to Oklahoma), I do think he will eventually announce his intentions to play at Ohio State this fall.

He may not be the only one. Ohio State is also very interested in Georgia Tech guard Parker Braun, and would be willing to take both if they can get both. While Braun is a little less likely than Jackson to head to Ohio State, the Buckeyes are very actively pursuing multiple offensive line grad transfers, so stay tuned.

Quick hit

• Chris Holtmann checked out 2020 center John Hughley yesterday.