Ohio State recruiting: Reviewing offers that made their way to 2021 and 2022 prospects

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been going on the offensive in the recruiting game after sitting out for two weeks due to a self imposed ban, as reported by Letterman Row’s Jeremy Birmingham. Since then, a lot of offers are flying out, and OSU is working to deepen relationships with other high profile recruits.

Let’s get through them one by one.

Looking at the Young-in’s.

Starting with the IMG Academy, where OSU has been going often (offering DE J.C. Latham recently as well).

Now OSU is looking at 2022 running back Kaytron Allen, who is 5-foot-11, 194 pounds and was MaxPreps Freshman of the Year last year. He doesn’t have a 247Sports ranking quite yet, but what he does have is a ton of offers, including fellow Big Ten rivals Penn State and the Team Up North. He’s also got a few SEC schools interested so far, with Tennessee and Kentucky in the mix.

Looking at the 2021 class now, there were a couple more scholarship offers that have come down the line. Three-star tackle Caleb Tiernan received an offer, as OSU tries to poach the Michigan native. It will be difficult to do, as 247Sports lists him as feeling warm towards Michigan alone. You can’t win the raffle if you don’t buy a ticket.

Hoping to add to the pedigree of star defensive ends, OSU has an offer for Landon Jackson from Pleasant Grove, Texas. He’s the second ranked DE and 24th overall player in the nation, and as such has every big program vying for his services. The 247Sports crystal ball has him at a 67 percent chance to go to Texas A&M, but there’s still a lot of time to go, and the Bucks are certainly in the mix.

The chance to play for Larry Johnson doesn’t come around everyday after all.

Finally, to finish off the rash of offers from OSU this past week, is wide receiver Ketron Jackson. The 6-foot-1 175-pounder is another four-star recruit from the Texas pipeline, but, unfortunately, his heart seems set on Alabama. However, Brian Hartline has been working some recruiting magic recently and I wouldn’t count him out.

Growing Relationships and Building Chemistry

Recruiting isn’t all about offers and commits, and OSU knows this. They are hard at work building up relationships with a bunch of recruits, including a pair from the 2021 class that could be crucial in the running game. Evan Pryor, a four-star runner from North Carolina, says he speaks to running backs coach Tony Alford quite a bit, going as far as to say “Our relationship is better than most,” as he told Letterman Row. Pryor is ranked as the fifth RB in the country for 2021, and has offers from major programs across the nation.

To protect any potential running backs, OSU is also hard at work trying to win over four-star guard Jager Burton from Kentucky. Burton has been speaking to lots of coaches at OSU, and will get to deepen the partnership when he visits to watch OSU take on Penn State, another school that has offered the young lineman.