Ohio State recruiting: running back developments in 2021 class

Week one of college football is officially in the books and the best news to come from the opening weekend is, of course, that the Ohio State Buckeyes took the win and came away without serious injury to any of their key players. Fans have long awaited to see what the 2019 Ohio State team would look like, and seeing the first quarter proved that the ceiling of this team is pretty scary for any opponent in their way. With room for improvement and growth still a common theme, it’s exciting nonetheless that the Buckeyes can look so good at times and still have areas where they can get better in the coming weeks.

In recruiting, though, game weekends allow the staff the chance to get many of their top targets on campus to experience what campus is like on game day. As Ryan Day said just last week to the media, recruiting is always a top priority—even during the season. The staff is still hard at work to bring the next wave of elite talent to the program for the coming cycles.

2021 running back developments?

The clear focus when mentioning Buckeye running back recruiting is in the current 2020 class. In fact, it’s easily one of the most talked about subject in Ohio State recruiting and with the way things have progressed over the course of the 2020 cycle, it’s for a reason. The Buckeyes desperately need to add to their stable in 2020, and fans have been advised to relax because the staff will do just that. However, this latest update looks to the future and concerns the 2021 class—and that truthfully is a breath of fresh air.

Just a week ago, the Buckeyes made their way into Florida and offered IMG Academy running back Lovasea Carroll. A 6-foot-1, 190-pound bruiser of a back, Carroll is currently ranked in the 2021 class as eighth ranked back in the country and the 20th best player in his original home state of Georgia. Checking in as a top-140 player as well regardless of position, Carroll is a high four-star prospect that has double digit offers from many of the nation’s top programs. With the Buckeyes also recently offering Carroll, it proves just what caliber of player he is and will be at the next level. The only problem, since April, was that he had been committed to South Carolina.

However, Carroll made the decision to decommit on Sunday.

The interesting note here is the aforementioned offer by Ohio State. Could it be related or merely coincidence? Time will certainly tell on that front, but obviously the Buckeyes would like to be a player for his services moving forward. With his newly named status too it’s only a matter of time before other programs swoop in to make their pitch, but look for the staff to do their best efforts on getting Carroll on campus to see how he would fair if he were to choose the Buckeyes. Surely there will be more news in the coming days concerning Ohio State and Lovasea Carroll.

Current Buckeye pledges love OSU game days

This weekend, current commit Gee Scott Jr. made his official visit from Washington state to his future school, and came away loving everything about his visit. From spending time with his future position coach, wide receiver coach Brian Hartline, to seeing the team in action, Gee’s thoughts on Ohio State and his decision have done nothing but solidify his love for Ohio State. Also making the game with the short trek from Cincinnati was current 2020 class, five-star tackle Paris Johnson Jr.

To have two elite talents and leaders of the class on hand for the first game gives the feel that these commits cannot wait to get their shot at Ohio State. The Buckeye staff welcomes with open arms their current commits and targets and it didn’t solely come from the 2020 class.

Also enjoying their time on campus Saturday was current 2021 five-star defensive-end commit Jack Sawyer, who made the very short trip from Pickerington. In fact, LGHL was able to speak with Sawyer regarding his time in The Horseshoe, and he let it be clear of his great time.

“The atmosphere was great. The stadium was electric and you could tell everyone was excited for the beginning of Coach Day’s era,” Sawyer said.

Not only was Sawyer able to comment on his time at the game, but Ben Christman shared the same thoughts, too.

“The best fans in the land,” Christman said, when asked about the atmosphere.

With four prospects of their caliber explaining how exciting the atmosphere is inside of the stadium proves that Ohio State is still Ohio State regardless who is the head coach and Ryan Day has proved he can win on and off the field. If he can keep it going, the Buckeyes are in perfect shape.