4-star OT earns Ohio State offer

College football recruiting is 24/7, 365, at Ohio State. Fans love recruiting because it offers a potential window into the future of the OSU team. We now see scholarship offers given out early. Those who receive offers early are truly elite players desired by many schools.

A 2021 prospect gained another big offer coming from the Buckeyes

4-star offensive tackle gets coveted offer

On Monday, 2021 four-star offensive tackle Tristan Leigh (Fairfax, VA / Robinson Secondary) receive an offer from Ohio State. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound standout responded with this tweet—showing his excitement about the offer:

The 247Sports Crystal ball has Leigh pointing toward Virginia Tech, but that could change. Leigh will be making an unofficial visit to Ohio State for the Penn State game on Nov. 23. During that clash in the Horseshoe, offensive line coach Greg Studrawa will try and sell him on the Buckeyes. It’ll be a great game day environment, especially because it is Penn State.

With a reported 20 offers, many of the top schools around the country want Leigh on their team. LSU and Alabama are two of the most noteworthy SEC schools. From the Big Ten, Michigan, Maryland and Penn State have made their interest known. And then you can’t forget about the homestate schools, Virginia and Virginia Tech, who both have offers in for the 177th best player in the ‘21 cycle, according to the 247Sports composite.

At his position, the composite has Leigh at No. 24. Within the state of Virginia, the composite has Leigh as the third best player. Both are very good ratings, and it’s no surprise that the Power 5 schools have come calling.

Recruiting rewind: the OSU offense that never happened

College football recruiting is always full of story lines, rumors and speculation. Currently we are in what is known as a quiet period, meaning there’s a very limited contact between coaches and players. This period started Sept. 1, and continues through Nov. 30. Coaches are not allowed face to face contact with players and may not visit the players’ school to watch them play. For this reason we don’t generally see many commitments during this time frame. So, instead of speculating on future decisions made by high school kids, I thought it would be fun to revisit a story of three elite prospects that were going to be the future of the Ohio State offense.

This article is intended to show why college football recruiting is exciting and engaging but also never a sure thing. Those of us who follow recruiting in depth are often reminded that it is the lifeblood of the sport. Not all that long ago we would get to watch a young man make pubic his school of choice by selecting a hat off a table and placing it on his head—symbolizing the commitment to his new school and, more importantly, his new football team. The so-called hat dance isn’t good enough for all players though, some have taken to filming and producing commitment videos. One of my favorite videos I have seen was the collaboration done by wide receivers Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey that was released back on Aug. 25, 2016.

At this point in time, the Buckeyes already had their quarterback of the future committed in Tate Martell. Grimes, Lindsey and Martell were expected to be the future of the offense.

Fast forward to today, and not one of these highly-touted players suits up in the Scarlet and Grey. The Tate Martell saga is well known to Ohio State fans, as he entered the transfer portal after the news that Justin Fields would be transferring into OSU from Georgia. Tate now plays as a wide receiver—so far only as a decoy—and direct snap quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes after losing the starting QB job to Jarren Williams. Adjusting to this role is still a work in progress; he has two rushing attempts for a total of two yards this season.

Trevon Grimes also transferred to the Sunshine State, going to the Florida Gators. He played in all 13 games for UF last season and got his first start in the Chick-fil-A Peach bowl against Michigan. So far this season, Grimes has a reception in every game for the Gators, totaling 176 years but no touchdowns.

Tyjon Lindsey decommitted from Ohio State and signed with Nebraska, where in two years with the Cornhuskers he tallied 15 receptions for 98 years. Lindsey has since transferred to Oregon State, providing the Beavers with nine receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown in limited action due to a leg injury.

The fact that neither Grimes or Lindsey ever suited up for the Buckeyes left some vacancies in the receiver room. Who filled the spots of the very highly touted recruits that left Ohio State? Two four-star guys in Kamryn Babb and Cameron Brown, and also a little-known three-star skinny kid from Mission Hills (Calif.) named Chris Olave.

This is why we love recruiting and to quote one of the all time great broadcasters Paul Harvey, “And now you know the rest of the story.”