Ohio State commits get a bump in updated 2022 rankings

As kickoff is now only two days away, it’s pretty difficult to focus on anything other than the Buckeyes taking on Nebraska this Saturday for the start of the 2020 season. While that is priority number one for both Ohio State’s staff and fans, as always there’s still recruiting news surrounding the Buckeye program.

With the relentless effort on the trail each and every day, which Ohio State prides itself on, there’s never a down time in headlines concerning the Buckeyes and their prospective targets. Even this close to game day, there’s still a heavy dose of attention dedicated to the future OSU players.

247Sports class of 2022 rankings update

247Sports really does some of the best work in the game for their national recruiting rankings. Having both their own perspective as well as their composite rankings, which include other outlets such as ESPN, Rivals, etc., there’s really no stone left unturned in terms of evaluating the top prospects in the country.

Every so often those rankings update, and more times than not Ohio State commits fare pretty well as this usually means a boost in the stock for the future Buckeye players. While these 2022 rankings will surely update again down the road, yesterday’s changes were extremely kind to one current Ohio State pledge.

Known as “Captain Buckeye”, current in-state commit C.J. Hicks (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) saw a huge boost in his stock with the latest rankings update. Moving up 50 spots in the national rankings, Hicks, who was once slotted in as the 101st best player in the country, is now ranked the No. 51 player in the class overall. A big leap to say the least, it’s pretty telling that 247Sports is taking notice as to what the Ohio State staff saw in Hicks and what he will bring to the table come time for his college career.

At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Hicks is slotted to play linebacker for the Buckeyes, but right now he is doing it all for his prep program. With athleticism like his, it’s not too difficult to see why he is one of the crown jewels in the state, and why the Buckeyes had to make sure they keep him at home.

Moving on to the other current linebackers in the class, another in-state player, Gabe Powers (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) still checks in as the highest-ranked player in Ohio State’s 2022 class. Sitting at 49th overall in the country, Powers slid two spots from No. 47, but still checks in as a high four-star prospect and the 33rd-best player in the class according to the overall composite rankings. Rest assured, Powers is still an elite target the Buckeyes are thrilled to have in the fold in this cycle.

Finally, rounding out the trio of linebackers committed in the 2022 class for Ohio State, Dasan McCullough (Olathe, Kansas/Blue Valley North) stayed the same in this latest update. Remaining at 87th overall in the country, McCullough is also still regarded as the 46th-best player per the composite rankings, and still the top-ranked player in Kansas. Listed as an athlete by every major recruiting service, McCullough does likely project to play linebacker at the next level, and is already someone who position coach Al Washington is raving about. Needless to say, the Buckeyes linebacker unit is in great hands.

Rounding out the rest of Ohio State’s verbal commits in 2022:

• Jyaire Brown (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) - slid three spots from 115th to No. 118 overall.
• Tegra Tshabola (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) - stayed even at 237th overall.
• Bennett Christian (Acworth, Georgia/Allatoona) - outside of the Top 247 at 384th overall.

Quick Hits

• Unfortunately for the top guys in the 2021 class, the All-American Bowl, slated to be played in January, was cancelled earlier this week. A true shame for the players given the prestigious honor to play in the game, it’s just another side effect of 2020. Still honoring the selected players though, yesterday current 2021 Buckeye commit Mike Hall was presented his All-American jersey. Hall is considered as No. 5 defensive tackle in the country and the 55th-best player overall in the 2021 class.

• Mentioned earlier, the sixth and latest commit in Ohio State’s 2022 class is Georgia native tight-end, Bennett Christian. A prospect that is likely better than his ranking, Christian is really putting together a stellar junior season. Likely ranked where he is due to his high school being a Power-I offensive team that doesn’t exactly showcase Christian’s abilities in the pass game much, Ohio State knows what they’re getting in this young man. To see his season so far, look at these five games of his film for the current 2020 campaign.