New commitment on the horizon for Ohio State?

What an absolutely crazy past few days it has been for Ohio State recruiting. It may be a shortened week with Thanksgiving coming up, but the Buckeyes’ staff is taking no days off on the trail to ensure the future of the program remains bright. They are getting a ton of help on the recruiting front from their current commits as well, with many of the top guys in both the 2021 and 2022 classes getting really involved in bringing more talent to Columbus.

There is a bunch of news and notes to get to today, so let’s get right into it.

Turning heads

Obviously the big news to start the week was the commitment of five-star wide receiver Caleb Burton. Just a few short days after five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers joined Ohio State’s 2022 class, the nation’s No. 1 wideout made things official on Monday night. While the timing was maybe a bit unexpected, most figured that Burton would follow in Ewers footsteps and end up with the Buckeyes, as the two Texas natives always wanted to play with one another at the next level.

Obviously Buckeye Nation was enthralled with the addition of yet another top-tier wide receiver to their already brimming stable of five-star talents, but the fans weren’t the only ones to take notice of the latest OSU commitment. Many of Ohio State’s top targets in the 2022 class had something to say about Burton’s decision....

Denver Harris is a massive target for the Buckeyes. Another Texas native, the five-star junior defensive back is the No. 3 CB in the 2022 class and the No. 6 player in the country overall. Speaking with Birm of Lettermen Row immediately following his commitment, Burton named Harris as one of a few guys he was already speaking with to try and convince to join him at OSU.

Ohio State certainly isn’t hurting for running back talent in these upcoming classes, but one of their priority guys at the position in 2022 is Damari Alston. The Georgia tailback is the No. 27 RB in the country, and holds over 40 offers for his services thus far. Alston has been chopping it up with Buckeye commits on Twitter for a while now.

Five-star offensive tackle Zach Rice is likely near the very top of Ohio State’s board in 2022. A huge position of need moving forward, Rice is the No. 1 OT and the No. 19 player in the country overall. Rice was one of a few guys involved in the social media frenzy a few weeks ago when it looked like Ryan Day was about to land every five-star recruit in the country — which, honestly, to this point they have been doing.

Another big fish with eyes on what is going on in Columbus is five-star defensive end Enai White. The No. 2 WDE in the 2022 class, White is the No. 1 player in the state of Pennsylvania and the No. 29 overall prospect in the country. He already holds over 40 offers thus far, and has drawn a first-round NFL Draft grade from 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn.

Next man up?

On Tuesday afternoon, rumblings began that Ohio State was about to receive yet ANOTHER big commitment in its 2022 class. It all started, as it usually does, on the Twitter feeds of current Buckeye commits C.J. Hicks and Dasan McCullough.

It didn’t take long to follow the paper trail and figure out who they were likely talking about, and it was a name that Ohio State fans may not have been all that familiar with until now.

Shortly after these tweets went out, four-star wide receiver Armani Winfield received a handful of 247Sports Crystal Balls in favor of the Buckeyes, including from the likes of director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong and Ohio State insider Bill Kurelic. Another Texan, Winfield is the No. 12 WR in the class, and the No. 75 recruit nationally.

While Crystal Balls are never a guarantee, the timing of the Twitter rumor mill as well as all the predictions rolling in at once made it pretty clear that Winfield was the guy in question. Those assumptions looked even more correct after tweets like this from the Buckeyes’ newest commit:

Even Winfield himself eventually joined in on the social media fun:

It is unclear when or even if for certain Winfield will make his official commitment, but if the same timeframe holds true from when a similar story played out with Burton, we could see something pop up in the next few days.

Quick Hits

• Three-star wide receiver and current Arizona commit Kyion Graves told Bill Kurelic of 247Sports that his first college visit after this pandemic is over will be to Ohio State. Ranked as the No. 62 WR in the 2022 class, the Buckeyes’ coaching staff seems to view Graves as a potential diamond in the rough candidate similar to that of Chris Olave, who was also a former three-star recruit. A native of Arizona, Graves’ lone Crystal Ball pick is in favor of a flip to Ohio State.