Who will be the next gift under the tree for the Buckeyes?

First and foremost, a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you, Buckeye Nation. Ohio State’s staff and players have been hard at work preparing for the college football playoff semifinal up until yesterday with full practices. Though they will not be back on the field until Sunday, the team is staying on campus and won’t be at home for the holidays.

A bittersweet aspect of playing in the postseason, a win versus Clemson would make all of their sacrifices away from friends and family seem worth it. In addition, a national title game berth would be the gift everyone may remember the most in this crazy 2020 season that has had no shortage of twists and turns.

It’s been incredible to watch Ryan Day and his crew recruit at the highest level, and thanks to their continued success, Ohio State’s on-field success will continue at a pace you have to be more than content with. As always, it’s a great time to be a Buckeye.

Predicting who could be next to commit to Ohio State

With it being Christmas and all, it’s only fitting to talk about gifts. One of the greatest gifts the Buckeyes can receive are commitments from their top targets, who are almost always ranked as the top players in the country at their given positions. In regards to who could be next to commit to Ohio State, it’s the 2022 class that will most likely add to their incredible haul. Sure, 2021 has a couple more targets to wrap up, but February is probably the safest bet for the timeframe when the Buckeyes could add to their second-ranked class in the current cycle.

On the offensive side of the ball, the player that is the most likely to commit to Ohio State next is Arizona native Kyion Grayes — the 47th-ranked receiver in the 2022 class and Arizona’s third-best player overall. Grayes is not a name new to Ohio State fans, as he’s made his interest in the Buckeyes very clear. In addition, his recruiting stock has really begun to take off, as he has recently climbed in the player rankings and earned his fourth star in the 247Sports Composite.

While he was committed to the in-state Arizona Wildcats for a couple of months, it was the Ohio State offer that really caught all of his attention and likely gave him any reason to reconsider his pledge. After the dismissal of Kevin Sumlin from the Arizona program, it gave Grayes a great chance to decommit, and he did just that.

In the last month, other programs such as LSU and Penn State have offered Grayes, but it’s the Buckeyes that really have the best chance at landing his services. With the endless comparisons to current Buckeye Chris Olave, Grayes is certainly a player Brian Hartline has identified as someone he wants to add to the fold, and that could very well come within the next month.

Defensive prediction

Switching gears to the defensive side of the ball, the prospect that is really trending towards Ohio State the most as of late is Florida five-star cornerback prospect Jaheim Singletary. The country’s fifth-best cornerback in the class and the No. 10 player nationally has given the Buckeyes some serious momentum in the last couple of weeks as his announcement is scheduled for this coming Jan. 2nd. The crystal ball predictions in favor of Ohio State have been coming in previewing his likely decision.

Once thought to be a clear Florida lock, it’s been a welcomed change of pace that the Gators have taken a back seat to the Buckeyes. Seeing guys in the know such as Steve Wiltfong and others going with Ohio State as the eventual destination has given the confidence that once again the Buckeyes will be bringing in an elite defensive back that can carry on the incredible tradition of development that eventually turns into NFL Draft success.

We have just over a week to go in this one, but as things stand now, the Buckeyes are well on their way to landing their third five-star player in the class and their second prospect ranked in the top 10 spots nationally.

Shedding light on recruiting timeline

One prospect the Buckeyes are really high on is Columbus, Georgia native Mykel Williams. The fourth-best defensive tackle in the country is also considered to be the No. 5 player in Georgia and the No. 42 player nationally regardless of position. At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, it’s pretty easy to see why Williams holds over 25 offers from many of the premier schools in the country such as Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, LSU, and of course, Ohio State.

Recently, Williams has been chatting with people such as Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts about his recruiting process and the timeline for a potential commitment to the school of his choice. In regards to Ohio State, the Buckeyes will have to be a bit patient with Williams as he wants to make his pledge known several months from now in August of 2021. Fortunately, the programs vying for his commitment will know where they stand soon, as Williams does plan to come out with a top 10 list on Jan. 1. You’d have to think the Buckeyes will make the cut in large part thanks to their current relationship and how often the two parties speak.

Williams has said that he speaks with Larry Johnson, Kerry Coombs, and even Ryan Day on the regular, and that should help keep Ohio State in it until the very end. Williams will trim his list to an eventual top five in March and then again down to a top three in June. If the Buckeyes can continue to keep up their communication efforts up with Williams, you have to like their odds to at least be one of the frontrunners.