Ohio State looking to pull off a recruiting hat trick

Ohio State recruiting is already off to a BOOMing week.

In the midst of a global pandemic, the Buckeyes are making headlines in the recruiting world. Monday morning, the team earned its second cornerback commitment in as many days in three-star CB Devonta Smith. Later that same day, they hauled in a huge piece in the 2021 cycle when they snagged four-star RB Evan Pryor. As we head into Tuesday morning, the Bucks may not be done yet.

Make sure to follow Land-Grant Holy Land throughout the week as we will keep you updated with everything Ohio State recruiting.

Four-star DB set to announce “big news” today

Ohio State may be able to pull off a recruiting hat trick in an incredibly short span. With two defensive backs committing to the program in the last two days, the Buckeyes could be getting a third later this morning.

Four-star CB target Andre Turrentine (Nashville, TN/Ensworth) took to Twitter Monday saying he would be announcing some “big news” on Tuesday. While it was originally likely to just be a top schools list, the defensive back dropped his top four on Monday afternoon, listing Ohio State alongside Alabama, LSU and Tennessee. Its tough to speculate in the recruiting game, but Tuesday very well could be his commitment.

As of Monday, there were six Crystal Ball predictions by on 247Sports favoring the Buckeyes — all of which have come in the last two days. No other team in the country has a prediction in their favor. The Crystal Ball predictions are no guarantee, but a sudden rush of Ohio State love in a short period of time, including esteemed experts like Steve Wiltfong and Bill Kurelic, something could very well be in the works.

The DB last visited Ohio State in November, and with many spring trips being canceled due to COVID-19, it appears he has decided to skip the wait and make a commitment now.

Turrentine’s announcement is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., and that is likely Central Time as he hails out of Nashville, TN. The 6-foot, 175-pound Ensworth product is intriguingly listed by position as a cornerback, but is ranked the No. 6 safety in the country and the No. 136 overall prospect.

Four-star WR announces commitment date

While Kerry Coombs may be stealing the headlines for Ohio State recruiting, Brian Hartline is still hard at work securing another elite group of wide receivers. Hartline’s 2020 recruiting class recently included a historic haul mainly due to the assistant’s hard work on the recruiting trail.

On Monday, the Buckeyes got more insight into one of their targets at the position, as Dekel Crowdus reaffirmed his Top 10 and announced his commitment date of May 10.

The four-star WR out of Lexington, KY/Frederick Douglas included Ohio State on his short list, which remained the same from his original announcement on March 5. Alongside the Buckeyes are Baylor, Kentucky, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

Crowdus plans on announcing his decision on his birthday this spring and, once again, because COVID-19 has ceased all physical contact in recruiting, none of the above teams will have a chance to sway him in person. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, they are one of the last two teams to host him for a visit.

Quick Hits

• The Buckeyes earned a Crystal Ball Prediction for the top running back in the country in TreVeyon Henderson on Monday from 247Sports Director of Recruiting, Steve Wiltfong. The No. 1 RB in the nation by 247Sports’ own rankings also just so happened to drop his final nine schools, which obviously included Ohio State alongside Georgia, Penn State, Michigan, Oklahoma and others. The five-star recruit teased Buckeye Nation on Twitter as well, responding with the eyeballs emoji to a Tweet by OSU commit Ben Christman in regards to the 2021 class.

• Graduate transfer small forward Seth Towns will be announcing his new team this week. The 6-foot-7 big man averaged 16 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for Harvard his sophomore year, good enough to earn Ivy League Player of the Year, but missed the last two seasons with a knee injury, leaving him with one remaining year of eligibility. Originally from Columbus, Ohio State is the favorite to land his services.