Ohio State using NFL Draft success as momentum on the trail

You all tuned in to watch the only live sporting event in the last month, but let’s just take a moment to mention it again. Last night’s first round of the NFL Draft was arguably Ohio State’s best recruiting pitch. It wasn’t much of a surprise, but seeing it happen before your eyes, the Buckeyes absolutely stole the show out of the gate and made history doing so.

However you want to spin it, one thing remains true for Ohio State. The selection of Joe Burrow made all of the first three selections products of the Buckeyes program, and the first time ever those three picks were teammates at one time. With both Chase Young and Jeff Okudah selected back-to-back at No. 2 and No. 3, OSU became the first school to ever have a defensive player selected in the top-five in three consecutive drafts.

As if that’s not enough, Damon Arnette going 19th overall gave the Buckeyes yet another defensive back selection, with both corners being taken in the fist round. Truly elite company, every Ohio State CB since 2013 has been drafted, with seven of them being first rounders. Even better, eight OSU defensive backs since 2014 have been first round picks — no other school has more than three in the same time-span.

In addition to the defensive accolades, the Buckeyes also passed USC as the program with the most first round selections all time. What is becoming a yearly tradition, Ohio State’s ability to recruit elite talent and develop it for the NFL has proven to be testimony and not theory. When impressionable recruiting targets are seeing top paid NFL players such as Michael Thomas and Ezekiel Elliot bragging on their alma-mater, it just helps the cycle of success in recruiting continue to repeat.

Top players all over the country are taking notice of what the Buckeyes are doing, and with Ohio State using every bit of it to their advantage, the 2021 class is further proof that this type of domination in development has no plans of stopping any time soon. It’s a great time to be a Buckeye.

Pre-Draft Excitement for the 2022 class

As if the draft itself wasn’t enough positive news for the Buckeyes, Ohio State added another elite commitment to the fold, which feels like it a daily occurrence these days. Much like Chase Young and Jeff Okudah went back-to-back, Ohio State was able to land two commits in as many days.

Jyaire Brown, a four-star DB, committed on Wednesday, and then moments before the draft, in-state offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola made his pledge to the Buckeyes. A 6-foot-6, 320 pound monster, Tshabola is only a high school sophomore, which means he has another two full years to develop his game and his body which is already a college-sized frame for an offensive lineman.

Currently ranked as Ohio’s No. 2 in-state prospect, landing an elite player at a crucial position along the o-line, the Buckeyes are doing what it takes to keep their best guys home. After losing out on the top in-state offensive lineman with Jackson Carman in 2018, position coach Greg Studrawa has been able to shrug off the loss by landing the best in-state linemen in 2020, 2021, and now 2022. It’s a feat the Buckeyes will surely look to continue, but adding to the trenches is a clear path to staying successful on the field.

It was only days ago the Buckeyes were without a commit in their 2022 class, but now the momentum Ohio State is having on the recruiting trail in their current 2021 cycle looks to be feeding into the future as well. If 2022 is anything like 2021’s class, this very well could be two of the best classes not just for the Buckeyes, but period.

BIA looking to reload, as usual

Staying in the 2022 class, on the theme of defensive backs, the Buckeyes were active again yesterday as they sent out their latest offer to the top player in Michigan for the 2022 class in William Johnson. A 6-foot-3, 190 pound stud, Johnson is that prototype long and lengthy prospect Ohio State has loved adding to their rosters over the years.

The fourth-best corner in the country for his class, Johnson also checks in as the 16th best player overall. An elite playmaker the Buckeyes will look to poach from the team up North, the draft should be and will be a key example of why he should head South for his college years and suit up for Ohio State. With an offer now in hand, look for Kerry Coombs to do what he does best, and that is dominate recruiting behind enemy lines — specifically in Michigan.

Who could be the QB for 2022?

With the help of Ryan Day, Ohio State has become a destination spot for the quarterback position. After developing Dwayne Haskins into a first round draft pick, and with Justin Fields at the helm of the offense looking to do the same, the Buckeyes are competing at an elite level, and of course that has to do with who is under center.

In the 2020 class the Buckeyes were able to land not one, but two elite signal callers thanks to Jack Miller and CJ Stroud trusting the tutelage of Day. Looking to the current 2021 cycle, Ryan Day is at it again with five-star Kyle McCord already in the fold. This past off-season, the Buckeyes named Corey Dennis to position coach of the quarterbacks, and while Ryan Day will have his attention all over that spot, the eyes are looking at Dennis for recruiting the 2022 quarterback.

One name to get to know is in-state prospect Drew Allar of Medina. Lately, the Buckeyes have gone out of state to find their guys, but of course they wouldn’t mind a guy close to home too. Allar currently has four offers from Pitt, Toledo, Akron, and Central Michigan, but top programs are beginning to take notice and come into contact.

Grading out as a three-star product as a sophomore, Allar had a very impressive season totaling 1,802 yards and 23 touchdowns passing and another 294 yards and three TDs on the ground. A true pro-style target, standing at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, it will be interesting to see how far his stock could rise with another two years of prep development.

In an article with 247Sports analyst, Allen Trieu, Allar goes into detail with who is starting to take interest and who he is speaking with. The Buckeyes are beginning to start the conversation, and with someone that close to Columbus in proximity, you can bet they’ll pay close attention from here on out.

Quick Hits:

• 247Sports analyst, Tom Loy made a crystal ball prediction in favor of Ohio State for five-star receiver target Emeka Egbuka. Landing Egbuka would give the Buckeyes the commitments from the top receiver in the class in the second-straight cycle.