Five-star corner set to trim list later this month

Ohio State has been crushing the 2021 college football recruiting cycle. The program, led by head coach Ryan Day, has vaulted to the top of the 247Sports Class Rankings and the second place Tennessee Vols have a lot of work to do if they are going to catch the Buckeyes.

Included in Ohio State’s top-ranked recruiting class is an impressive secondary haul. At cornerback, the Buckeyes have earned verbal commitments from four-star Jakailin Johnson and three-star Devonta Smith. Alongside both Johnson and Smith, the team has also earned commitments from two safeties in four-star Andre Turrentine and three-star Jaylen Johnson.

For most college football programs, a haul like this would be a dream come true, but for Ohio State, work isn’t finished.

The Buckeyes are still hard at work recruiting one of the nation’s top CB’s, and on Monday the team learned it will soon know if their efforts will be coming to an end. Five-star corner Tony Grimes (Virginia Beach, VA/Princess Anne) announced he will be trimming his list of suitors down to three on May 31.

Grimes, who included Ohio State in his top eight schools in April, has long been associated with the Buckeyes football program. While Georgia is the favorite to earn a commitment from him currently, the Buckeyes are hoping to keep their hat in the race until the end. Alongside Ohio State and Georgia, Grimes most recently included Clemson, Virginia, Texas A&M, Penn State, North Carolina and Tennessee in his top schools.

For the majority of his recruitment, Grimes plan has been to commit to a school in December, ahead of the early signing period. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic in place, many recruits are opting to commit early as official visits are impossible to schedule at this time.

With Ohio State set to lose another CB to the NFL Draft following the upcoming season in Shaun Wade, Grimes would make for a great addition in the class and would immediately have in name in the conversation for Ohio State’s next best DB.

Grimes is the No. 1 CB in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2021 class.

2021 DE target sets commitment date

While Ohio State has flourished during the quarantine when it comes to recruiting, there are definitely instances of recruits that could have been a great match with Ohio State, choosing to play elsewhere because of the inability to visit with the school. This appears to be the case with four-star defensive end, Jahvaree Ritzie (Kernersville, NC/Glenn).

Ritzie announced his commitment date on Twitter Monday, and the news of a commitment date likely spells bad news for the Buckeyes.

In a normal recruiting cycle, Ritzie could very well be on his way to committing to the Buckeyes. However, with the sports world up in the air, the in-state North Carolina looks to be the favorite — especially since Ritzie did not get a chance to visit Ohio State before the shutdown.

If Ritzie decides to commit elsewhere, the Buckeyes are not completely at a loss. The program has already secured commitments from five-star DE Jack Sawyer and four-star Tunmise Adeleye.

Ritzie is the No. 14 SDE in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 169 overall prospect in the class.

Quick Hits:

Rivals is in the midst of updating its 2021 college football class rankings. On Monday, they released their new five-star prospects and some future Buckeyes successfully added that last star to their resume. The new five star list included:

• No. 4: Five-star DE target J.T. Tuimoloau
• No. 8: Five star DE commit Jack Sawyer
• No. 11: Five-star WR target Emeka Egbuka
• No. 13: Five-star CB target Tony Grimes
• No. 15: Five-star DE commit Tunmise Adeleye
• No. 16: Five-star OG commit Donovan Jackson