Buckeyes offer 2022 Georgia DE

Even though the NCAA — for what seems like the 10th time — extended the recruiting dead period, with each passing day it seems increasingly likely that we will have college football this fall. Regardless of what it looks like in terms of the amount of games played and other unknowns, any season at all is just what the doctor ordered. No pun intended.

In fact, just yesterday, Ohio State started contacting season ticket holders with plans in regards to seating assignments for the fall. While far from a finished product, this type of development as stated is good for football being played this fall at some capacity.

As the summer months arrive and with Ohio State players heading back to campus voluntarily, recruiting is still going to be at the forefront for the Buckeyes coaching staff. In their relentless pursuit of the nation’s best class, others are gaining some steam, but fortunately, Ohio State still has a commanding lead in front of the pack with more of the nation’s best players still in their grasp.

Bucks offer elite 2022 Georgia prospect

Though the 2021 class is receiving most of the focus right now from both the staff and fans, the future 2022 class is also already off to a great start. Currently, Ohio State has three commitments and continues to lock down the state of Ohio and keep their best in-state players at home for the next level. Outside the borders though, the Buckeyes as usual are using their brand to reach top prospects all over the country, and what better position to feature than the defensive line.

Every year Ohio State is churning out an elite defensive lineman and with arguably the nation’s best position coach in Larry Johnson, the cycle is constantly repeated. Basically, recruit elite talent, develop them for three to four years under Johnson’s tutelage, and the end result is millions of dollars thanks to an NFL contract.

It’s a recruiting pitch that the Buckeyes have been using for some time now, but when you have the continued success like they have at the position, it’s pretty easy to see why they keep landing elite prospects from all over the country. Yesterday, Ohio State was at their recruiting pursuits again when they offered their latest defensive line prospect in the class of 2022. Mykel Williams, a 6-foot-5, 260 pound defensive end out of Columbus, Georgia, took to his Twitter account to announce the Buckeyes as the latest program to offer in his recruitment.

Without an overall composite rating yet, Williams still checks in as the eighth-best defensive end in the class, the No. 9 player in Georgia, and the 77th-best prospect overall in the 2022 class. A high four-star, Williams already boasts an impressive offer list of over 20 of the top schools in the country. With programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, USC, and many more, Ohio State may be a littler later to the party than the rest, but will certainly be a factor moving forward.

Again, after multiple years of seeing the Buckeyes unload top draft picks, Williams has to see what the Buckeyes could do for his development, but as seen in most southern prospects, pulling a top talent from SEC country can be tough. Fortunately, the Buckeyes have a successful track record in both the defensive line and in Georgia, giving them more than just a puncher’s chance.

Potential Basket-Bucks boom looming

It can be easy in these current times to look solely at the football program’s recruiting, but over on the hardwood Ohio State has their recruiting strengths. In the current 2021 class, Ohio State boasts the fifth-best class nationally and the second-best class in the Big Ten, only behind Wisconsin. As they sit with two in-state commitments from the likes of Meechie Johnson and Kalen Etzler, Chris Holtmann and his crew are still in pursuit of more talent and the potential of it also coming within state lines is looking more and more possible.

Yesterday, the 2021 Buckeyes class received a 247Sports Crystal Ball forecast in their favor with in-state star, Malaki Branham. An Akron native out of the basketball-power program at St. Vincent-St. Mary, Branham checks in as the best player in Ohio for the current class as well as the No. 4 shooting guard and the No. 22 player in the nation overall.

What would be a huge addition and arguably the key piece to Holtmann’s 2021 class, the Buckeyes still need to close the deal. Fortunately, other major blue-bloods such as Duke, North Carolina, and others have yet to offer, so if the Buckeyes can keep this star at home it will make for a true home court advantage type of recruiting class.

To take a look at what Malaki could potentially bring to the Buckeyes, see below.