Ohio State offensive lineman target chooses LSU

Ohio State 2021 target, offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger from Clarkston (Mich.) announced his commitment to LSU on Wednesday afternoon. He chose the Tigers over Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

Dellinger is the No. 12 tackle in the country and No. 5 prospect in Michigan.

This wasn’t exactly a sucker-punch for the Buckeyes. Prior to his commitment, all 12 of his 247Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions were for LSU. The only school that was thought to potentially have a chance late in the game was the one in his own backyard and, apparently, Michigan dropped the ball.

The good news is, this doesn’t hurt the future of Ohio State’s O-line. They still hold commitments from the country’s No. 1 and No. 6 offensive linemen—Donovan Jackson and Ben Christman, respectively— along with Tegra Tshabola, the No. 6 tackle in the 2022 class.

Additionally, according to Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts, offensive line target Jager Burton decided over the weekend to push his decision from late August so that he can take official visits, one of which will be to Columbus.

“I have felt for some time the Buckeyes need to get him back on campus to win this battle,” Kurelic writes. “This gives Ohio State a very real chance to land one of their long-time offensive line targets.”

Kurelic also notes that one of the country’s top tackles, Tristan Leigh, seems “more and more interested in Ohio State,” and, despite his Crystal Ball split 50/50 between Notre Dame and Michigan, Rocco Spindler— the No. 3 lineman in the country— is still a valid candidate for the Buckeyes. Spindler has made it clear, however, that he will not make a decision until he has made his official visits.

Other potential prospects include Rayshaun Benny, Terrence Rankl and Tomas Rimac, but if Ohio State can land at least one of the Burton, Leigh and Spindler trio to join Jackson and Christman, they can call their 2021 O-line recruitment a success, writes Kurelic.

Quick Hits

• One of Ohio State’s top 2021 defensive tackle targets, Tyleik Williams, announced his final six schools on Wednesday. He will be choosing between Alabama, Ohio State, North Carolina, LSU, Virginia Tech and South Carolina.

Williams is a four-star prospect, the country’s No. 160 overall prospect, No. 10 defensive tackle and the No. 5 player in Virginia.

• Gabe Powers, the class of 2022’s No. 4 OLB and Ohio’s No. 1 prospect, has already had a virtual Zoom tour with Ryan Day, Al Washington and staff, and he has another call set with Day soon.

“We’re supposed to talk sometime this week,” Powers told Bucknuts on Tuesday. “It will be whenever coach Washington sets it up for. This one I think will be a regular call.”

Powers holds 22 scholarship offers, however the Buckeyes are the only ones to have held a Zoom call with the four-star prospect, according to Kurelic.