Ohio State five-star OT target to commit soon

Ohio State’s football program is busy preparing for what is the biggest game in Ryan Day’s coaching career. Enacting revenge last weekend on Clemson was sweet, but Day reiterated that beating the Tigers was not the end goal. The goal of this Buckeye football team is winning the National Championship, and they will have the opportunity to do so in less than a week against the daunting Alabama Crimson Tide.

However, while the Buckeyes are hard at work preparing for Nick Saban and the Tide, they are still finding ways to make recruiting headlines. It is this constant dedication to recruiting that allows the program to rank among the best in the sport year in and year out, and it is the exact reason Ohio State is able to compete at the highest level like they are right now.

The Buckeyes 2021 class is basically complete and sits at No. 2 in the nation, only to be outdone by Alabama. Again, it is no coincidence the two teams leading the recruiting class rankings are playing each other in the National Championship. Ohio State is also hard at work putting together its 2022 class, one which already looks to be great. The Buckeyes currently hold the top class in next year’s cycle, and there is a chance the team adds to that haul sooner than later.

Five-star offensive tackle target Zach Rice has been taking to Twitter lately, hinting that a decision may come at any time — literally.

Rice included Ohio State in his top eight schools back in November alongside Florida, LSU, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Virginia. While there have been little updates following that release, it seems we may soon learn where Rice is heading, and he may not be heading there alone.

At the end of the above video, Rice calls out fellow five-star OT Ohio State target Gunner Givens and asks if he is ready to make the move.

One doesn’t have to read too far between the lines to notice these two blue-chip offensive linemen may be a package deal. If so, it may spell good news for the Buckeyes, as Givens has a top six of Clemson, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Ohio State. Meaning, if the two are indeed committing to the same school, Ohio State and North Carolina would be the only two common denominators.

There have yet to be any Crystal Ball predictions cast for Rice, meaning all of this is speculation, but it is the best we have to go off of. Givens has been viewed as a Clemson lean for some time, but that could change now that five-star OT Tristan Leigh just recently joined the Tigers’ 2021 class. Is Givens going to spurn Clemson in favor of North Carolina or Ohio State? Will the two really be a package deal? Again, nobody really knows anything in Rice’s recruitment other than him.

Rice’s name will be one Buckeye Nation should follow as the Buckeyes are building an incredible class for next year’s cycle, and adding possibly two five-star OTs to that class to go alongside four-star OT commit Tegra Tshabola would be amazing news for 2022 five-star QB commit Quinn Ewers and the rest of that impressive group of high school juniors.

Quick Hits

• On Monday night, the Buckeyes extended an offer to 2021 long snapper Mason Arnold. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound prospect from Tampa, FL is still eyeing an opportunity to play at the next level, specifically at either Ohio State or Kansas.