Ohio State makes the short list for a pair of top safeties

A bunch of the focus lately around the Ohio State athletics department has been the play of the men’s basketball program, which unfortunately fell on Sunday in a thrilling back-and-forth top-five matchup against Michigan as the rivalry made its way to the hardwood. While Chris Holtmann’s group has been the talk of the town, Ryan Day has made sure the football team stays in the news as he continues to attack the recruiting trail. This past weekend was no different, as the Buckeyes made the short list for a pair of top safeties in the 2022 class.

The first guy to make his interest in Ohio State clear was Bryan Allen Jr., a four-star safety out of Aledo, TX. Currently listed as the nation’s No. 5 safety and the No. 71 player overall in the 2022 class, Allen would be a huge addition to this Buckeyes’ junior group that already holds commitments from five-star corner Jaheim Singletary and four-star corner Jyaire Brown.

Cutting his list down to seven schools, Allen is still looking at Auburn, Jackson State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and USC in addition to Ohio State. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound defensive back prospect is yet another player in the Lone Star State giving serious consideration to making the move up north to Columbus, and you can bet that his fellow statesmen in Quinn Ewers and Caleb Burton will be in his ear as the program looks to continue to strengthen its Texas pipeline.

In addition to Allen, Ohio State has also made the short list for four-star 2022 safety Kamari Ramsey. Coming in as the No. 9 safety in the country and the No. 100 player overall in the junior class in the 247Sports Composite, Ramsey, a native of California, has cut his list down from over 16 offers down to a top five, which includes the Buckeyes alongside Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA and USC.

With Ohio State being the only program on Ramsey’s list outside of Pac-12 country, it will be a bit hard for Day and defensive back guru Kerry Coombs to lure the Sierra Canyon product away from the West Coast given that the NCAA has extended its recruiting dead period once again. Still, the fact that he has included the Buckeyes among his top schools means they remain in serious consideration in this recruitment, and hopefully they will be able to get Ramsey on campus before this 2022 cycle comes to an end if they are serious about landing the DB.

Quick Hits

• Speaking of safeties, on Friday Ohio State sent out a new offer to 2023 safety Caleb Downs. Still incredibly early on in the process, Downs comes in as the No. 2 safety and the No. 14 player overall in the sophomore class according to 247Sports’ own rankings. A three-sport athlete out of Georgia, also playing baseball and basketball, the supremely athletic Downs will be a name to watch as one of the top players in the 2023 class once we get a bit closer to that cycle.

• Somewhat surprisingly, Ohio State was left off the top schools list by five-star 2022 cornerback Denver Harris on Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes had figured to be a player in the recruitment of the nation’s No. 3 CB and No. 6 player overall, but it appears that will not be the case as the Houston native has cut his focus down to Alabama, LSU, Texas and Texas A&M.