Buckeyes look to be hosting nearly every top recruit in the country this coming June

As if Wednesday wasn’t already a jam-packed day full of visit news in regards to Ohio State and the reopening of in-person recruiting coming in June, Thursday was off the charts with the amount of targets both committed and un-committed announcing when they would be in Columbus to see the Buckeyes. Quickly becoming the busiest month for recruiting Ohio State’s staff has probably ever seen, Ryan Day and his crew likely wouldn’t have it any other way considering they haven’t been able to host their top targets for well over a year now.

June is going to be a wild ride, but all of the news is positive — which of course is pretty much par for the course when discussing the Buckeyes and recruiting.

2022 visits galore!

Right now the first weekend of June is easily the biggest recruiting weekend of the month for the class of 2022. As it stands, that first weekend every single of Ohio State’s class of 2022 commits will be in attendance. The perfect opportunity for all of the guys to be together finally, it will also be a great chance for those said commits to do some serious recruiting of their own and potentially help add to their already top-ranked class in the country. With several of their top remaining targets from the class on their way to Columbus, surely the staff and commits will be doing all they can to stay atop of the nation.

One extremely important visitor that will be a top priority is the top safety in the country per 247Sports, Xavier Nwankpa. The Iowa native has arguably been Ohio State’s top safety target in the 2022 class, and on Thursday he gave way that he will be in Columbus the first weekend of June to see the Buckeyes and what they have to offer. The idea here is for the current commits to make Nwankpa feel comfortable with their crew and that Ohio State is the perfect fit for him. The Buckeyes are going to have a ton of energy that weekend thanks to all that will be on hand, but again, having every member of the class allows for Nwankpa to get a feel for how he would fit in with the guys.

The lone Crystal Ball prediction on 247Sports is in favor of Ohio State, and while the Buckeyes will have to fend off several other top programs such as Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and others, this upcoming official visit could be the start of wrapping his recruitment up as a win for Ohio State. June 4-6 will be a huge opportunity to do just that.

Two weeks later, the Buckeyes will again be hosting two more of their top targets in the 2022 class at both the running back and receiver positions. Starting with the running back spot, the Buckeyes look to have zeroed in on their top target Dallan Hayden. For some time now, OSU has been sold on the Tennessee native, and while his ranking may not be the top-10 status Ohio State has become accustom to, the coaching staff’s opinion on his abilities should be all you need to hear. The 19th-best back in the country per 247Sports, Hayden also checks in as the No. 208 player nationally.

In addition to Ohio State, Hayden will be visiting Illinois where his brother currently plays, and will see Notre Dame in June as well before his trek to Columbus. The son of a former Tennessee player, it’s a definite the Vols will have the chance to see Hayden as well, but the Buckeyes continue to look as if they’re climbing the leader board if not sitting at the top lately. It will be a key weekend to try and get Hayden to be part of the 2022 class when all is said and done, but right now things are really looking to be in good position for Ohio State.

Now on to the receiver position, the Buckeyes are in outstanding shape already with the position group. After seeing the spring game just last week and the continuous flashing of elite young guys, Brian Hartline and Ryan Day of course have built an absolute monster for years to come. Thanks to having commitments from the top receiver in the class in Caleb Burton and the 14th-best receiver in Kyion Grayes, the Buckeyes certainly don’t need to feel any pressure to take another wideout due to their depth, but also can be pretty selective if they do choose to take another receiver in the class.

The target that has come up time and time again is Georgia native Kojo Antwi. The eighth-best receiver according to 247Sports, Antwi also has plans of being in town during the June 18-20 weekend. Finally a chance to really sit down with Antwi, Brian Hartline will certainly pull out the recruiting chops if the Buckeyes do want to take a third guy in the current cycle. Hosting him on the official visit would lead you to believe he is still a priority for them, and while Texas A&M and Georgia will be tough to beat, surely you can’t dismiss what Hartline can do when it comes to closing time.

Again, having both Hayden and Antwi on campus this same weekend will be a chance to mix it up with two of their top remaining skill guys on the offensive side of the ball.

Texas offensive line targets set official visit dates

The skill positions have had their fair share of focus and priority, but the offensive line recruiting is still a major headline in the 2022 class as well. The success for any team starts up front and the Buckeyes are clearly no different. Once again, the month of June will provide ample opportunity for the staff to host their top targets at any and every position, but keeping the theme in the trenches here, Ohio State will play host to two major Texas natives that would be big time additions in more than one way to this current haul of 2022 players.

Set to visit Columbus the second weekend of June, Jaylen Early, the ninth-best offensive guard in the country, will be in town for a multiple day stay. The Buckeyes have some spots to fill along the line, and would love to add a high caliber guard such as Early. At 6-foot-4, 290 pounds and hailing from the football-rich state of Texas, the Buckeyes know what they would be adding with Early in the fold and will do what they can to make that a reality.

Making the trek the last weekend of June is fellow Texas native Kam Dewberry, who is definitely not a new name to those who follow Ohio State recruiting. The ninth-best offensive tackle in the class, Dewberry is a monster of a prospect who is also considered to be the No. 100 player overall regardless of position for the 2022 class. In addition to his four-star grade, Dewberry boasts a whopping 30-plus offers from many of the nation’s elite programs such as Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU, and several more.

Needing an offensive tackle still in the class, position coach Greg Studrawa will be sure to roll out the red carpet while Kam is in town visiting. Right now the lone prediction on the 247Sports Crystal Ball is in favor of Texas A&M, but the Buckeyes have more than enough time to make up any ground and take their best shot at landing the ever-important national offensive tackle target.

Quick Hits

• In addition to all of the names just given, believe it or not the Buckeyes have even more guys coming to campus in just under two months time. Rounding out a few more visitors who took to Twitter to set their dates included three-star New Jersey cornerback Jayden Bellamy, Four-star defensive tackle Dominick “Nick” James, four-star safety Kamari Ramsey, four-star defensive end Wilfredo Aybar, and four-star defensive tackle Chris McClellan — all in the class of 2022 — will be in Columbus over various weeks in June.