Ohio State in top three for five-star center

Tuesday was a day that ends in ‘Y’, which means there was more Ohio State recruiting news. This time around, the Buckeyes find themselves in the thick of things for a five-star center on the hardwood, while the football program is eyeing a four-star defensive tackle. As always, Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered with all things OSU recruiting.

Searching for size

This year’s Ohio State basketball team at times looked like one of the best units in the entire country, but at the same time Chris Holtmann’s group was inherently flawed, which ultimately led to their first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. One of these flaws was the roster’s total lack of height, which saw the Buckeyes have a ton of trouble attacking the glass and shutting down opposing bigs — which the Big Ten had no shortage of.

The team could clearly use some size, and they may be on the road to achieving that goal in a big way as they find themselves on the short list for one of the nation’s top centers in 2021. Efton Reid, a 6-foot-11 big man from Richmond, VA, plans to make his college decision on April 15, and he is down to just three schools — one of which is Ohio State, according to Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch.

According to his former coach Curt Kassab, the Buckeyes are definitely among Reid’s final options, however he would not give up the other two schools still in the running.

“He’s ready to get this all over with,” Kassab told The Dispatch. “It’s been difficult not being able to visit all the schools that he wanted to see on official visits but same boat as everybody else. He’s a very cerebral kid so he really doesn’t want to end up in the transfer portal. He’s ready. Obviously Ohio State is definitely in that very small group that he has remaining. We’ll see how it all pans out.”

Reid is the No. 3 center in the 2021 class and the No. 23 player overall. He would be a massive (no pun intended) addition to Ohio State’s next group of incoming freshmen, which currently contains a pair of talented commits in four-star guard Malaki Branham and three-star forward Kalen Etzler.

Check out Jardy’s article for more on the IMG Academy product and his upcoming decision.

Potential final four

Back in February, Ohio State’s offer was so enticing to four-star defensive tackle Christen Miller that he expanded on his top four of Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Indiana to a top five in order to include the Buckeyes. Now, the Ellenwood, GA native is looking to further cut down his list, and it sounds like Ohio State is still in serious consideration.

Speaking with Bucknuts’ Bill Kurelic, Miller laid out his plans to make some official visits to his top remaining choices in June, when the NCAA dead period is finally expected to come to an end.

“I’ve got Georgia the first weekend in June (June 4-6), USC the second weekend (June 11-13), and Louisville the next weekend,” Miller told Bucknuts. “And I’m talking to (Ohio State defensive line) coach J(ohnson). He said we’re going to get one set up this week for sometime in June, probably the last weekend. It’s going to be my world tour.”

Miller was originally planning on making his decision on April 4, but has chosen to give himself more time and has not yet picked a new commitment date. Miller previously visited Ohio State back in October alongside teammate Josh White and one of their coaches. In addition, he is good friends with Buckeyes defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson, who also previously attended Cedar Grove High School.

Miller is the nation’s No. 11 DT in the 2022 class, and the No. 164 player in the country overall. There are currently two Crystal Ball predictions in favor of the in-state Bulldogs, but with Ohio State potentially getting the last official visit and the chance to make one final impression with Larry Johnson at the helm of this recruitment, it is far too early to count the Buckeyes out just yet.

Quick Hits

• On Tuesday Ohio State officially announced the addition of Penn State transfer Jamari Wheeler. Being named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team each of the past two seasons, Wheeler had been one of the top defensive guards in the country during his time with the Nittany Lions, and will look to fill the void left by the departure of C.J. Jackson. The 6-foot-1 senior averaged 6.8 points and 3.5 assists per game last season to go along with 1.8 steals per game.