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Ohio State’s coaching staff had a busy start to the week, as the program offered elite recruits in both the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes. In case your Monday was just as busy, Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered on all things Ohio State recruiting.
Ohio State offers 2022 DE
Ryan Day and the Ohio State coaching staff are once again proving they are some of the best in the business when it comes to college football recruiting. With 12 verbal commitments, the Buckeyes currently hold the No. 2 spot in the 2022 cycle. Despite this impressive start, the Buckeyes are roughly only halfway done with the class and they are constantly looking to add to it.
This continued on Monday as the Buckeyes offered one of the nation’s top defensive end prospects in the class, Dani Dennis-Sutton.
I am blessed and honored to receive an offer from the University of Ohio State #GoBuckeyes ⬜️@R2X_Rushmen1 @McDCoachSule pic.twitter.com/mmFd6L6V6y
— Dani Dennis-Sutton (@DaniDennis302) May 17, 2021
The Maryland native may have just received the Ohio State offer, but growing up in Big Ten country means he is very familiar with the Buckeyes’ football program — especially their ability to recruit and develop defensive ends into NFL starters.
Ohio State is just the latest program to offer Dennis-Sutton, who has accumulated an impressive list including more than two dozen of the nation’s top schools. The Buckeyes have some serious competition for his commitment as he holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, USC and others.
Penn State has jumped into the driver’s seat in his recruitment, with all five of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions being for the Nittany Lions with an impressive confidence score of seven.
It may seem like Ohio State is entering the race a little too late to find success, but with the over a year long recruiting dead period due to Covid-19, the entire recruiting class is behind schedule. The Buckeyes are adding to their June visitor list daily, and will look to get the four-star DE on campus sooner than later — especially as the team has yet to earn a commitment at his position in this cycle. If they are able to do so, the Buckeyes could quickly become legitimate contenders for his commitment.
Davis-Sutton is the No. 5 SDE in the country and is the No. 70 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 3 prospect from the state of Maryland.
Buckeyes offer another 2023 TE
The tight end position has quickly been identified as a priority position for Ohio State in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Holding true with this idea, the Buckeyes offered another blue-chip prospect on Monday morning in four-star Walker Lyons.
WOW!!! Beyond blessed to say that after a great conversation with @ryandaytime and @OSUCoachKDub I have received an offer from THEE Ohio State University!! #GoBuckeyes ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/NBzpaxfs9c
— WALKER LYONS (@walkerly0ns) May 17, 2021
Although it is still early in the 2023 cycle, Lyons has garnered an impressive offer sheet including the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Texas, USC, Washington, Utah, Oregon, Oklahoma, LSU, Michigan State and a handful of others.
Reigning from California, it may be difficult for Ohio State to convince him to pack his bags and go to school on the other side of the country. The Buckeyes struggled to earn a commitment from the state in the 2021 class, but were able to secure commitments from California in 2020 in five-star QB CJ Stroud and four-star OLB Kourt Williams.
Lyons marks the fifth TE prospect in next year’s class to be offered by Ohio State. He is the No. 9 TE in the country and the No. 118 overall prospect. He is also the No. 9 prospect from the talent-rich state of California.
Quick Hits
- Ohio State 2022 four-star point guard commit Bruce Thornton continues to impress this spring. Jamie Shaw of Rivals.com attended the 2021 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, and listed Thornton as one of his winners of the weekend. Speaking of Thornton, Shaw had the following to say:
Thornton is a winner. The 2022 Rivals150 No. 12 prospect is sure to bring back memories of Khalid El-Amin or Mateen Cleaves as his college career gets underway. This season the 6-foot-1 point guard led his Alpharetta (Ga) Milton High team to a Beach Ball Classic championship, a state championship and finished the season ranked No. 7 by MaxPreps.
Thornton ended his recruitment early, in November of his junior season, as he chose Ohio State over 20-plus other offers. ‘“I had a great connection with head coach Chris Holtmann and then coach John Diebler. They believed in me and they connected with me, they worked at connecting with me. Wherever they would have been, I would have followed them.”’