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June has seen an incredible uptick in college football recruiting updates. In case your Monday was as busy as both Ohio State’s coaching staffs, Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered on all things Buckeye recruiting related.
Basketball Recruiting Updates
A lot of talk surrounding Ohio State and recruiting has focused on the football field, and it is well deserved with the incredible job Ryan Day and the Buckeyes’ football program are doing. However, Chris Holtmann and the basketball Buckeyes are attacking the recruiting landscape just as hard.
On Monday, the Buckeyes played host to one of the nation’s top talents in the 2022 recruiting class. Four-star power forward Kyle Filipowski completed his official visit with Ohio State yesterday, and by all counts the visit went as well as possible. However, the Buckeyes have stiff competition in earning a commitment from him.
Had an amazing official visit at The Ohio State University! #notcommited @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/Ypr0NTiZDf
— Kyle “Flip” Filipowski (@kylefilipowski) June 14, 2021
Filipowski has seemingly found a final group of schools that he is considering committing to. Along with his official visit to Ohio State, he has already completed an official visit with Syracuse and has visits with Iowa, Indiana and Duke scheduled to close out the month.
Similarly to his tweet following the Syracuse visit, Filipowski specifically mentioned he has not yet committed to a program. This clarification likely means he will be weighing the visits he takes to his final schools heavily and gives all five schools an equal opportunity to sway his decision.
The Buckeyes have already secured three commitments from blue-chip guards in their 2022 recruiting class, and have switched their focus to the front court. Filipowski would make for a perfect addition, standing at 6-foot-11, 230-pounds. He is the No. 56 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 10 PF. He is also the No. 1 prospect from the state of Massachusetts.
Holtmann and the coaching staff were not only playing host Monday, as they also found time to officially offer rising 2023 center Xavier Booker.
I am blessed to receive a D1 offer from Ohio State. Thanks to coach Holtmann and his staff for this huge opportunity!!! @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/nLViAMR3mX
— Xavier Booker (@RealXman23) June 14, 2021
Booker has seen his recruitment take off with the ending of the year-plus long recruiting dead period. With Ohio State being the most recent to offer, he also holds offers from the likes of LSU, TCU, Purdue, IUPUI and Kansas State and has received interest from Louisville and Missouri.
What is interesting in the timing of the offer is Booker is scheduled to visit with the program later this week. He plans to visit both Louisville and Ohio State June 16. This preemptive offer shows the Buckeyes are confident enough in what they have seen so far in Booker that they believe already he would make for a great addition to their program.
Booker has yet to receive a ranking from 247Sports, as is the case with most recruits in his class. However, when rankings are released, expect him to be viewed as one of the best in the country.
Football Recruiting Updates
Where do we begin, as Ohio State’s football program had another whirlwind of a day on the recruiting front. The biggest news is that the Buckeyes may be getting a late month Boom as 2022 three-star DL target Curtis Neal took to Twitter Monday to announce he would be making his college decision June 27th.
I will be announcing my commitment June 27th 3pm Eastern Time. #AGTG
— Curtis Neal (@CurtisNeal97) June 14, 2021
Ohio State played host to Neal just last week, and it appears the visit may have been all Neal needed to make his decision. The timing of his commitment favors Ohio State, as he has an official visit to South Carolina scheduled for Sept. 4. News on the visit being called off has not yet been announced, but one would assume if he is ready to make a commitment, the trip may no longer be in the plans.
Other than Ohio State, the only other school he has visited is Wisconsin, who was long seen as the favorites to land his commitment. However, after receiving an offer from Ohio State in April and visiting with the program, the Buckeyes have quickly picked up steam in his recruitment and are at worst tied with the Badgers in their chances in securing a commitment.
Multiple future Buckeyes alluded to a new Boom on the horizon and Neal very well might be who was being hinted at.
Neal wasn’t the only Ohio State target to make a recruiting announcement Monday, as the Buckeyes also learned they made the cut for 2023 four-star linebacker Josiah Trotter.
First off I would like to thank God, I would not be here without him. I would like to thank all the coaches who have offered me to be able to play at the next level. I will be focusing on these 4 schools for the remainder of my process. @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/AEo0xxW8M4
— Josiah Trotter (@TrotterJosiah) June 14, 2021
Alongside Ohio State, Trotter listed South Carolina, Penn State and Clemson as his final four schools.
Trotter’s recruitment is moving at a rather quick speed. Ohio State, South Carolina and Clemson all offered him a scholarship just this month and all three made his final list of schools. Additionally, Trotter has already completed visits with both Ohio State and Penn State and visited with South Carolina yesterday.
While his recruitment has moved at a quick pace thus far, there is no indication it will continue at this pace. Trotter will likely want to complete at least one visit with Clemson before making a decision and he may wait until he is able to take official visits with all four programs. Regardless, Ohio State has to like where they stand in his recruitment thus far.
Trotter is the No. 120 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 11 LB. He is also the No. 5 prospect in the talent-rich state of Pennsylvania, and is the former teammate of both Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. at St. Joseph’s Prep.
Finally, if you thought Ohio State was going to take it easy Monday after playing host to dozens of recruits the past two weeks, think again, as the team hosted multiple prospects to start the week. Some of those that made the trip to Columbus are below:
Four-star OL Addison Nichols
Class: 2022
Town: Norcross, GA/Greater Atlanta Christian School
Size: 6-foot-5, 305 pounds
Status: Uncommitted
Finalists: Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, USC, Ohio State
Excited for this summer! pic.twitter.com/VYNiFw5KhS
— Addison H. Nichols (@ahnichols22) May 31, 2021
IOL Cash Cleveland
Class: 2024
Town: Rockwall, TX/Rockwall-Heath
Size: 6-foot-3, 300 pounds
Status: Uncommitted
Offers: N/A
Great Visit at The Ohio State University! Go bucks! @CoachSpradWTD @JohnHarrell_BNC @CJRecruiting1 @BullittTeam @Perroni247 @Bill_Kurelic @NickHarris247 pic.twitter.com/oqTZg6mgE5
— cash cleveland (@cleveland_cash) June 14, 2021