Ohio State offers 2023 Florida DB, hosts one of top 2023 targets for another unofficial

And the beat goes on for the Buckeyes. Though it’s really only the midway point of the month, Ohio State has seen these last couple of weeks as some of their busiest recruiting times perhaps in program history. Whether it’s been strictly from hosting several of their top targeted players in the upcoming cycles, or even offering new players thanks to in-person evaluations, this month has been non-stop.

Another two weeks are still to come and that is where the coaching staff will do their best to add to their 2022 and 2023 classes by making some lasting impressions that will keep the Buckeyes at or near the top of the lists for some of the best players in the country.

Camp performance leads to offer for 2023 DB

Something that has been incredibly successful already this camp season has been the ability of the coaching staff to evaluate players that are actually on campus. After over a year of not being able to see a prospect perform in-person, these camps that Ohio State has been able to hold on campus have been a welcome change.

For the staff and the players alike, there’s really only so much that film can show. Nothing can beat that in-person evaluation and personal interaction, and because of impressive showings by several players the last couple of weeks, the Buckeyes have awarded them with offers that may not have come if film was the only tool used for evaluation.

Yesterday, Ohio State sent out their latest offer to 2023 defensive back Sharif Denson (Bartram Trail/Jacksonville, Florida) who took to his Twitter account to share that the Buckeyes were the latest to enter his recruitment. Just the day before, Denson had a very solid performance in front of the coaches at the Woody. Denson is yet another player who has seen a jolt in his recruitment thanks to camp season.

A 5-foot-10, 160-pound cornerback, Sharif is a little under-sized in comparison to most of the corners that the Buckeyes target, but what he showed at camp proves that size isn’t everything. Still though, as only a high school sophomore, Denson has two more years to grow and add weight to his frame before heading to the school of his choice. Currently, Sharif is listed as a three-star prospect and checks in as the 31st best corner in his class, and the 55th best player in Florida.

Additionally, Sharif already has nearly 30 offers to his name, including from schools such as Florida, Florida State, Auburn, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma, but now Ohio State is in the fold as well. With how successful Ohio State has been in with their defensive back recruiting — not only Florida, but Jacksonville specifically — this could be a recruitment worth watching for the long haul.

Surely Sharif is also a prospect that could see his ranking increase in the near future thanks to this summer’s camp season. Moving forward, expect the Buckeyes to really puff out their chests as they use their Jacksonville pipeline to their advantage.

Buckeyes host Sonny Styles for another visit

In the 2023 class there’s not another player that is arguably as important as Sonny Styles. The Pickerington native is an Ohio State legacy — his father is former OSU and NFL linebacker Lorenzo Styles — but as a five-star talent from just down the road, Styles is someone that the Buckeyes almost have to keep at home.

In addition to all that’s been mentioned, Styles also projects at a position that Ohio State really needs to fill. Ranked as the best safety in the country for 2023, Sonny would fill a need big time in Columbus, as he is being projected as a potential bullet for the Buckeyes, having worked out with both Kerry Coombs and Al Washington.

Earlier this week, Sonny received a crystal ball prediction in favor of Notre Dame by 247sports analyst, Tom Loy. While this may cause a bit of concern due to Sonny’s older brother currently being on Notre Dame’s roster, it is important to take a step back and realize that while Tom is an insider, his expertise is with Notre Dame. Not that it discredits the forecast, but even the confidence on the prediction is only at a six, so there’s plenty of wiggle room for the Buckeyes.

Having a brother on the roster would certainly help the Irish you would think, but Ohio State not having the older Styles wasn’t due to anything more than having higher ranked players in their class already in the fold before he made his commitment. Certainly there’s no bad blood.

The good news here, is that Sonny was on campus yesterday to see Ohio State for another unofficial visit, his second trip to the Woody since the dead period ended. It’s a short trek to campus for Styles and his family, but that doesn’t take away from how important it is to have him on campus as many times as possible.

While on campus, Styles answered some questions regarding the Notre Dame chatter this week and where the Buckeyes stand in the midst of his recruiting process. What you can take away from Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors and his interview is that Ohio State is still in a great spot and shouldn’t worry at least yet about the Fighting Irish.

Quick Hits:

• One of the higher ranked targets on campus yesterday was Georgia native, Addison Nichols. Checking in as the third best interior offensive lineman in the class, Nichols is one of the main guys that the Buckeyes are keying in on as they look to land a handful of guys to bolster the trenches on the offensive side of the ball. As they typically do, the visit for Addison seemed to be very successful.