Ohio State building St. John Bosco pipeline with four new offers

This weekend is one of the biggest for Ohio State in this loaded month of June.

On Thursday, J.T. Tuimoloau arrived in Columbus for the start of his highly anticipated official visit. Finally, the coaching staff will have the ability to showcase their program to their top remaining target in the 2021 class, who of course would be the perfect finishing touch to their stellar haul. The top-ranked player in the country still has the worrisome trip to Alabama on the horizon, but this weekend is all about what Ohio State can do to roll out the red carpet and further prove why Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes have the edge in developing him for the next level.

While Ohio State plays host to Tuimoloau this weekend, they are also seeing an impressive group from the West Coast, and Thursday made the trip more than worth the time of several California natives as the Buckeyes dished out plenty of new offers.

Building a St. John Bosco pipeline?

Ohio State recruits very well nationally, but the state of California at times has been a place that’s hard to reach for anyone not close in proximity. Lately though, the Buckeyes have done very well on the West Coast, and at positions of key importance with guys that are at or near the top of the national grades at their spot. Specifically speaking, one program has really been kind to the Buckeyes as of late, and a little momentum looks to be starting to take off at this one school in particular: St. John Bosco.

The dominant prep program in Bellflower, California has been a great place to recruit for Ohio State. Thanks to guys like Wyatt Davis and his All-American caliber career with the Buckeyes leading to the start of a career in the NFL and current linebacker Kourt Williams, it’s clear the staff is not only having success recruiting the program as a whole, but in their further player development once they’re in Columbus. The staff continued their appreciation of St. John Bosco when they offered an incredible four players while on campus at Ohio State. It appears there is an effort to further build up the pipeline from one of the top prep schools not only on the West Coast, but in the country.

Getting right to it, the first guy receiving an Ohio State offer on Thursday was 2023 safety prospect, R.J. Jones. A 6-foot-1, 185 pound defensive back, Jones is currently the eighth-ranked safety in the class and is also considered to be No. 8 player in California and the No. 104 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite. At double-digit offers to his name already, Jones continues to see his recruiting process increase, and with Ohio State looking to bring in more true safeties in future classes, they’ll look to parlay their success in California into another Bosco product.

Next on the list and staying in the 2023 class, the Buckeyes offered their second Bosco 2023 prospect of the day in Jshawn Frausto-Ramos after he left the staff impressed following his solid camp performance. A 6-foot, 170 pound defensive back, Frausto-Ramos is projected to play outside as a cornerback, and is currently ranked as the 25th-best corner in the country per 247Sports. Also regarded as the No. 19 player in California for his class, Frausto-Ramos currently has just under 10 offers so far in his recruitment. Schools such as USC, Michigan, Arizona, and Arizona State have already offered, but this Ohio State offer could lead to a more of the nation’s top programs soon following suit.

Moving on to the class of 2024, Ohio State continued to make their presence felt at St. John Bosco with another offer to one of their own after an impressive camp showing. Peyton Woodyard was one of two offer recipients in 2024. Only a high school freshman, Woodyard is already seeing his recruitment blow up, and that’s still with three years of prep football to play. At 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, Peyton may not have a 247Sports ranking yet due to his class status, but offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, USC, and more go to show that when the grades do come out, he will easily be not just a top safety in the class, but a top player nationally as well.

Last and certainly not least, the Buckeyes final offer to a Bosco player went out to 2024 prospect, Marcellus Williams. Yet another defensive back, it’s basically as if the Buckeyes have offered the next two waves of St. John Bosco defensive secondary starters. A cornerback, Williams is currently 5-foot-11, 170 pounds and has three years to develop physically — which Ohio State would love to see with how much they like having the long and lengthy 6-foot-plus corners on the outside. Currently without a ranking, Williams does hold double-digit offers already and is another player who you get the feeling will be one of the higher ranked corners in the class when those rankings are released.

Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes were working overtime yesterday with the Bosco players. Again, that pipeline from California to Ohio State has been something successful enough lately that it was worth pouring more of an investment to. Thursday’s four new offers show this relationship between the two programs is only going to continue to flourish over time.

Quick Hits

• On Thursday, Director of Recruiting at 247Sports Steve Wiltfong was on Bucknuts Morning 5 podcast, and voiced that the Buckeyes should be “extremely” concerned with current 2022 commit Jaheim Singletary. Ranked as the fifth-best corner in the country and the 13th-best player overall per the composite grades, Singletary has been a Buckeye commit since January, but his visits to other programs that has caused some concern.

This weekend it looks to be Georgia as the visit destination for Jaheim and while this visit isn’t great news by any means, Ohio State isn’t panicking. No, this would not be ideal, but Kerry Coombs, Matt Barnes, and of course Ryan Day will be all over this doing all they can to keep their highest rated defensive player in the class. At least publicly, Singletary seems pretty happy where he’s at, so I wouldn't set off the alarm bells just yet.

• On Friday, 2022 cornerback Toriano Pride will be committing to the school of his choice. The 23rd-best corner in the class, Pride at one time was a target the Buckeyes really had a shot of landing, but it’s all eyes on Clemson right now for the St. Louis native. Stranger things have happened, but at this point it would be a big upset if the Tigers are not the choice.