Ohio State plays host to more of the nation’s top recruits

June is going to be a busy month for Ohio State. After not being able to play host to high school football recruits for more than a year, the dead period has no been lifted and it feels like the Buckeyes are quickly making up for lost time.

After playing host to numerous of the nation’s top prospects this weekend, Ohio State did more of the same Monday and the work is already paying off as Ohio State earned commitment No. 13 in its 2022 recruiting class in four-star WR Kaleb Brown.

Brown had long been associated with Ohio State and one visit on campus was all it took as the blue-chip WR announced his commitment shortly after his visit came to an end on Monday. However, Brown was not alone, as Ohio State played host to multiple more of recruits. Below are some of the recruits that made their way to Columbus to begin the week:

Four-star LB Josiah Trotter

Class: 2023

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA / St. Joseph’s

Size: 6-foot-2, 225 pounds

Recruiting Update: Trotter is one of the best prospects in his class, listed as the No. 120 overall prospect and the No. 11 linebacker. He is also the No. 5 player in the talent-rich state of Pennsylvania. Trotter is a familiar name for Ohio State, and living relatively close to Columbus, a visit was all but expected. It seems the visit went as well as possible, as the blue-chip prospect left Columbus with an official scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.

Five-star ATH Treyvaun Webb

Class: 2023

Hometown: Jacksonville, FL / Trinity Christian Academy

Size: 6-foot, 188 pounds

Recruiting Update: Webb is one of the biggest names in the 2023 recruiting class, holding more than 40 offers from the best college football programs in the country, including Ohio State. The five-star prospect projects to play running back at the next level, and the position will be one the Buckeyes target in the 20223 class as they have yet to secure a commitment from one yet in 2022. The elite prospect seemed to enjoy his visit, as he was compelled to tweet about it multiple times Monday.

Three-star OT Ryan Baer

Class: 2022

Hometown: Eastlake, OH / North

Size: 6-foot-7, 320 pounds

Recruiting Update: The Ohio native may not be the most popular name in this year’s recruiting class, but the Buckeyes do not host anyone on an unofficial visit unless they think there is potential to benefit the team. While he has yet to earn an offer from Ohio State, his offer list is impressive never the less with schools like Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Purdue, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Virginia, Duke and plenty of others seeking his commitment. If Ohio State decides to follow-up Monday’s visit with an offer, expect them to immediately be viewed as one of the favorites.

Five-star PF AJ Casey

Class: 2022

Hometown: Chicago, IL / Whitney Young

Size: 6-foot-8, 180-pounds

Recruiting Update: Ohio State wasn’t just playing host to elite prospects on the football field, as Chris Holtmann and the basketball Buckeyes played host to five-star power forward AJ Casey. The blue-chip prospect is almost a perfect fit in Ohio State’s 2022 class as the program already holds offers from four-star guards Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton as well as three-star guard Bowen Hardman. With the backcourt seemingly set for the future, the Buckeyes would love to add talent down low, and Casey is one of the best. He spoke with Steve Helwagen following his two-day visit and had the following to say about his time in Columbus:

“It was great just getting down there and spending time with the coaching staff,” Casey said. “It was great to get back to normal after Covid shut everything down. It was great to finally get out to a campus and actually be there instead of doing a visual presentation on Zoom.”

“I met most of the players,” he said. “The only ones I did not meet were Duane (Washington Jr.) and E.J. (Liddell). We went bowling and had a fun time. The two I spent the most time with were Zed (Key) and Meechie Johnson.

“We went out and viewed the whole campus. I got to see the football stadium. We didn’t get to see the basketball court because they were laying down some ice for hockey.”

Ohio State offers 2023 4-star DE

Ohio State is offering prospects left and right — and not just on recruiting visits — as the Buckeyes offered four-star defensive end Gabriel Harris on Monday. But, this is not your standard offer, as the timing could be telling.

Harris camped at Ohio State recently and dominated while doing it. Although he was committed to Florida State at the time, he seemed to really enjoy his time in Columbus and noted he wanted to return.

Fast-forward a week and there have been multiple updates in his recruitment. Starting off, Monday morning he announced his decommitment from the Seminoles.

The news of the decommitment was rather surprising, as he had just taken an unofficial visit to Florida State over the weekend. However, it appears now when comparing the two visits one stood out more than the other, or the opposite, neither stood out. Regardless, the news was not good for Florida State, as it appears Harris is no longer confident that Florida State is the best school for him moving forward.

But the news doesn’t stop there. Hours after the news of his decommitment, Harris announced he had officially received a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.

It is easy to read between the lines and conclude his recent visit to Ohio State may have swung the Buckeyes not just into the race for his services, but to the driver’s seat. However, this will not be his last visit and he his future visits will likely be great at well. Will they be better than his visit to Columbus? Well, that remains to be seen.

What we do know is the relationship between Harris and Ohio State has taken off in the last week and the Buckeyes have to like where they stand right now.

Harris is the No. 81 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class and is the No. 16 DE prospect. He is also the No. 9 prospect from Georgia.

Quick Hits:

Rivals.com released their updated five-star prospects for the 2022 recruiting class on Monday. Multiple future Buckeyes made the cut, including newcomer Gabe Powers coming in at No. 17. The full list of Buckeyes that Rivals views as five-stars is below:

• No. 1 QB commit Quinn Ewers
• No. 5 CB commit Jaheim Singletary
• No. 6 DT target Walter Nolan
• No. 13 LB commit C.J. Hicks
• No. 18 OL target Kam Dewberry
• No. 19 OT target Zach Rice
• No. 26 LB target Shawn Murphy

Ohio State will play host to 2023 five-star RB Richard Young later today. Make sure to stay up-to-date on how the visit goes as well as all things Ohio State recruiting with Land-Grant Holy Land.