Ohio State four-star OT target sets commitment date

Congratulations, you have made it through the first day of the work week! In case your start of the week was as busy as Ohio State’s, you may have missed the Buckeyes making the recruiting headlines, including the Basketball Buckeyes finally earning a commitment at the ever-so-elusive center position. If so, no need to worry Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered on all things Ohio State recruiting.

Ohio State four-star OL target set to announce soon

Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class is quickly filling up. With 17 verbal commitments the Buckeyes have room to add more to the class, but the coaching staff will also need to start being pickier in who they want.

Of those already committed to the Buckeyes in this year’s class, two are offensive tackles. While four-stars Tegra Tshabola and George Fitzpatrick both look the part to shore up the offensive line, Ohio State is looking to add to this group. This may happen sooner than later as four-star offensive lineman target Addison Nichols announced he will be making his commitment on Aug. 2.

Nichols visited Columbus in June and in his own words, “had a great visit” with the program. Shortly after, he announced a final three schools of North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio State.

While Ohio State would appear to be the easy choice to those not closely following his recruitment, both the Volunteers and Tar Heels likely have the edge over Ohio State in this one, with Tennessee being the favorite. Until recently, Nichols had kept his recruitment close to the vest but as of late we have been learning much more about his recruitment. These updates have led those at 247Sports to list Tennessee as the favorite. The Volunteers have received the only two Crystal Ball predictions to date for Nichols, and both have come in the last two weeks. While this is not a certainty, the smoke leading up to his commitment is surely orange and white.

This may simply come down to what Ohio State and Nichols view is what is best for both. However, if Nichols does decide to spurn the Buckeyes in favor of Tennessee or North Carolina, they are still heavily involved with some of the nation’s top remaining OL prospects including, Kam Dewberry, Jaylen Early, Zach Rice and Aamil Wagner.

Nichols is the No. 107 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 3 IOL. He is also the No. 12 player from the state of Georgia.

Quick Hits

• 2023 five-star defensive end prospect Malik Bryant seems to still be thinking about his visit to Ohio State last month. Bryant is the No. 10 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class and is the No. 2 DE prospect in next year’s class. He is likely still a ways away from making a commitment, but the fact he is still reminiscing his June 22 visit means Ohio State at the very least made a lasting impression.

• Cincinnati native running back and Ohio State four-star target Gi’Bran Payne committed to Indiana on Monday. While the move wasn’t a surprise, it always hurts a bit to see an Ohio native leave the state for a fellow Big Ten program.

Ohio State 2022 five-star LB commit and “Captain Buckeye” C.J. Hicks continues to earn praise from more national recruiting databases.