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Ohio State is just weeks away from the season opener at Minnesota. With this, the majority of the coaching staff’s focus is on preseason camp to ensure the team is in the best position to succeed. However, the Buckeyes still found a way to make the recruiting headlines on Monday. In case you were busy with work and missed anything, don’t worry, Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered.
Rivals releases updated list of 2022 5-stars
Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class is quickly coming together. The Buckeyes hold the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation with 14 verbal commits. On Monday, Rivals.com released its updated list of five-star prospects and multiple Ohio State commits and targets were included in the list, including one new face.
New five-star safety prospect and Ohio State target Xavier Nwankpa saw his name added to Rivals’ list of five-star prospects.
FIVE-STAR COUNTDOWN
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 16, 2021
Coming in at No. 14 is new five-star, Iowa DB Xavier Nwankpa @xaviernwankpa01
Ohio State, Texas A&M, Iowa, Clemson and several others are vying to land his commitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/JJw7dyzs2a pic.twitter.com/az28YbETIT
Nwankpa has long been associated with Ohio State and the Buckeyes are one of his top schools. Back in May, the blue-chip prospect released his top seven schools and alongside Ohio State, he included Clemson, Iowa, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Arizona State.
Ohio State is viewed as one of the favorites to land Nwankpa’s commitment; the team currently holds 100-percent of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions. However, both Iowa and Notre Dame are still viewed as contenders as well. There appears to be talks of Nwankpa wanting to visit the Buckeyes during a game this season and if this comes to fruition, it will be hard for the Buckeyes to not knock this one out of the park. However, he will likely try to visit some of the other schools on his list as well.
Adding Nwankpa to the 2022 class would be extremely beneficial for the Buckeyes. The team has not yet received a commitment from a safety in this class, although they have added three cornerbacks already. Nwankpa would help make the secondary haul in the class even more successful for Ohio State.
Nwankpa wasn’t the only recruit associated with Ohio State to be listed on Rivals newest list of five-stars. The rest of the future Buckeyes included on the list are below:
Ohio State offensive tackle target Kam Dewberry:
FIVE-STAR COUNTDOWN
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 16, 2021
Coming in at No. 18 is Texas offensive lineman Kam Dewberry @KamDewberry
Texas A&M, Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU and others are battling for his commitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/JJw7dyzs2a pic.twitter.com/lR8P5fmywY
Ohio State offensive tackle target Zach Rice:
FIVE-STAR COUNTDOWN
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 16, 2021
Coming in at No. 19 is Virginia offensive lineman Zach Rice @od_zach
Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State and others are vying to land his commitment.
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/JJw7dyzs2a pic.twitter.com/fa9w6ln3jM
Ohio State linebacker commit Gabe Powers:
FIVE-STAR COUNTDOWN
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 16, 2021
Coming in at No. 22 is five-star Ohio State (@OSUatRivals) LB commit Gabe Powers @GabePowers21
“He’s big with outstanding speed and coverage ability.” — @adamgorney
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/JJw7dyhQDA pic.twitter.com/TFfoTjyjvc
Ohio State linebacker commit C.J. Hicks:
FIVE-STAR COUNTDOWN
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 16, 2021
Coming in at No. 13 is Ohio State (@OSUatRivals) LB commit CJ Hicks @imcjhicks
“He plays super fast, flies all around the field and is physical.” — @adamgorney
See the full list of updating five-stars here: https://t.co/JJw7dyzs2a pic.twitter.com/2RkuNbsNx1
Quick Hits:
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked at Monday’s meeting with the media about whether or not the Buckeyes would target a new quarterback now that 2022 five-star QB Quinn Ewers has reclassified to the 2021 class. While Day did not rule the idea out, there doesn’t seem to be a big push to secure one right now.
With the class wrapping up, it appears Day and Ohio State will wait until 2023 or 2024 to find their next elite QB prospect.
Asked whether Ohio State will add a quarterback in the recruiting class of 2022 with Quinn Ewers' reclassification, Ryan Day said “We'll see how that plays out.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 16, 2021