Buckeyes make the cut for pair of five-star 2023 cornerbacks

Even in the midst of starting fall football camp, the Buckeyes are still seeing their name in the headlines when it comes to recruiting. As the 2023 cycle becomes more and more of a priority, the staff is seeing their recruiting efforts pay off as many of their top targets are already narrowing down their options and keeping Ohio State in the running for their commitments.

2023’s top cornerback includes OSU in top 10

Every recruiting cycle Ohio State is going to do their best to bring in elite cornerbacks to help solidify the secondary. A position of critical importance for any defense, the Buckeyes have hung a ton of their success on their cornerback development and hope the trend further continues in the future.

In the current 2022 cycle, they currently have three cornerbacks committed, and of course the recent de-commitment of Jaheim Singletary has given a bit of a shake up in where to go moving forward. Whether they add another corner to the fold or not could obviously impact how many they take in the 2023 class. As the Buckeyes pursue their targets in the 2023 class, the top 25 players in the country are full of elite corners, and with Ohio State’s track record, surely they’ll shoot their shot with multiple in hopes of bringing in the next future first round draft pick at the position.

On Thursday, the nation’s top corner in the country per 247Sports, Tony Mitchell, who would be the perfect candidate to uphold the tradition, updated his recruitment by coming up with a list of his final 10 schools he is still considering. Also regarded as the No. 10 player nationally in the class with over 30 offers to his name, getting down to a top 10 this early on shows Mitchell is serious about navigating through the process. Making the cut for Mitchell included Alabama, Florida State, Clemson, Oregon, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, Miami, Florida, and Ohio State.

Currently, 247Sports has multiple Crystal Ball predictions for Mitchell, but LSU, Alabama, and Florida State are all on the board. This shows that it’s still open in terms of who he could choose, but being an Alabama native, you have to think this he is a player that Nick Saban isn’t going to let get away easily. Being the top corner in the class as well as the 10th-best player overall is about as high of praise as it gets, so this will be a battle for anyone. The Buckeyes are certainly no slouch when it comes to bringing in elite corners from the south to play in Columbus. Let’s hope they can do it again.

Florida five-star cornerback down to a top five

In sticking with the trend of cornerbacks and the defensive secondary, another top player at the position put together a top schools list and included the Buckeyes as a finalist for his services. A Florida native, Cormani McClain was the second player to give the Buckeyes the good news on Thursday, and as a 6-foot-2, 165 pound cornerback, he fits the prototypical cornerback Ohio State and Kerry Coombs love to have on the roster. Clearly, this would be a big time addition for the Buckeyes.

Ranked as the third-best cornerback in the class for the 2023 cycle, McClain is also considered to be the 20th-best player nationally per the 247Sports Composite, giving him the coveted five-star status. The fortunate aspect here is the Buckeyes are right in the thick of it early on for McClain. Sure, there may be a bit of uneasiness for Ohio State fans as they’ve seen Florida prospects like the aforementioned Singletary commit and then step back from their pledge, but the staff is never going to stop trying in Florida because of the caliber of talent that is there each and every recruiting class.

Rounding out the five programs still in the mix for Cormani include Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, and Ohio State. Not unusual at all, the Buckeyes are the only non-southern school still in the running, and that should show just how highly regarded Ohio State is for how they develop the cornerback position at the highest rate in the country with proven success over several years. Like any recruitment, this one will be tough to pull away from SEC country, but if anyone has done that, there’s none better at poaching than Ohio State.

Quick Hits

• Thursday, the football program wasn’t the only team making the short list for top recruits. Ohio State’s basketball team also made a top schools list when Illinois product AJ Casey trimmed his list to eight finalists. The top Illinois player as well as the sixth best power forward in the country, Casey is still considering Illinois, Memphis, DePaul, Michigan, Gonzaga, Florida, Marquette, and Ohio State.