Drew Allar locked in at Penn State, Buckeyes set to host a top hoops prospect

It seems as if the headlines swirling around Ohio State this season aren’t going to stop any time soon. Good, bad or indifferent, the Buckeyes are often the center of attention and it really doesn’t matter what the topic is. On Thursday, Ryan Day on his radio show released the information that the plan for Saturday’s game against Akron would look a little different than previously expected.

The head coach announced CJ Stroud would only be used to play in an “emergency situation,” as the plan is to give the QB some rest with the shoulder issue that is causing him some trouble. Now that Kyle McCord and Jack Miller are the two main guys we’ll see take the field, with Quinn Ewers being “unavailable” per Ryan Day, Saturday’s interest level may have just increased, as much of the fanbase has clamored to see what the other options under center look like.

From a recruiting standpoint, I guess this shows that depth is always going to be needed. Whether it’s a long or short term situation, your number could be called regardless of how crowded a position group may seem. The Buckeyes will look to continue improving on both sides of the ball on Saturday night, and it looks as if fans will finally get to see some of the other highly touted young guns and what they can bring to the table. Maybe this is going too far, but an impressive performance from either QB may just lead to a little bit of an extended quarterback battle.

Are the efforts all for not in regards to Drew Allar?

On Thursday, Drew Allar was a topic of discussion when considering the current state of quarterback recruiting in the 2022 class for Ohio State. It’s no secret that the Buckeyes top guy on their board is the in-state product, but the fact of the matter is, Allar has been committed to Penn State since March. That was completely fine with Ryan Day and staff because they had Quinn Ewers in the fold, and if not for his reclassification to the 2021 class which already has him on campus, Allar wouldn’t be someone the coaching staff is even looking at right now.

Ohio State looks like they have to make up for lost time, as it seems Allar was a second option behind the aforementioned Ewers. While that’s common sense being that Ewers is the top player in the country, it’s not easy to change up the recruiting pitch regardless of how much Allar wanted the Buckeyes to offer back when his recruitment really started to take off. It’s not impossible for Ohio State and Ryan Day to do the unthinkable and get Allar to reconsider, but the timing makes this seem as if it’s pretty much set in stone that Penn State will in fact sign Ohio’s top signal caller.

That point looked to see some more confirmation in the matter when Jeremy Birmingham of Lettermen Row said Allar seems “pretty locked in” in terms of his commitment status to the Nittany Lions on Thursday. The one aspect that could change any recruitment is the potential shake up in a staff, and those USC and James Franklin rumors will always be out there. Unless those rumors become more of a reality, it really does look like Allar will stay with his commitment to Penn State and leave the Buckeyes either having to look elsewhere or stand pat in the 2022 class. Fortunately, the QB room is still very young and of course extremely talented.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State’s basketball staff continues to stay hot on the trail as they look to continue their success in 2022 on to the 2023 cycle. On Thursday, the Buckeyes received some good news as Jahnathan Lamothe, a 6-foot-4, 180 pound combo guard in the 2023 class, slated a visit to see Ohio State on Oct. 20 for an unofficial trip to Columbus.

Ranked as the 12th best player at his position, Lamothe is also the top player in Maryland and the 52nd best hooper in the country per the 247Sports Composite. Being that this is only an unofficial visit, the interest between the Buckeyes and Lamothe is clearly there and will be a step in the right direction for finding out if down the road they also receive an official visit. Having an offer already, the Buckeyes know exactly what Lamothe could bring to the table.

• Making his way to campus this weekend for the Ohio State night game versus Akron, Texas native receiver prospect Jaxon Rush will be there to take in the scene. An unranked receiver per 247Sports, Rush is not a big name in the recruiting cycle for the Buckeyes, but he must have some sort of interest after making the trek from Texas to Columbus.

Ohio State has four receivers currently committed in the 2022 class, and each of them being top players at the position shows they probably don’t need any more for this cycle. However, this could be one of the scenarios where a preferred walk-on status is in discussion.