Buckeyes offer 2024 offensive lineman, continue to visit recruits during off week

It may be an off week for the Buckeyes, but you wouldn’t really know it based on how hard this staff is still working. Making their ways to all corners of the country and then some, Ohio State is taking the time off the field to hit the road in efforts to continue buidling the 2023 class and beyond.

Without further hesitation, here’s the latest from a busy Wednesday.

Buckeyes send out latest offer in the 2024 class

With only a few short weeks until signing day for the 2023 class, Ohio State’s efforts will really start to look solely towards 2024 and beyond. There’s plenty of work still to be done in the current cycle, and the open spots are still up for grabs, but the coaching staff isn’t too far removed from this class being completed. That said, with no game this week, Ryan Day and his crew have been using the extra time to check in with their top players and even offering new ones.

Taking to his Twitter account to announce the latest update in his recruitment, the Buckeyes sent out their latest offer in the 2024 class to Preston Taumua. The 6-foot-4, 315 pound offensive lineman is a Hawaii native, and the top player in his state for his cycle. Overall, Taumua checks in as the No. 200 player nationally and the 11th best player at his position according to 247Sports.

Now with a handful of offers to his name, Taumua has the likes of Utah, Arizona, Oregon, and Ohio State in the fold, and certainly more will follow suit. As the 2024 class becomes that much more of a priority to the top programs around the country, it’s probably more of a matter of when and not if Taumua will continue to add to his already impressive resume of interest.

At any rate, position coach Justin Frye is hard at work looking for the top guys in the 2024 class, and after a solid first year at the helm of recruiting for his group, he’ll be looking to do even better in his second year. The distance is no small trek of course, but if the Buckeyes are that serious about Taumua, surely they’ll look to get him to campus sometime in the near future so the two parties can really start building a relationship.

On the road again

While all of the assistants on the road are important, when Day himself is paying the visit, the player is definitely one the staff is hopeful to add to the class. Simply put, any time the head coach is the one making the trip to see a target, it’s a sign that the player is one not only worth seeing, but also one of major importance.

This week, Day has already been all over SEC country — and he’s not quite done yet. Set to make another stop in Georgia, Day will be in to check on 2023 defensive lineman Kayden McDonald. The No. 291 player nationally, McDonald is also the 40th best player at his position and the 27th best prospect in Georgia for the 2023 class per the 247Sports Composite. With nearly 40 offers to his name though, his ranking while impressive may not be as high as how the top schools in the country feel about him.

Having offered a year ago now, Ohio State is certainly in on some other major defensive line targets, but seeing McDonald this late in the cycle is again pretty telling. Closely linked to Clemson on the 247Sports Crystal Ball, the Buckeyes will have to beat out some of the more local schools, but with Larry Johnson doing the bulk of the work, that will definitely help Ohio State’s cause.

On the road again Pt. 2

Sticking with the recruiting trail theme, Kevin Wilson was busy yesterday as he made his way to South Carolina to check in on a massive offensive tackle target. Noted several times before, Ohio State’s next step in reloading the offensive line under Frye is to be able to land the top national offensive tackles, and with Wilson making the trek Wednesday, the Buckeyes look to be assigning multiple coaches with the task at getting the job done for the 2024 class.

The recipient of Wilson’s visit, 2024 four-star Kam Pringle welcomed the Buckeye presence at his high school. The No. 58 player nationally, Pringle is the second best offensive tackle in the class and the top player in South Carolina for his class according to the 247Sports Composite . No surprise either, Pringle holds over 20 offers to his name and from the likes of Florida, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, Texas A&M, and a host of others.

Not shy about his interest in Ohio State, odds are the visit with Pringle went very well and Ohio State will look to continue building a solid relationship with one of the nation’s top players regardless of position. Again, the Buckeyes aren’t exactly hurting when it comes to offensive line recruiting success, but if the next step is landing the elite national tackle prospect, they look to be doing everything they can to make it a reality.

Quick Hits

• One of the first commitments in the 2023 class, in-state Ohio native and Buckeye legacy Will Smith is seeing the fruits of his labor pay off in terms of how he’s viewed in the rankings. In the latest 247Sports 2023 class update, Smith made a massive jump. Going from an unranked player by 247Sports and only holding a Composite score, Will is now the 166 player nationally and a legitimate four-star prospect.

Recruiting rankings aren’t everything, but it’s sure nice to see others taking notice of what the coaching staff saw in Smith, who continues to do all of the right things.