BOOOOM!! Four-star athlete Garett Stover commits to Ohio State

Rivalry Week is finally here, and the Buckeyes are gearing up for their biggest game of the season. The ‘Shoe will be full Saturday when Ohio State plays host to Michigan, and most of the college football landscape will have their eyes on the game. ESPN, FOX, and many other media outlets will be setting up shop in Columbus Saturday, but they will not be the only ones making the trek to Ohio Stadium this weekend.

The visitor list for the game this weekend will likely be one of the largest of the season, and many of those making the visit are priority targets for the Buckeyes. While many of the Ohio State headlines this week will focus on the current roster, Ryan Day and his staff will also be heavily featured in the recruiting headlines as well.

Garrett Stover commits to Ohio State

Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class is in the midst of the final touches. While the Buckeyes will look to add a few more commitments to the class, a lot of focus has been put on next year’s class as well.

The Buckeyes entered the week with two verbal commitments in the class, good for the No. 11 group in the country. However, late Monday night that total rose to three, as 2024 four-star athlete Garrett Stover (Sunbury, OH / Big Walnut) announced his commitment to Ohio State.

Ohio State has long shown interest in Stover, who is cousins with current Ohio State tight end Cade Stover. He visited with the Buckeyes in the spring, and that was just the beginning of what grew to be a strong relationship with the Buckeyes coaching staff.

Stover took another visit to Ohio State for a June summer camp, and left with an official scholarship offer. The summer visit was not his last, however, as he made another return visit to Ohio State on Sept. 3 for the team’s home-opener versus Notre Dame.

Following his first visit for an in-game environment, multiple 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions started coming in, pegging him to Ohio State. Those predictions came true Monday when he made the decision official.

Stover spoke with Bill Kurelic of 247Sports following the commitment and had the following to say on Ohio State and his decision:

“It’s always been a dream of mine to be a Buckeye,” Stover told Bucknuts “It feels amazing. It’s awesome that it’s close to home and It really just shows all the work I have put in has paid off. It is all around the perfect fit for me and it just feels like home. That place is filled with amazing people that I have built relationships with and I have a great relationship with the staff as well. I’m excited to get developed and join the brotherhood.”

Stover chose to commit to Ohio State over a long list of impressive programs including Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwester, Iowa State, Kentucky, Duke, Pitt, etc.

Stover is the No. 17 ATH in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 168 overall prospect in the 2024 class. He is also the No. 6 prospect from the state of Ohio.

Brock Glenn de-commits, Ohio State to host four-star QB

Rivalry Week may have just arrived, but flip-season has been heavily active. Ohio State has had a rough go of things of late, seeing 2023 four-star running back Mark Fletcher (Fort Lauderdale, FL / American Heritage) de-commit from the program last week. On Monday, the Buckeyes lost another verbal commitment when four-star quarterback Brock Glenn (Memphis, TN / Lausanne Collegiate School) decided to leave the program in favor of Florida State.

Glenn committed to the Buckeyes on July 30, 2022 over LSU and Florida State. Both the Tigers and the Seminoles looked like the favorites at points late in his recruitment, but it was Ohio State that landed the blue-chip prospect. However, Florida State never stopped recruiting Glenn, and recent rumblings about a de-commit started to make noise. Those rumors quickly showed as true, as Glenn is now a member of the Seminoles’ class.

The move certainly hurts the Buckeyes class, as the team currently has no commit at the position. The class is still impressive, viewed as the No. 6 class in the 247Sports rankings as things stand, but the better news is the Buckeyes may already have a contingency plan.

One of the many recruits scheduled to be visiting Ohio State this weekend is 2023 four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz (Pierre, SD / T.F. Riggs). The blue-chip QB has seen an uptick in contact from Ohio State as of late, and he will now be using one of his five official visits with the team.

While the visit is good news for the Buckeyes, the coaching staff has plenty of work ahead of themselves if he is to play football in Columbus. Kienholz committed to the Washington Huskies on June 29, 2022 after using an official visit the week prior.

Despite being committed to Washington, Kienholz is deciding to visit with Ohio State late in the season. This compounded with the news on Glenn’s de-commitment certainly looks promising for the Buckeyes, but as the team has learned the hard way, nothing is a guarantee in college football recruiting.

Glenn is the No. 22 QB in the 247Sports Composite and is the No. 378 overall prospect. He is also the No. 12 prospect out of Tennessee. Kienholz is the No. 24 QB in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 404 prospect. He is also the No. 1 recruit out of South Dakota.

While Kienholz may be ranked lower in the above metrics, he is far from a falloff at the position. The blue-chip prospect had an incredible season that led to a South Dakota state title. He also produced the below career stats: