Buckeyes have drama-free signing day, inking their remaining commitments to the 2022 class

It’s been a pretty eventful week for Ohio State and its football program. With the introductory press conferences for the new coaches on staff, Buckeye Nation finally got to see the men that will assist Ryan Day in leading the team back to hopefully the College Football Playoff. After hearing Jim Knowles and the others address the media on all issues to this point, it’s clear that coach Day has picked more than qualified candidates to right the ship on defense, and also increase the level of play on the offensive line thanks to Justin Frye. At any rate, the Buckeyes look to be in good hands moving forward.

In terms of the other big news of this week, the 2022 recruiting class is finally now in the rearview mirror. Wednesday’s National Signing Day officially closed the books on 2022, and now the staff can put their all of their efforts towards 2023 and beyond.

Thanks to the early signing period in December, Ohio State already had almost all of their guys signed, and many of them are already on campus and had the chance to speak with media for the first time. With that, it was a pretty easy day for the Buckeyes, but two more signatures from their remaining commits made the day that much more successful.

Buckeyes ink their two remaining commitments in 2022

Thanks to another incredible haul, the Buckeyes have signed yet another top-five national recruiting class under Ryan Day. Coming in at No. 4 with 21 signees, the Buckeyes boast the third-best class in terms of average player ranking, and have at least four players less than others in the top five, showing the quality of player they are bringing in.

Though it was a pretty easy signing day for the coaching staff, the Buckeyes did ink their final two remaining commitments in the 2022 class. Both being of major importance to their respective position groups, Ohio State is thrilled they were able to make it official.

Omari Abor

The commit that probably had the staff and fans the most nervous for a potential exit, four-star defensive end Omari Abor remained true to his word and kept his Buckeye pledge. The fifth-highest ranked player in Ohio State’s 2022 class, Abor committed to the Buckeyes during the All-American Bowl in early January, but reports were made public that he had full intentions of still visiting other schools despite his recent commitment to the Buckeyes.

After a few uneasy weeks, Abor never scheduled a visit to another school, and that was of course the major sign that he was actually going to end up a Buckeye after all.

The highest-ranked defensive line prospect in the class, Abor gives the Buckeyes four major additions to Larry Johnson’s position room, and Abor is the crown jewel of them all. The sixth-best edge rusher in 2022, Abor is also the No. 62 player nationally and the ninth-best player in Texas for his class. Fortunately, the saga is over and ended in favor of Ohio State.

Carson Hinzman

Flipping to the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes were also able to lock in their final remaining offensive lineman, Carson Hinzman. A Wisconsin native, stealing an offensive lineman out of Badger country is a major feat for the Buckeyes as those players tend to stay home.

Still, both landing and keeping Hinzman is a major win considering the timeline of when he committed to the Buckeyes, and of course very shortly after his position coach Greg Studrawa and Ohio State parted ways. Having contact with Coach Frye, it put to rest any worries that Hinzman wouldn’t stay with his Ohio State pledge.

The ninth-best interior offensive lineman in the class, Hinzman is also the No. 172 player nationally, and third best player in his home state for 2022.

Quick Hits

• While Ohio State expected to lock in their two remaining commitments to the 2022 class, there was one more player out there that the Buckeyes would have taken. Defensive lineman Christen Miller had long been on Ohio State’s radar, and is a player the Buckeyes had recruited very strongly the entire cycle.

On Wednesday, Miller put an end to all possibilities of him coming to Columbus when he chose to stay at home and sign with Georgia. The 14th best player along the defensive line for 2022, Miller is also considered to be the 102nd best player nationally.

Though Larry Johnson would have been happy to add a fifth member to his group, it really never felt like this was a legitimate recruitment that would end up in Ohio State’s favor. Regardless, the Buckeyes signed an incredible defensive line haul that will produce at a high level.