Ohio State to host rising 2023 safety

With spring in the air, the Ohio State football team is in full force with spring practices and recruiting. On Monday, the Buckeyes learned they will be playing host to a rising 2023 safety later this month, and one of their top wide receiver targets will soon make a big announcement.

2023 safety to visit Ohio State

The Ohio State football team is now in week two of its spring practices, and with this comes recruiting visits. Ohio State’s spring visitor list seems to grow as each day passes, and this was the case Monday as one of the teams newest safety targets announced he would be visiting with the Buckeyes later this month.

Three-star S Jayden Bonu (Hillside, NJ / St. Peters Prep) has seen his recruitment take off in the last few months, including receiving an official scholarship offer from the Buckeyes last December. On Monday he announced he would be visiting Ohio State the weekend of March 25-26.

Bonsu may only be a three-star prospect, but his offer list says otherwise. Since the end of his junior season of play, he has received scholarship offers from the likes of Ohio State, Clemson, USC, Miami, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arkansas and Alabama. Because of his impressive offer sheet, if he builds upon his junior season this coming fall, he should easily make a massive jump in the recruiting rankings.

The visit to Ohio State will be his first to Columbus and one of his first visits in his recruitment. Although, it will not be his first, as he has already made trips to Penn State and Michigan State.

Bonsu seems to be leaning towards staying in Big Ten country, but this could easily change as he begins to take more visits in the coming months. If the upcoming visit goes as well as planned, Ohio State could make a push as a legitimate contender in his recruitment.

Bonsu is the No. 33 safety in the 2023 recruiting class and is the No. 367 overall recruit. He is also the No. 7 recruit out of New Jersey.

Carnell Tate to soon break some “Big news”

Ohio State has had 2023 five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate (Bradenton, FL / IMG Academy) as one of their top priorities for the majority of his recruitment. The Buckeyes offered him in April of 2021, and since then the team has been viewed as a favorite to land him.

Since the offer, Tate has made multiple visits to Columbus, cementing them as a contender. However, they are not alone, as Notre Dame has also developed a strong relationship with him. It appears that the two have separated themselves from the field, as they were the only two schools with a prediction cast in their favor in the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions. That is until Monday afternoon, when Notre Dame insider Tom Loy flipped his prediction from the Irish to Ohio State, putting both of the current predictions in their favor.

It seems like Ohio State is still slightly ahead of the Irish. We will soon learn more into his mindset, as he took to Twitter saying he will be releasing some “big news” later today.

In the Tweet, Tate referenced Hayes Fawcett, who is known for some of the best recruiting graphics in the game. Because of this, we can either expect the news to be a commitment or more likely a cut down from his top 10 schools list. If Tate is going to cut his top schools today, expect both Ohio State and Notre Dame to make the cut.

Tate is the No. 3 WR in the 2023 class and is the No. 21 overall prospect. He is also the No. 7 prospect from the talent-rich state Florida.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State made the cut for 2023 three-star linebacker S’Maje Burrell on Sunday. Included in his top 11 are Ohio State, Florida State, Baylor, Utah, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Tennessee, USC and Ole Miss.

• Ohio State 2023 OL verbal commit Joshua Padilla finished as the state runner-up in his final wrestling match last weekend. The skills he has learned from the sport directly translates to the football field, which is why he is one of the top at his position.

• Ohio State 2022 five-star safety signee Sonny Styles is not just impressive on the gridiron, but also on the hardwood. He led this impressive series of plays last weekend, helping lead Pickerington Central to the Ohio State final four.

• Five-star OL Francis Mauigoa released his top 13 on Twitter on Monday night, and the Buckeyes were one of the teams to make the cut for the 6-foot-6, 325-pound IMG Academy standout. Mauigoa is currently the No. 2 OT and the No. 8 overall player in the 2023 class.