Ryan Day hints at recruiting success in the near future during his Monday presser

Everything Ohio State does in regards to recruiting is precisely planned. Whether it be who they target or how they go about their efforts on the trail, Ryan Day and his staff have it down to a science. Fortunately, the plans put in place have given them ample amounts of success over the years. Hauling in top five national classes year in and year out is the always a priority, and the Buckeyes have been able to do that and then some. Now, the 2023 class for Ohio State looks to be gaining some serious traction, with 2024 next in line.

Of the many areas in recruiting that are designed to set up Ohio State with success, none may be as important as how this staff goes about hosting their top targets when on campus. Rolling out the red carpet treatment consistently for their top guys, the Buckeyes know how to show a recruit what they’re all about while making a lasting impact. In addition, the timing of these visits play a big part in the overall atmosphere a prospect will encounter while in Columbus.

Ohio State had an absolutely loaded guest list on hand to see the program this past weekend. Five-star receivers Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss may have headlined the weekend, but those were just two of the many top national recruits the Buckeyes played host to. Other notable names who made the trip to campus included five-star running back Stacy Gage, four-star safety Daemon Fagan, five-star receiver Jeremiah Smith, and even current commits Ty Lockwood and Cedrick Hawkins, as well as many more names high on the staff’s board.

OSU using their atmosphere to make an impact

Having all of these high profile targets on campus is a huge development for the Buckeyes as they continue to try and land each one, but more than just the star-studded guest list, it’s again the atmosphere that the recruits are able to see while visiting. This past Saturday was the perfect case to that being true with Ohio State’s annual Student Appreciation Day, which saw well over a thousand students packed into the Woody Hayes facility to see practice.

Having this many elite guests on hand for the weekend wasn’t just a coincidence for the Buckeyes. That many students on site as well as the many former players as well, the recruits had to see how much Buckeye football means. They made it clear via their respective social media accounts that the love they saw from Ohio State students was both telling and awesome. A big kudos to the students who attended that contributed to the love these recruits felt for one, but also the overall atmosphere that proves why Ohio State is such a special place.

Day hints at upcoming results on the trail

Currently, the Buckeyes have five commits in their 2023 class. Not a large number by any means at this point in the cycle, but the coaching staff is realizing their hard work may soon be paying off in a big way. On Wednesday of this week, it would be a shock if they didn’t add in-state safety Malik Hartford when he announces his decision. In Monday’s presser, Ryan Day hinted towards the notion that very soon the Buckeyes will be seeing some recruiting success after what he called a, “great recruiting weekend” for Ohio State.

In addition to his positive remarks about the weekend overall, Day also talked about what the staff expects in the near future. Simply put, he went out of his way to say, “we’re going to see the next couple of months a lot of good stuff come our way.” Taking his words into consideration, recruiting followers should be pretty excited to see what the next few weeks will bring to the 2023 class, and perhaps even the 2024 class as well.

Wrapping it all up

Ryan Day can’t get into specifics in terms of recruits he was talking about, but his comments sure point towards some major BOOMs in the near future. The coaches have been nothing short of relentless on the trail since the start of the year, and that’s setting them up for success. With how this staff is able to build relationships and appeal to the guys they are after, the waiting game for the 2023 class to really take off doesn’t seem too far off anymore.

Right now, the Buckeyes are still in a great spot to land Tate, who as the 5th best receiver in the class has long been the top guy at the position for Brian Hartline. In addition, what looked to be like a pipedream at first with Inniss, the nation’s top receiver, Hartline now looks to have the Buckeyes as more than just a school who has offered, and Ohio State actually seems to be in a good spot right now.

Looking ahead in the 2024 class, five-star Jeremiah Smith, who is ranked as the second best receiver and 15th best player nationally for his class, has the Buckeyes right at the top of his recruitment. Per the 247Sports Crystal Ball, Ohio State leads there too.

All in all, the Buckeyes are sitting pretty with several of their top targets in both the 2023 and 2024 classes. These would be major additions for the Buckeyes to add of course, but while all of this sounds great, this really shouldn’t be a surprise. Everything that coach Day and Mark Pantoni do is calculated, and this weekend was another prime example of the Buckeyes rolling out the red carpet and also providing an electric atmosphere that not only impresses top recruits, but gives them a lasting impression on what sets the Buckeyes apart from the rest.

Buckle up. The next few weeks could be busy, but in a great way.