Buckeyes continue to dominate on the trail, in-state target sets commitment date

Brian Hartline has been absolutely out of his mind when it comes to recruiting success, and this week has been nothing short of amazing not only to Ohio State fans, but to basically every college fanbase. After landing three top-10 nationally ranked receivers in the span of 72 hours — the latest being Noah Rogers — there’s nothing more you can say other than “wow”.

With the Buckeyes having their biggest recruiting weekend of the summer in just about 48 hours, the staff is looking to keep the momentum rolling in the 2023 class and beyond. Having so many top targets and elite national recruits on campus for the next couple of days, it is a great opportunity to keep pace with the rest of this week and hope that more guys join the fold.

What once looked like a little bit of a slower moving 2023 class in terms of commitments has totally flipped it’s course, and now looks to already be among the top classes in the country when all is said and done. Currently, Ohio State sits comfortably as the second best class per the 247Sports rankings with only 13 guys locked in and plenty more spots still up for grabs.

Hartline’s triple threat

One more look at this week’s heroic efforts by Brian Hartline is worth it. Monday’s feat of landing Carnell Tate was enough for any fanbase to be pumped up, but Tuesday’s addition of Brandon Inniss really took things over the top and left recruiting followers everywhere more than impressed with what’s going on in Columbus, specially on the offensive side of the ball at the receiver position

Wednesday’s third commitment in three days though thanks to Rogers gave the feeling that this momentum wasn’t even real, but nevertheless, Ohio State has now reeled in three top-10 receivers who also are each top-50 overall recruits per the 247Sports Composite.

An unprecedented week, you can’t say enough good things about Hartline and his efforts on the trail, but the players themselves also made it clear that assistant Keenan Bailey also deserves some major credit for the recruiting success Ohio State is having with these players. His Florida ties have certainly helped him create a strong bond with the handful of Florida natives who are committed.

Landing all of their top targets on their recruiting board at the position, Hartline and Ohio State have done more than just a job well done. The classes that have been stacked on top of each other boast ridiculous amounts of talent, and it’s safe to say that Ryan Day’s quarterback recruiting with the help of Corey Dennis and Hartline’s receiver recruiting with Bailey’s help has to make for some of the best recipes of success the Buckeyes have ever seen on offense.

In-state target sets commitment date

One of the more exciting things about the summer months is camp season and seeing prospects earn big time offers from schools that many times are their “dream” to attend. This June has been no different, as the coaches have dedicated tons of time to evaluating players in the current class as well as the future cycles. In or out-of-state, there’s been a ton of newly discovered talent, and even some cases of guys who were on Ohio State’s radar already, but camp performances set it over the top in terms of earning an offer.

One in-state target specifically who benefitted from a stellar camp circuit this June was Cincinnati native, Jermaine Mathews. The Winton Woods product had no shortage of offers before he camped in early June, but impressing on the field and in-person, the Ohio State offer was not only something he wanted to earn, but was one that he received fully based on his hard work.

When an in-state kid in on the receiving end of an Ohio State offer, it’s an assumption that more times than not they’ll take advantage and join the class. In this case, Mathews fits that bill, and yesterday took to his Twitter account to not only release a list of six schools still in the mix for his services, but also announce his commitment date set for July 1.

The No. 373 player nationally, Mathews is the 24th best athlete in the class and the ninth best player in Ohio per the 247Sports Composite grades for the 2023 class. A corner at the next level, Mathews has Penn State, Oklahoma, Jackson State, LSU, Cincinnati and Ohio State still in the running for his pledge.

Since his offer and time spent in Columbus many have pegged him to end up at Ohio State, and his July 1st decision won’t have us waiting much longer. It won’t be a surprise at all to see the Buckeyes add another in-state defensive back to the 2023 class in just over a week.

Quick Hits

• In an absolutely cold-blooded move, current Ohio State receiver commit Bryson Rodgers shared via Twitter last night his interaction with Michigan assistant coach, Ron Bellamy. Bellamy was clearly trying to get in touch with Rodgers and probably trying to pitch him that the Buckeyes already have too many receivers and he should consider still looking elsewhere. Rodgers settled that conversation with a simple “go bucks” and made it very evident that he wasn’t welcoming any team up north talk.

Safe to say this kid is locked in and ready to be a Buckeye. Take that, TTUN.