Ohio State trending for four-star ATH

Ohio State and the entire college football recruiting landscape is in the middle of a dead period, meaning recruits are unable to make visits to schools they are considering committing to. This dead period does not mean things are quiet for Ohio State in the recruiting headlines, and Monday was all the proof you needed as the Buckeyes found themselves included in multiple positive recruiting updates.

Miles Lockhart trending towards OSU

Ohio State has made recruiting defensive backs a priority early in the 2024 recruiting cycle. The Buckeyes have already offered nine cornerbacks in the class and seven safeties. This focus is quickly creating results as on Monday, the Buckeyes saw themselves jump into the favorite seat for a 2024 athlete that projects as a cornerback in college.

Four-star athlete Miles Lockhart (Chandler, AZ / Basha) dominated the recruiting headlines Monday, and Ohio State was included in them all. Chad Simmons of On3.com reported early Monday that Lockhart has an official visit scheduled to Ohio State for a summer camp June 16-18 — a weekend which is already shaping up to be an incredibly important one for Ohio State’s recruiting efforts.

The summer visit will be the first to Ohio State for Lockhart, who received an official scholarship offer from the Buckeyes in June of last year. Since the offer, Ohio State has been in constant communication with him in a recruitment led by cornerbacks coach Tim Walton.

The news of Lockhart’s upcoming official visit was great for Ohio State, but it did not stop there. Shortly after the reporting of the news, the Buckeyes received multiple Crystal Ball predictions for Lockhart on the 247Sports prediction portal. These predictions are far from guarantees, but they do provide a great insight into what a recruit is thinking at the current moment and which schools are building the strongest relationships with them.

It is still early in Lockhart’s recruitment and a commitment date has not been set or mentioned. However, if the summer weekend camp is successful for Ohio State, and it looks like Lockhart will have plenty of other high-caliber recruits on campus with him, the a commitment could follow soon after.

Lockhart is the No. 37 ATH in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 298 overall prospect. He is also the No. 6 recruit from Arizona.

Ohio State makes top schools for four-star CB

As was mentioned above, Ohio State is building relationships with multiple defensive backs in the 2024 class. The Buckeyes are reaping the rewards of their work as another cornerback has the school in his newly updated top schools list.

2024 four-star CB Ify Obidegwu (Baltimore, MD / St. Frances Academy) holds nearly 30 scholarship offers from some of the best programs across the country, and on Monday he narrowed his list down to seven.

Included in his top seven was Ohio State, but the Buckeyes will have some tough competition in the later stretch of his recruitment. Alongside Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Maryland, Michigan, USC and Tennessee also made his top schools list.

Obidegwu has seen his recruitment take off and because of this, Ohio State will need to keep in constant contact with him if they are to become his collegiate school of choice. Alabama is the most recent school to offer him and Tennessee currently looks to be the school on top.

Look for Ohio State to try to get him on campus multiple times this year, and if they are able to receive one of his five allocated official visits, it would be a very positive sign for the Buckeyes chances.

Obidegwu is the No. 15 CB in the 2024 class and is the No. 158 overall prospect. He is also the No. 6 recruit out of Maryland.

Quick Hits

• With a couple weeks remaining in the dead period, recruits are scheduling visits for the spring. Five-star running back Elijah Rushing (Tuscon, AZ / Salpointe) reportedly may soon be scheduling one for Ohio State.

• 2024 four-star defensive end Booker Pickett Jr. (Tampa, FL / Wharton) will be releasing his top schools list later today. Ohio State offered Pickett Jr. in April of last year and will be looking to make the cut.

• 2024 four-star tight end Kylan Fox (Loganville, GA / Grayson) released his top schools list over the weekend. Fox has become a priority recruit for Ohio State at the tight end position. Fox included Ohio State, Florida State, Colorado, Tennessee, Miami, South Carolina, Louisville, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Stanford and Cincinnati in his top 15.