Second spring practice allows for more recruiting visits on a busy Thursday

Thursday marked the second time of this young spring practice season that the Buckeyes were on the field. Working tirelessly to reach their end goals, these few weeks of practice are a big part of the development this roster will need for the 2023 campaign.

With several positions up for grabs and adjustments being made to improve the scheme, Ryan Day and his crew are keeping plenty busy. Fortunately, the amount of talent on the roster is still among the best in the country, and if the expectations are met by this roster, the postseason goals will be there in the end within reach.

On the flip side, though majority of the attention needs to be paid to the current Ohio State players, this spring is also critical for the future of the program in regard to the recruiting front. The amount of visitors checking in from near and far is no short list, and yesterday there once again were several visits taking place.

The traffic in the Woody means business is good for the Buckeyes.

Young 2026 offensive tackle checks in to see the Buckeyes

Offensive line has been the talk of the town as of late, and with how important that is to the success of a team, it’s great to see the Buckeyes not only putting forth the effort, but also seeing these efforts pay off. Building relationships is everything in recruiting, and whether it’s guys in the current cycle or down the road a bit, position coach Justin Frye is doing what he can early and often to building a great rapport with the players on his wish list.

The Buckeyes looked down the road a bit by hosting 2026 offensive line target Darius Gray. A 6-foot-4, 280 pound offensive tackle out of Virginia, Gray made the trek up to check out Ohio State, and came away from his visit pretty impressed with all that the Buckeyes have going on.

Only a high school freshman currently, Gray looks to be one of the more highly touted offensive tackles in his class. When the 247Sports rankings are available for his cycle, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see him near the top.

Holding nearly double-digit offers already, Darius is seeing his recruitment take off early into his prep career. Programs such as Penn State, Texas A&M, North Carolina, South Carolina, and a few others have already thrown their name into the mix, but him being on campus shows his interest in Ohio State — and also staff’s interest in him too.

Plenty of time still to go, Gray is worth keeping an eye on as the offensive line recruiting for 2026 will likely have him involved.

Quick Hits

• So far, a lot of the visitors to make the trek to Columbus have been from in-state. Not unusual, most of the bigger national targets tend to come for the weekend of the spring game, but as this program does yearly, keeping a wall around Ohio’s border is key. That is very much the feel with how many in-state prospects are visiting the Buckeyes.

Thursday, a pair of teammates were on campus to see Ohio State take the field and made good use of their short trek north. Coming from Cincinnati, Mt. Healthy products Javier Etheridge and Jahmeir Spain got to take in practice and see the fast-paced style of play the program implements during spring ball.

Both with multiple offers to their name already, Etheridge is a 5-foot-10 athlete that has all of the MAC schools after him, but also some of the bigger programs in the Midwest as well thanks to the likes of Penn State, Pitt, Indiana, and several more. The No. 767 player nationally, Javier is also the 89th best athlete in the class per the 247Sports Composite.

Spain, on the other hand, is a year younger, but the 2025 quarterback is also seeing some early interest from a few of the MAC schools. At 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, this is another talented in-state signal caller in that class that is looking to see attention from the Buckeyes.

Unranked right now on his 247Sports profile, this could be more of the same leading to a solid ranking when the time comes. At any rate, Day has a lot to consider when it comes to a 2025 quarterback and who he targets the most for that spot.