Charting The Offers: New Targets Surface In Ohio State’s 2020 Recruiting Class

With the 2019 recruiting class in the books after Ohio State inked 17 letters of intent and closed the cycle Feb. 6 on National Signing Day, the Buckeyes go full steam ahead on the next two years.

While the Buckeyes are reportedly involved with graduate transfers in the trenches, including Rutgers center/offensive guard Jonah Jackson and Virginia offensive guard R.J. Proctor, they shift the bulk of their focus to the 2020 and 2021 groups.

OSU boasts seven commitments in 2020 and one pledge for 2021, which gives head coach Ryan Day and the rest of the staff a solid start as evaluations and visits unfold.

Part of Ohio State’s 2020 build, in particular, has led to its recent offer activity with nine reported in the past eight days and one for 2021. BSB takes a look at each and recaps the latest flurry of prospects.

Deontae Craig

Culver (Ind.) Academies three-star defensive end Deontae Craig added an offer Feb. 12 from the Buckeyes and reached double-digit scholarships six days later with Notre Dame. The 6-4, 230-pounder visited Indiana two days prior to OSU’s offer.

Before the Feb. 10 trip to see the home-state Hoosiers, he last checked out Ohio State for its Nov. 24 game against Michigan at Ohio Stadium. Among other visits, Craig saw Notre Dame (Sept. 1) and Michigan (Oct. 13) during his junior season.

He also plays basketball for Culver Academies, averaging 12.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 19 games, while competing additionally on the UA Grind 2020 Indiana grassroots team. Craig is the 247Sports composite’s No. 510 overall prospect, No. 23 strong-side defensive end and No. 3 player in Indiana for 2020.

Tate Ratledge

OSU offered two offensive linemen Feb. 13, with the first announced scholarship coming from Tate Ratledge.

The 6-6 1/2, 306-pound four-star offensive tackle from Rome (Ga.) Darlington’s offer from Ohio State marked his 22nd after he added North Carolina, Michigan State, West Virginia, Memphis and Nebraska in January.

Ratledge is the No. 42 overall prospect, No. 4 offensive tackle and No. 6 player in Georgia for 2020.

Marlon Martinez

Marlon Martinez marked the second of two offensive linemen offered Feb. 13 by the Buckeyes, but he also announced another Big Ten team had entered his recruitment, bringing him to 22 scholarships. The 6-5, 305-pounder picked up offers from OSU and Penn State.

He comes from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, where his former teammate and Jordan Battle had been committed to Ohio State since June 29 before the four-star safety flipped from the Buckeyes’ 2019 recruiting class Dec. 19 and signed with Alabama. Outside of Battle, OSU has recruited the talent-rich high school in south Florida heavily over the years, most recently pulling senior cornerback Damon Arnette (2015) and former defensive end Nick Bosa (2016).

Martinez is the 247Sports composite’s No. 651 overall prospect, No. 27 offensive guard and No. 89 player in Florida for 2020.

Jalen McMillan

Ohio State went to the Golden State in the form of its offer Feb. 14 to Fresno (Calif.) San Joaquin Memorial four-star wide receiver Jalen McMillan. The 6-2, 181-pounder’s 26th scholarship led to a list trim just two days later. Among his preferences, the Buckeyes made the top-10 cut.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Southern California and Washington joined OSU in the mix. McMillan is the 247Sports composite’s No. 76 overall prospect, No. 17 wide receiver and No. 11 player in California for 2020.

Michael Carmody

Ohio State’s priority along the offensive line continued Feb. 14 with an offer to Mars (Pa.) Area four-star offensive tackle Michael Carmody. The 6-6, 285-pounder’s 23rd scholarship came after he announced his offer from Auburn two days earlier.

Roughly three hours away from campus on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Carmody made multiple visits to Penn State with an offer in tow since May 30. He is the 247Sports composite’s No. 183 overall prospect, No. 23 offensive tackle and No. 2 player in Pennsylvania for 2020.

Akinola Ogunbiyi

Akinola Ogunbiyi has been committed to Texas A&M since June 2, but saw his recruitment blow up in the subsequent eight months. Among the nine offers since he pledged to the Aggies, including national powers such as Georgia (June 4) and Alabama (Jan. 15), the Buckeyes entered the equation Feb. 14 with a scholarship.

The 6-4, 310-pound offensive lineman from Sugar Land (Texas) Kempner called OSU his “dream school.” He is the 247Sports composite’s No. 215 overall prospect, No. 6 offensive guard and No. 27 player in Texas for 2020.

Cameron Martinez

Ohio State ventured up north Feb. 15 with its offer to Muskegon, Mich., three-star athlete Cameron Martinez. The Buckeyes marked the 19th scholarship for the 5-11, 175-pounder after offers from Iowa State and Nebraska came in the previous week.

Martinez plays quarterback, wide receiver and safety for his high school team. He is the 247Sports composite’s No. 517 overall prospect, No. 43 athlete and No. 18 player in Michigan for 2020.

Lorando Johnson

OSU’s activity in the Lone Star State continued Feb. 15 with two more offers, the first of which was announced by Lordando Johnson. The four-star cornerback from Lancaster, Texas, holds 20 scholarships as of Wednesday after Arizona extended one earlier in the morning.

The 6-0, 181-pounder reported a tope three of Arkansas, LSU and Texas but kept his recruitment open to new opportunities Dec. 27. Among his activity since then, Johnson added an offer Jan. 17 from Alabama.

He is the 247Sports composite’s No. 83 overall prospect, No. 8 cornerback and No. 11 player in Texas for 2020.

Ryan Watts

Ohio State stayed in Texas with its second offer Feb. 15 going to Little Elm three-star cornerback Ryan Watts. The 6-2, 187-pounder possesses 27 scholarships after Arizona and Miami (Fla.) offered in the three days following the Buckeyes.

Watts spent Feb. 17 at Texas, 10 days after the Longhorns offered. He is the 247Sports composite’s No. 450 overall prospect, No. 29 cornerback and No. 53 player in the Lone Star State for 2020.

Cane Berrong

Ohio State’s lone offer for 2021 came Tuesday to Hartwell (Ga.) Hart County tight end Cane Berrong. The 6-4 1/2, 220-pounder raked in all nine of his scholarships since Jan. 12 — LSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

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