Ohio State Five-Star Offensive Tackle Target J.C. Latham Nears Decision

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy five-star offensive tackle J.C. Latham hinted at a looming decision on Saturday evening with a tweet asking his followers for a commitment edit.

The 6-6, 305 pound Latham — who is considered the fifth-best offensive tackle and No. 17 prospect overall in the class of 2021 — has been on the Buckeyes’ radar for quite some time, as he attended the program’s student appreciation day in March 2019 alongside teammate and eventual Ohio State cornerback signee Lejond Cavazos. He landed an offer from offensive line coach Greg Studrawa in September, then returned to campus for another unofficial visit during the Buckeyes’ 28-17 win over Penn State in November.

The Waukesha, Wisc., native spent a considerable amount of time on that visit with Studrawa and head coach Ryan Day, which led to a number of 247Sports crystal ball predictions being placed in favor of Ohio State. A lack of visits this spring due to the coronavirus outbreak only allowed that lead to grow in the months thereafter.

The Buckeyes hoped to welcome Latham back to Columbus on June 12-14 as part of a large official visit weekend that included nearly two dozen top targets and commitments, but that was cancelled after the NCAA extended the current recruiting dead period through the end of July.

That said, Alabama has been making a significant push in Latham’s recruitment as of late. Sources have indicated one side of his family prefers the Crimson Tide to the Buckeyes, while the other half wants him to choose Ohio State.

Alabama’s main recruiting pitch to Latham includes having an offensive tackle taken in the first round of the last two NFL drafts in Jonah Williams and Jedrick Wills while also pointing out how the Buckeyes are seemingly set for the future with a three offensive tackles in 2020 signee Paris Johnson, 2021 Richfield (Ohio) Revere four-star Ben Christman and 2022 West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West four-star Tegra Tshabola already in the fold. The Crimson Tide have picked up two crystal ball predictions in the hours since his tweet as a result.

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