Ohio State’s 1-Day Position Camp Brings Offers, Prospects

Before rain rolled through Columbus in the afternoon, Ohio State hosted hundreds of high school football players once again Saturday on the outdoor practice fields of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for its one-day position camp.

The event was the latest for the Buckeyes, who previously conducted camps last Thursday in addition to an overnight attraction Wednesday and Thursday, each of saw recruiting action come about with offers earned and targets revisited.

With another day of instruction in the books for head coach Ryan Day and the OSU staff, BSB recaps the results, from new offers to rising prospects and much more.

The Offers

Five campers — four in the class of 2021 and one for ’22 — left Ohio State with offers.

One was Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass three-star wide receiver Dekel Crowdus. The 5-10, 165-pounder picked up his 12th offer from the Buckeyes, who followed Louisville (May 11) and Rutgers (May 22) last month. He previously earned Tennessee (April 24) and Purdue (April 30) offers, adding to Penn State (March 16) and Virginia Tech (March 22) the previous month.

Crowdus competed May 19 in The Opening Regional at Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Blackman, where he recorded several of his impressive athletic test results — a 4.40-second 40-yard dash, 4.28-second 20-yard shuttle and 43.00-inch vertical jump. According to 247Sports, Crowdus is the No. 313 overall prospect, No. 49 wide receiver and No. 1 player in Kentucky for 2021.

Another was Jaylen Johnson, an in-state safety from Cincinnati La Salle. The 6-1, 205-pounder’s OSU offer at camp came less than two months after he last visited March 23 for the team’s fifth practice of the spring, which doubled as student appreciation day.

The breakout offer from the home-state Buckeyes is his seventh after he added Western Michigan (Nov. 29), Akron (May 3), Toledo (May 3), Louisville (May 21), Iowa State (May 21), Cincinnati (May 24) deep into the spring. According to 247Sports, Johnson is the No. 403 overall prospect, No. 21 safety and No. 19 player in Ohio for 2021.

The third was Bryce Steele, who trekked to Ohio State from Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal.

The 6-1, 195-pounder’s OSU offer joined a list now up to 18 schools. The Buckeyes followed Michigan (June 18, 2018), Notre Dame (Jan. 31) and Penn State (April 23) among the group.

Steele, who spent plenty of 1-on-1 time with linebackers coach Al Washington, is not yet rated by 247Sports.

The fourth among the 2021 campers, Bennett Pitcher picked up an Ohio State offer despite one of his hands in a cast during the Buckeyes’ camp.

The 6-9, 260-pound tight end from Deerfield (Mass.) Academy adds OSU to an offer list of 1o Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program that includes Michigan (Sept. 28) and Northwestern (June 5).

He also has offers from Ivy League schools such as Dartmouth (Sept. 28), Brown (May 1) and Princeton (May 13).

Ohio State jumped on a 2022 quarterback after Steven Angeli camped well enough to earn his first offer. The 6-3, 185-pounder from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic played freshman, junior varsity and varsity for the Crusaders in 2018.

He is just the Buckeyes’ third quarterback offer for 2022. OSU previously offered only Southlake (Texas) Carroll’s Quinn Ewers (6-3, 180) June 8, 2018, and Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra’s Maalik Murphy (6-4, 205) Jan. 29.

 

The Prospects

Close to 20 offers after Michigan (April 26), Kentucky (April 30) and Oklahoma (May 6) most recently entered his recruitment, 2020 three-star Brandon Taylor thought he performed well enough to earn one from Ohio State.

However, the in-state defensive end out of Lima remained without an offer from the local Buckeyes after a conversation inside the team facility with defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

“I don’t really know,” Taylor said. “I think I did good enough (during the workout) to earn (an OSU offer), but it’s up to him.”

The 6-3, 250-pounder moved well with quick burst off the line of scrimmage and sharp agility during drills under the Johnson’s guidance and graduate assistant Kenny Anunike.

As the coaching staff and Johnson monitor Taylor, the lack of an offer adds fuel to the fire for the 247Sports composite’s No. 545 overall prospect, No. 25 strongside defensive end and No. 16 player in Ohio for 2020.

While the Buckeyes have a quarterback committed for 2020 in Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral four-star Jack Miller (6-4, 210), who pledged July 1, another arm is on the table with depth at the position needed.

One of Ohio State’s offer candidates for 2020 appears to be Austin “Kade” Renfro, who camped before he and his family left early in the afternoon and went inside the team facility with passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Yurcich.

The 6-3 1/2, 189-pounder from Stephenville, Texas, committed June 1 to North Texas but is attracting Power Five interest. He jumped on his offer from the in-state Mean Green, but the three-star quarterback camped Thursday at Texas A&M and has Florida State on deck Sunday for a camp.

After he came back from an injury to start his junior season, Renfrow completed 105 of 163 passes (64.4 percent) for 1,840 yards with 17 touchdowns to nine interceptions in 2018 as Stephenville went 7-4 and reached the Texas Class 4A playoffs’ second round.

The Targets

Ohio State’s one-day position camp was light on targets, although the Buckeyes are hosting several unofficial visitors for 2020 and ’21.

The biggest was Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban 2020 four-star running back DeaMonte Trayanum (6-0, 215), who returned to campus for the first time since March 19 when he visited for the team’s third practice of the spring.

Trayanum’s trip Saturday came before his official visit, which starts Monday in Columbus. The 247Sports composite’s No. 311 overall prospect, No. 24 running back and No. 5 player in Ohio was back to watch high school teammates compete for the day.

“A couple of our guys just came out here to just see what they have and, honestly, just try to get some looks from all of these schools,” said Trayanum, who referenced the 30-plus programs in attendance.

Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall 2020 three-star athlete William “Apache” Mohan (6-1, 195) and Virginia Beach (Va.) Princess Anne 2021 four-star cornerback Tony Grimes (6-0, 180) — offered Jan. 18 and March 15, respectively, by OSU — are on campus for the weekend.

In possession of an offer since Feb. 25, Cornelius (N.C.) Williams Amos Hough 2021 four-star running back Evan Pryor (5-10, 190) is also in Columbus for the weekend.

The Commitments

Nine days after he camped under the guidance of his future position coach, Jack Sawyer returned from nearby Pickerington (Ohio) North to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and reunited with Johnson. The 6-5, 230-pounder showed once again why he is the No. 2 overall prospect (No. 1 in Ohio) and No. 1 strongside defensive end for 2021 with his combination of size and speed.

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