Recruiting Outlook is a new weekly series on Buckeye Sports Bulletin designed to be your one-stop shop for all news related to the Ohio State football recruiting trail.
- Ohio State’s coaching staff immediately took to social media after the NCAA Board of Governors on April 29 announced its support for a rule change that would allow student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness, with director of player personnel Mark Pantoni, linebackers coach Al Washington and others sharing various graphics promoting the financial opportunities within the city of Columbus and other benefits of playing for the Buckeyes.
- Ohio State 2021 five-star running back commit TreVeyon Henderson earned his fifth star from ESPN and clarified that he is up to 200 pounds from 190.
- Expressing supreme confidence in the Buckeyes, Henderson posted that he wants to win four national championships. A critic told Henderson he was reaching, but the five-star tailback responded, “My mindset different than others.”
- Ohio State 2021 four-star running back commit Evan Pryor agreed with Henderson’s aspirations for four national titles, reposting Henderson’s tweet and writing, “Copy.”
- Henderson dropped one spot in the 247Sports Composite rankings on May 5, falling from No. 17 to No. 18, while Pryor stayed the same at No. 83. Henderson is the No. 1 running back in the country, while Pryor is the fifth-ranked tailback nationally.
- Ohio State 2021 running back target Corey Kiner moved up three spots in the 247Sports Composite rankings to No. 163. The Cincinnati Roger Bacon standout is the No. 10 tailback in the nation and the seventh-highest rated recruit in Ohio.
- Ohio State has offered seven running backs in the 2022 class, including Kingsisland (Ga.) Camden County four-star running back Jamie Felix; Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic four-star Emeka Megwa; Reading (Pa.) Governor Mifflin four-star Nicholas Singleton; Littleton (Colo.) Valor Christian four-star Gavin Sawchuk; Denison, Texas, four-star Jadarian Price; Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star Kaytron Allen; and West Bloomfield, Mich., four-star Dillon Tatum.
- Ohio State five-star wide receiver target Emeka Egbuka retweeted a video from Recruiting Analytics breaking down Egbuka’s closing time and ability to play defensive back: “He may be rated as the top WR prospect in the country, but looks like he can play DB to us! 0.6 second closing time!”
- Egbuka, who is the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation, moved up to become the No. 8 overall recruit in the country for 2021 after ranking ninth.
- Ohio State 2021 four-star wide receiver target Troy Stellato, who has a top two of Ohio State and Clemson, dropped three spots to No. 141 in the country in the 247Sports Composite.
- Ohio State 2021 four-star wide receiver commit Marvin Harrison Jr. dropped one spot to No. 58 in the 247Sports Composite, while fellow four-star wide receiver commit Jayden Ballard moved up four spots to No. 68 overall. Harrison Jr. is the country’s No. 8 wide receiver, while Ballard is No. 12.
- Ohio State 2021 four-star wide receiver target Christian Leary included the Buckeyes in his top six, along with Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma and West Virginia on May 1.
- Despite not making his top six, Leary tweeted that he will be visiting Miami (Fla.) and Florida State following the pandemic.
- Leary received a four-star rating from ESPN, prompting him to tweet, “Blessed to be rated a 4 star by ESPN.”
- Leary ascended 85 spots in the 247Sports Composite rankings to No. 152 on May 5, following his previous ranking of No. 237 on April 15. He is the nation’s No. 26 wide receiver and the No. 21 overall prospect in Florida.
- The Buckeyes have sent offers out to four 2022 wide receivers, including Lewisville, Texas, WR Armani Winfield, Del Valle, Texas, WR Caleb Burton, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei WR C.J. Williams, St. Louis Cardinal Ritter College Prep WR Luther Burden.
- Cameron Williams, a three-star offensive tackle from Duncanville, Texas, picked up an offer from Ohio State on April 30. He’s rated as the No. 31 tackle in the 247Sports’ player rankings.
- One of Ohio State’s top remaining line targets in the class of 2021, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy tackle J.C. Latham, made a move into five-star territory in the latest 247Sports composite ranking update. He went from No. 36 to No. 16 overall, much closer to his in-house 247Sports ranking of No. 3.
- Ohio State sent out scholarship offers to a pair of 2022 offensive line prospects from Indiana on May 1 in Zionsville four-star offensive tackle Joey Tanona and Fort Wayne R Nelson Snider three-star offensive guard Demon Moore. Tanona is considered the 16th-best tackle and No. 150 prospect in the class, while Moore is listed as the 10th-best guard but not ranked nationally.
- Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove four-star defensive tackle Caden Curry received an offer from Ohio State on May 6.
- Streetsboro, Ohio four-star defensive tackle Mike Hall, an Ohio State commit in the 2021 class, moved up from No. 93 to No. 74 in the overall 247Sports Composite Rankings.
- Solon, Ohio four-star defensive end Najee Story committed to Northwestern on May 3. He had Ohio State among his top five schools.
- Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic four-star defensive tackle Tywone Malone, the No. 56 overall prospect and No. 5 tackle in the 2021 class, included the Buckeyes in his top 14 schools on May 2, along with Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC and Virginia Tech.
- Gaithersburg (Md.) Quince Orchard four-star defensive tackle Marcus Bradley, an Ohio State target, committed to Maryland on May 1.
- Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter four-star athlete C.J. Hicks became Ohio State’s third commitment of the 2022 class on May 1. He was recruited by linebackers coach Al Washington and is expected to play outside linebacker at the next level.
- Snellville (Ga.) Grayson four-star cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew picked up an offer from the Buckeyes on April 30. He’s listed as the 10th-best cornerback in the class of 2022 and holds early offers from programs such as Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC, among others.
- Ohio State offered a scholarship to 2022 Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star safety Zion Branch on May 3. He is considered the third-best safety and No. 74 prospect overall in his class and comes from the same program that produced current defensive tackle Haskell Garrett and former quarterback Tate Martell.
- Ohio State landed a commitment from Australian punter Jesse Mirco on May 6, following in former punter Cameron Johnston’s footsteps.
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