Ohio State football: 5 recruits most likely to sign with Ohio State Buckeyes
By John Buhler
Which five top recruits will most likely sign with Ohio State football?
Will Ohio State football end up with the No. 1 class in the country?
Well, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the No. 1 class, as Ryan Day’s team has 18 commits (four five-stars, 11 four-stars and two three-stars). Ohio State is able to hold its own vs. the Clemson Tigers and the SEC blue-blood programs because the Buckeyes recruit better than any program in the Midwest. It’s why they contend for championships.
Ohio State is the favorite to win the Big Ten again, as well as reach the College Football Playoff for the fourth time in school history this fall. Anything short of a national title berth would be seen as a disappointment for this juggernaut of a college football team. Even if the Buckeyes come up short of winning a title this season, they’re in a tremendous position to contend for years to come.
Transitioning from Urban Meyer to Day wasn’t going to be easy, but it looks to be one of the most seamless transitions we’ve seen internally at a major power in years. Along with the Oklahoma Sooners going from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley, where else have there be no bumps in the road? Ohio State should win at least one national title in the next five years, they’re that good.
So what we’re going to do today is look at a handful of high school recruits who are uncommitted, but could very well end up playing their college ball in The Horseshoe. Ohio State may end up with the No. 1 class in the country, regardless of whoever else they sign in this cycle. However, the Buckeyes have to feel good about their chances with this quintet of blue-chip prospects.
Here are the five recruits most likely to sign with Ohio State football.
Ohio State has a great shot at landing the best high school prospect from New Jersey in defensive tackle Tywone Malone. The 6-foot-3.5, 300-pound defensive tackle from Oradell, New Jersey is the No. 4 player at his position group and the No. 53 player in his recruiting class, in the eyes of the 247 Sports Composite. The four-star from Bergen Catholic High School is looking at four schools.
With 29 official offers, Malone is looking at the Ole Miss Rebels, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Texas A&M Aggies in addition to Ohio State. His primary recruiter to Ohio State is assistant head coach and defensive line coach Larry Johnson. He has landed six five-star recruits in his career, including Nick Bosa out of Florida and Chase Young out of Maryland.
Though Malone remains uncommitted, it seems more likely he’ll end up at Ohio State than the other three Power 5 programs vying for his commitment. Having Rutgers in-state certainly makes things interesting, as does having Lane Kiffin down at Ole Miss. While Jimbo Fisher recruits well at Texas A&M, he was given a show-cause order by the NCAA in this cycle.
What gives the Buckeyes the advantage to land Malone is they are the best program of the four vying for his commitment. Playing for Greg Schiano at Rutgers could be appealing, but he’d win more playing for the superior team in the Big Ten East. Let’s not rule out Ole Miss just yet because of Kiffin. Texas A&M feels like a long shot, but you can never downplay playing in in the SEC.