Recruiting is all about momentum. Sometimes you're gaining it, sometimes you're losing it. What prospects are trending up with Ohio State? Let's take a look.
When it comes to the football recruiting class of 2017, it's hard to argue that Ohio State is sitting anything but pretty.
The nation's number one class currently with 12 commitments, including nine players ranked inside the Top 250 nationally, the Buckeyes are at least 60-percent complete with their 2017 haul, at least from a numbers standpoint, so things are likely to get pretty tight from here on out.
That being what it is, there's still a case to be made for a number of big-time players to join the #Select17, and today we're going to take our first glance at what we consider the 11 most important players left for the Buckeyes' recruiting class.
(This board will serve as a starting point for the next several months as we try and monitor the ups and downs of the 2017 class.)
| NAME | POSITION | RANK | PREV RANK | committed to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TREVON GRIMES | WR | 1 | -- | |
| LAMONT WADE | DB | 2 | -- | |
| AMIR RIEP | DB | 3 | -- | |
| JAYLEN HARRIS | WR | 4 | -- | |
| CAM AKERS | RB | 5 | -- | |
| JEFFREY OKUDAH | DB | 6 | -- | |
| TYJON LINDSEY | WR | 7 | -- | |
| FRED HANSARD | DT | 8 | -- | |
| JOSHUA KAINDOH | DE | 9 | -- | |
| DARNAY HOLMES | DB | 10 | -- | |
| ROBERT HAINSEY | OG | 11 | -- |
The top target on the board, therefore the player we (Andrew and myself) consider the most important for Ohio State to still secure in 2017 is Fort Lauderdale's Trevon Grimes, the country's top-ranked wide receiver according to most evaluators and a five-star prospect at St. Thomas Aquinas. The Raiders have produced a handful of Buckeyes in recent years, including five-star Nick Bosa in the 2016 class, and Ohio State is considered the leader for Grimes.
At 6-foot-4 and 195-pounds, has the frame and game of a major star in the making and the Buckeyes hope that Columbus–and Zone Six–will be the landing spot for this Indianapolis native. Florida is the biggest contender at present and Jim McElwain's got an ace-in-the-hole: St. Thomas 2017 quarterback Jake Allen is committed to the Gators.
Right behind Grimes on the list, and not by much, is Clairton, Pennsylvania's Lamont Wade, the country's fifth-ranked cornerback according to the composite rankings. The Buckeyes have made Wade a priority since last summer and the Western Pa. product and his family have made no bones about it: they love the Buckeyes and what Urban Meyer has built at Ohio State. To land Wade, the Scarlet and Gray will have to do something they've failed to do in the last two recruiting cycles: go into Pittsburgh and come out victorious against the hometown Panthers, but they'll also have to fend off Penn State, Michigan and others.
Rounding out the top three on this installment of the Heat Check is a name that, if we'd written this 5 weeks ago, would not have been on the list at all: Cincinnati Colerain cornerback Amir Riep. The 6-foot-tall Riep has skyrocketed up the national recruiting rankings, elevating as he's been evaluated, and he checks in as the country's 18th-ranked cornerback according to composite rankings. An Ohio kid with a Buckeye offer this early is a "must get," and the Buckeyes are fighting off a gaggle of recent offers for Riep, including Notre Dame, Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan and others. He's expected to make a decision in July.
What's interesting about Ohio State's current situation is that, with the class already 12 deep, the needs that remain are easily definable and recognizable. There are two defensive backs in the Top 3 as noted, but even beyond Wade and Riep–and even though the Buckeyes have four players who could play in the secondary already committed–there are two other defensive backs that would be too good to turn down in Jeffrey Okudah and Darnay Holmes, who check in at No. 6 and 10 respectively on our list. Okudah, the country's top-ranked safety, has listed the Buckeyes at the top of his list since last summer and plans to return to Columbus this spring.
Cam Akers, the Mississippi product who decommitted from Alabama on Thursday night and will begin a visit with the Buckeyes today, is the running back that–as of today–may be the most likely to join Todd Sibley in the backfield. Akers, who visited Columbus last summer, will be one of the more aggressively recruited tailbacks in America over the next few months and the Buckeyes will have to work overtime to keep him from staying in the south where Georgia has emerged as a potential destination.
Ohio State currently has two defensive tackles committed in 2017, but they're actively pursuing a third and the one that's been on their list the longest is Princeton, New Jersey's Fred Hansard. Hansard made his first visit with the Buckeyes at the end of January and the country's 10th-ranked defensive tackle says he'll be back in Ohio as soon as possible. Hansard is interchangeable on this list with a few names including Darnell Ewell, Dayln Wade-Perry, Aubrey Solomon and Donovan Jeter, but he gets the nod because he's been on the list longer than anyone.
The Buckeyes are likely to only take one–maybe two–defensive ends in the 2017 class and there may not be one in the country that has more upside than the IMG Academy's Joshua Kaindoh. A five-star prospect who is originally from Maryland, Kaindoh is very high on the Buckeyes, especially Larry Johnson, and with two Ohio State commitments as teammates in Bradenton, there will be no shortage of recruiting-related opportunities to see the 6-foot-5, 250-pound future doctor.
Another position where Ohio State is off to a strong start is the offensive line, where Josh Myers and Jake Moretti give them two of the country's Top 60 overall prospects, both at offensive tackle. With limited room in 2017 and 11 offensive lineman signed in the last two classes, there's likely to be one more player added to The Slobs and with two tackles in tow, in our mind the need is along the interior and that's why another IMG star, Robert Hainsey, makes the list. Hainsey is originally from Pennsylvania and has become one of the best guards in the country since Ohio State saw him on campus last summer. The Buckeyes will hope to see him again soon as they prepare to fight Penn State, Pitt, Michigan, Michigan State and others for the nation's third-ranked guard.
