WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Josh Myers is currently ranked by 247Sports’ composite ratings as the nation’s No. 4 overall player and top-ranked offensive tackle in the 2017 recruiting class. The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder who is verbally committed to Ohio State still thinks he has to improve, though, specifically in one area of his game.
“I still think I need to work a lot on pass pro,” Myers said at The Opening’s regional camp in Columbus two weeks ago. “Our offense at Miamisburg, we run the Wing-T so all we do is run the football so I don’t get a lot of reps hardly ever with pass protection. They would like for me to obviously work on that.”
That’s precisely why Myers comes to camps like he did last Saturday. He wanted to earn an invite to The Opening — Myers surprisingly did not get invited at the Columbus regional but it’s widely expected he’ll receive an at-large spot — but he also wants to fine-tune parts of his game he feels needs work. That’s not going to happen at the high school level. Not with his Miamisburg team that runs the football almost every play.
Myers doesn’t think he will have difficulty transitioning to a different offense when he gets to Ohio State. He just believes the more he gets to rep in pass protection, the better he’ll become.
“It’ll be somewhat of adjustment, but a lot of the technique is the same, it’s universal, it’s just working it more than anything,” Myers said. “It’ll definitely be different. I won’t be as tired, I’ll tell you that. I’m running all over the place in the Wing-T and to not be so tired that’s going to be kind of nice.
“It’ll be different, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get used to.”
Myers is firmly committed to Ohio State and when he eventually signs with the Buckeyes he could wind up being the highest-rated recruit in Urban Meyer’s tenure. The Miamisburg, Ohio native said he’s in constant contact with the Ohio State coaching staff and his relationships with the Buckeyes assistant coaches have never been stronger — even after the slight shuffling in the offseason that brought in Greg Studrawa to coach the offensive line and moved Ed Warinner to coach the tight ends.
“Once I actually met him it had felt like I had known him my whole life,” Myers said of Studrawa. “He’s one of those guys you can just talk to like he’s always been there. That was so easy so that was really nice.”
It’s also a luxury for Myers that he does not have to to deal with other schools constantly hounding him with recruiting information anymore — Ohio State included. The Buckeyes know Myers is firmly in the fold for 2017 and now it’s about building toward when he finally arrives on campus as he plans to enroll early in time for spring practice next year.
“Most of the difference that I notice in my conversations with the coaches is it’s not so much recruiting questions as it is a when I get there-type deal,” Myers said. “They’re not trying to recruit me anymore; they know they have me.”
Five-star talents like Myers with offers from seemingly every major program in the country don’t often shut their recruitment down as early as he did and 100 percent commit to a school. Myers committed to Ohio State in the January following his sophomore season, most want to at least get out and see what other schools have to offer.
He plays a position as an offensive lineman that is crucial to the success of a football team and could be a long-term starter for the Buckeyes when he arrives. Myers and fellow 2017 commit Jake Moretti give Ohio State a pair of highly-touted prospects up front in the 2017 class.
By now, you’ve surely seen the pancake blocks on his highlight reel and his weight room video that went viral last week. And it’s that natural ability, plus his want to improve despite being so highly-rated that made Myers such a highly-coveted prospect.
Fortunately for Ohio State, he shut the recruitment side of things down early.
“Just aggression, just being a hard-nosed football player. I believe that football is meant to be played passionately, tough and physical,” Myers said. “I just pride myself on playing the game like that more than anything.”
