In the history of ESPN's Top 300 recruiting rankings that dates back to 2006, Ohio State has never signed the No. 1-ranked overall in player in any class.
The Buckeyes might do it in back-to-back years in the next two classes.
Jack Sawyer was ranked the No. 1 overall player in ESPN's 2021 updated rankings that were released this week, joining Julian Fleming, the Buckeyes' top 2020 commit who last month was ranked ESPN's No. 1 overall senior.
Sawyer admits how noteworthy it is that Ohio State has ESPN's top-ranked players in both classes.
"That is pretty wild," Sawyer told Eleven Warriors of the Buckeyes having the No. 1 recruit in both 2020 and 2021. "But no doubt it's pretty humbling and really cool to be able to see that, and that has always been a dream of mine – not just specifically by ESPN but in general to be the top-ranked player – and now I just have to work that much harder."
Sawyer and Fleming would each be the highest-ranked Ohio State commits by ESPN, outdoing Terrelle Pryor (No. 4 in 2008), Noah Spence (No. 4 in 2012) and Nick Bosa (No. 3 in 2016). The Buckeyes currently have ESPN top-ranked 2018 player on their roster in Justin Fields, though he committed to Georgia before transferring prior to this season.
Sawyer, who is the only committed player in ESPN's top 12, is the fourth five-star Ohio State commit at defensive end since 2016, joining Nick Bosa, Chase Young and Zach Harrison. Sawyer is the gem of a 2021 class that could end up as the star-studded No. 1 overall class in the nation, which would be Ohio State's first-ever No. 1 class in the modern recruiting era.
All of the Buckeyes' six commits in the 2021 class are ranked in the latest top 300: Sawyer, QB Kyle McCord (No. 39), WR Jayden Ballard (No. 41), WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 92), OT Ben Christman (No. 119) and LB Reid Carrico (No. 198).
Other uncommitted Ohio State targets in ESPN's top 50 include No. 3 Demeioun Robinson, No. 4 Korey Foreman, No. 6 Tony Grimes, No. 8 Tunmise Adeleye, No. 18 Landon Jackson, No. 20 Will Shipley, No. 23 J.T. Tuimoloau, No. 27 Derrick Davis Jr. and No. 34 Emeka Egbuka.
