The Hurry-Up: Ohio State Retakes No. 1 Spot in 2021 Rankings, Buckeyes Offer 2021 Four-Stars Dallas Turner, Kamar Wilcoxson, Tyreak Sapp

By Zack Carpenter on January 31, 2020 at 6:30 pm
Jaylen Johnson
Jaylen Johnson
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The Hurry-Up is your nightly dose of updates from the Ohio State football recruiting trail, keeping tabs on the latest from commits and targets from around the country.

Buckeyes on top again

The battle of the decimal points continues!

For at least the next couple months, it looks like Ohio State and Clemson are destined to fight back and forth, tooth and nail, and (fill in another cliché phrase here) for the No. 1 spot in the 2021 rankings. Perhaps neither program will truly pull away. It's possible the fight for No. 1 comes down to the wire right up until the 2021 cycle's National Signing Day.

Ohio State had held the top ranking for several weeks before the Tigers overtook them last weekend. Early Friday, the Buckeyes snatched back the No. 1 spot.

The total score: Ohio State 204.08, Clemson 203.60

Jaylen Johnson, a three-star Ohio State commit, received a small ratings bump that helped push the Buckeyes back over the top.

After Ohio State essentially maxed out its 25-man class in 2020, it's looking like the Buckeyes will be signing between a 21- and 23-man class in 2021 and some believe that, because of that smaller haul, they won't be able to sign enough players to land the No. 1-ranked overall class.

That's certainly possible, but it's equally as possible Ohio State gets enough quality in that 21-to-23 player haul to do what Georgia has done in 2020 in signing only 22 players but landing the top-ranked class. 

And, after all, Ohio State finished with the No. 2-ranked overall class in 2017 with just 21 signees, finishing about 11 points behind Alabama, even though the Crimson Tide signed 29 players.

Rankings don't matter to a lot of people. Just get the right players on campus who the coaches believe in and go from there. But from a national perception standpoint, rankings do matter. Right now, the positive national perception of Ohio State's program is incredibly high, and the Buckeyes are regarded as being right up there with Clemson, Alabama and Georgia for the best programs in the country.

Making the College Football Playoff played the biggest role in keeping the Buckeyes there, and beating out those three programs in the recruiting rankings would be another major factor in that regard.

OSU offers Turner, Wilcoxson, Sappty

Offer season continued on Friday, as four-star 2021 targets Dallas Turner, Kamar Wilcoxson and Tyreak Sapp each announced an offer from the Buckeyes. All three are from Florida.

Turner is a 6-foot-3, 222-pound weakside defensive end from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. 

Though he's listed as a defensive end, Turner's frame could translate him to linebacker. He is ranked No. 259 overall, No. 18 at OLB and No. 37 in the state. His offers include Florida, Alabama, Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee.

During the 2019 season, Turner amassed 16 sacks, 74 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss and three forced fumbles. 

Wilcoxson is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior from IMG Academy in Bradenton, and he's listed as an athlete.

Wilcoxson, whose listed 40-yard dash time is 4.49, is being recruited as a defensive back. His best skills are at cornerback, but he has the ability to play safety. He is ranked No. 267 overall, No. 23 at the athlete spot and No. 41 in Florida. 

Wilcoxson is currently a Florida commit, but there are rumblings that a decommitment could happen in the near future. He committed to the Gators in November 2018, decommitted the following April and then recommitted in July. His other offers include Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Tennessee and Texas A&M. 

He certainly has the respect and attention of Ohio State 2021 commit Ben Christman, as well as five-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, a future teammate at IMG Academy who is choosing between Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, Florida and Oklahoma.

And speaking of Adeleye, he has his opinion of who the best quarterback in college football is:

Like Wilcoxson, Sapp is another Florida Gators commit, but there have been no decommitments from Sapp since his Christmas Eve commitment in 2018.

Also from St. Thomas Aquinas, Sapp is a 6-foot-3, 255-pound junior ranked as the No. 176 player in the country, No. 12-ranked strongside defensive end and No. 23-ranked player overall. 

His other offers include Alabama, Louisville, Miami, Oklahomas, Pittsburgh, South Carolina and Texas.

Stellato finally a four-star

I've been saying it for what feels like years, but Troy Stellato is one of the most underrated recruits in the 2021 class. It looks like I may not be able to write that phrase anymore.

Stellato has been one of the fastest-rising prospects in the nation, and on Friday, he was given a justified bump from three stars to four stars in his 247Sports Composite ranking.

Stellato was ranked No. 413 in the country in June, and he's been boosted all the way up to No. 211. He's ranked No. 38 at the receiver position and No. 31 in Florida, and it would be a bit surprising if his ranking doesn't end up in the top 200.

Stellato has more than 40 offers now, including all of the top powerhouse programs in the country. But this is still shaping up to be an Ohio State vs. Clemson battle.

On Tuesday, Eleven Warriors' Andrew Ellis listed Stellato as one of six recruits who could be committing to the Buckeyes soon. He is one of Ohio State's top targets on the board, regardless of position, and he's a player Brian Hartline and Ryan Day are pouring a ton of effort into landing.

He could be a dangerous weapon for the Buckeyes and a great addition alongside Jayden Ballard and Marvin Harrison Jr., two receivers who do not have the same type of slot receiver skillset as Stellato. 

Finding a talented slot receiver is one of Ohio State's biggest needs in the 2021 class. After having played wideout throughout most of his career, Stellato moved to slot for his junior season at Cardinal Gibbons, and he has shined in the role. 

“I’ve grown from playing the slot position this year because I’ve played outside pretty much my entire life," Stellato told Eleven Warriors back in October. “At first it was a little difficult because a lot of it is finding the weak spots in the zone and just having a good feel of where the most grass is. So that kind of took a little bit of time but I really have the hang of it now.”

Stellato feels like he could be an asset if he joined the Buckeyes and he would be able to "help them a lot with making tough catches in the middle of the field. I’m not afraid to go in the middle, and my speed and my ability to split defenders could be huge for them.”

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