XICHIGAN WEEK
Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
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.
Buckeye Bash visitors list
As the Big Ten opener quickly approaches, so too does Ohio State's recruit-led Buckeye Bash, as there will be an influx of 2021 recruits heading to Columbus this coming weekend.
We have been detailing different players who will be headed to campus, and this afternoon Bucknuts' Bill Kurelic provided an updated list of the visitors who are slated to be making the trip. That list includes 13 Ohio State commits and, of course, the No. 1 visitor in five-star Virginia offensive tackle Tristan Leigh and his younger brother Aidan Leigh.
As far as the commits go, the four biggest names who will be visiting are Jordan Hancock, TreVeyon Henderson, Tyleik Williams and Denzel Burke, as Hancock will be visiting for the first time since flipping from Clemson and the other three will be making their first visit to Ohio State.
The plan, Henderson tells Eleven Warriors, is still for the commits to stay at Jack Sawyer's house and head somewhere to watch the game on Saturday.
Tuimoloau’s uncle talks Buckeye recruitment
It's rare to get five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau on record about his recruitment, as the country's No. 2 overall player in the 2021 class is intensely private, especially about all things recruiting.
However, Buckeye Grove's Joseph Hastings got a chance to speak with Tuimoloau's uncle recently, and Tuimoloau talked about the young Washington star and why the Buckeyes are one of the favorites (perhaps the favorite) in his recruitment:
“J.T. has always been a fan of Ohio State and rightfully so,” Doc Aokuso said. “Just being a guy playing the d-end position, and kind of the history and tradition with Ohio State in the past six years as far as the d-end position goes with the Bosa Brothers and Chase Young. It’s hard not to like them, you know what I mean?”
The entire history the Buckeyes have put together, both from a defensive end perspective and the totality of the program, is one of the main factors into why Tuimoloau may end in scarlet and gray:
“Like I said, Ohio State is a great program,” Aokuso said. “It’s got a history and tradition of being successful not only as a program, but on individual accolades as far as players are concerned. It would be an ideal place for any top recruit to go to and be put in a situation that is successful.
“At the end of the day, you kind of have to take a look at everything. If J.T. does come, is he going to be able to come in and get in and be effective now, or is it something where he’s going to have to wait? It all boils down to where he fits in the depth chart or where he’s looking at in the depth chart and what that entails moving forward in the future.”
At this point, we have been told that Tuimoloau will not be making the trip for this weekend's Buckeye Bash. The general feeling is that he will take his recruitment into 2021 as he takes it to the finish line, and Ohio State will be continuing to try and get him on campus for his first-ever visit between now and then.
Latest on Leigh, Egbuka
As mentioned, Leigh is still hoping to make the trip for the Buckeye Bash, and if Ohio State gets him on campus it could go a long way in his recruitment. LSU is still the favorite, with Oklahoma a major player as well, but Ohio State has been coming up hot on their trail.
Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports' director of recruiting, also believes that the Buckeyes have been making progress with Leigh and have put themselves in a good position in his recruitment:
LSU is the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite for the Fairfax (Va.) Robinson Secondary standout but Ohio State and Oklahoma are making this recruitment tight. Leigh has been to Baton Rouge several times including twice during the pandemic. He got his first look at Norman during the pandemic as well. Leigh did visit Columbus last fall for the Buckeyes win over Penn State and he’s set to return this weekend to hang out with several OSU recruits. Leigh talks to all three programs regularly and all three still have a chance to land him. Clemson and Florida round out the final five with a decision not expected till January at the All-American Bowl.
Header photo: J.T. Tuimoloau/247Sports
