Heat Check: Recruiting World Getting Closer to Normalcy As the End of the Lengthy Dead Period is Finally in Sight

When we last took a look at Ohio State's 2022 recruiting class, the Buckeyes had just landed five-star Jacksonville corner Jaheim Singletary and held a commanding lead atop the national team rankings. It's now one month later and Ryan Day still has control of those rankings despite no new names in the commitment column.

It seems like we're on the verge of some good news as the dead period could finally be coming to an end this spring. Scheduled to last until at least April 15, there have been recommendations that the NCAA then move into a quiet period. This would allow for on-campus visits to resume after what's been a wild year in the world of sports and virtually all other facets of life. 

Tomorrow is National Signing Day for the 2021 class, and it's set to be a fairly uneventful 24 hours for the Buckeyes. Long-time top target J.T. Tuimoloau is delaying his announcement so that he can take some of his long-awaited visits. Four-star California linebacker Raesjon Davis is set to sign with either Ohio State or USC. Outside of Tuimoloau, it will then be full speed ahead to the Class of 2022 and beyond.

It's been a relatively slow month. Coaching staffs have been on vacation, so there hasn't been a ton of movement on the trail. The same can be said for our 2022 recruiting board, though there are a few changes of note.

• Last month's edition can be found HERE.

No surprise here, but Kiyaunta Goodwin is still sitting at No. 1. A recent Rivals future cast pick did come in for Kentucky, but I'm just not sure I see that happening even though the Wildcats are probably the top competition right now. This one is showing no signs of coming to an end soon as Goodwin is looking to take a number of visits before deciding. I'm of the belief that missing here would be the equivalent of missing on J.C. Latham in the 2021 class. 

Caden Curry may very well be Ohio State's top defensive target at the moment, which is precisely why he remains at No. 2 on our board. Notre Dame wasn't viewed as much of a threat for a long while, but we'll have to see what the hiring of Marcus Freeman could mean for the Irish. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder got a nice little bump in the latest Rivals update. He's now the 19th-best player in America while sitting at No. 81 in the composite rankings. For now, Curry appears to be in no hurry to announce any sort of decision.

Five-star tackle Zach Rice had been hinting at some big news. That news never came even though he says he could commit at any moment. North Carolina looks like the favorite for the Virginia product, but this could be one of the more interesting recruitments to follow as the Tar Heels battle the Buckeyes and a few other national powers. 

Marcus Freeman will also play a role in the recruitment of four-star Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa. The Buckeyes are believed to be out in front for the country's seventh-best player at the position, but this one could be trending toward a battle between Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Clemson. There's no decision on the horizon for the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder. Both Oregon and USC offered in January.

@Dasan2022 Dasan M the Ohio State Commit and the #1 safety in the Midwest @xaviernwankpa01 X Nwankpa team up to make a huge play! @YolkedStrong @aryseoriginal @TheFlipSled @THISISSTATUS1@Coast2Coasttc @sr_champrings@GripBoost @_RL_Martin@MikeM_Scout @TruXposur@TruxposurM pic.twitter.com/loZ5ZwBfut

— Super Bowl Robby (@RevengOfThe4th) January 25, 2021

It's still looking like it'll be Ohio State and Penn State versus the SEC for five-star edge rusher Enai White, though Clemson may also have something to say about that. White is well aware of Larry Johnson's presence and that's going to be a big factor here. He made some waves last week when a recent Zoom call with Nick Saban was posted to Instagram before ultimately being taken down (still on Youtube). It went about as expected with Saban touting the Tide's level of competition, number of players in the NFL, etc. 

Also along the edge, we've got one new addition to our board at No. 11. Four-star defensive end Kenyatta Jackson is another player who's quite fond of Ohio State's defensive line development. At 6-foot-4.5 and 215 pounds, Jackson had planned on making a decision by the end of his junior year. However, COVID-19 has changed those plans since he hasn't been able to visit any of his top schools. He's got all kinds of ties to the Miami area, but this may turn into an Ohio State vs. Clemson battle.

Things are getting interesting at cornerback. Kerry Coombs has two in the fold already with five-star Floridian Jaheim Singletary and Cincy's Jyaire Brown. He's looking for one more to help complete the puzzle, but one came off the board last month when California's Domani Jackson committed to USC. I considered leaving Jackson on the board since that recruitment will still have some twists and turns, but for now we're sticking with another pair of five-stars. 

The recruitments of Denver Harris and WIll Johnson have been quite different of late. For Harris, it's mostly status quo as he's nowhere near a decision with schools like Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M, and LSU among the favorites. Johnson has had a busy few months making trips to Ann Arbor, Columbus, and SoCal. It sure feels like a Buckeye/Wolverine battle for the Michigan legacy, but I personally still view Ann Arbor as the more likely landing spot. 

The loss of Mike Zordich didn't help the Wolverines in the relationship department. So what did Jim Harbaugh do? He hired a local high school coach (Ron Bellamy) to work with the receivers all the while losing the team's best assistant (Ed Warinner). Former Dallas Cowboys' defensive backs coach Maurice Linguist has also arrived in Ann Arbor as co-DC. Bellamy has a relationship with the Johnson family, so that may be enough to give the Wolverines the edge again. After mulling over a decision, Johnson has now elected to slow things down a bit so he can further familiarize himself with the new Michigan staff. 

Congratulations @DCH__2 on being named Max Preps Tennessee Player of the Year!! #GoBrothers https://t.co/EqgA8lCEBq

— CBHS Football (@CBHS_Football) January 22, 2021

We've got the same running back trio on our board, and it's still fair to view all three of them in the same tier. At this point, it's almost anyone's guess as to which one (or two) Tony Alford is able to reel in before all is said and done. Notre Dame is heavily involved with each one of them, but I think the Irish are perhaps the stiffest competition for Tennessee's Dallan Hayden. This is another situation where we'll have to see if a coaching staff change in Knoxville can turn the tide for the Volunteer legacy. 

Pennsylvania's Nicholas Singleton is sitting at No. 9 and that one feels like more of an Ohio State vs. Penn State battle. The Irish are very much in the picture as well. A quiet period would be good news for the four-star who wants to make a decision before his senior season.

Damari Alston continues to be more wide open in his recruitment. One interesting note is the Crimson Tide hiring UNC running backs coach Robert Gillespie. The No. 7 player on our board had struck up a strong relationship when he was in Chapel Hill, so that could be worth watching. Alston will look to narrow things down once he can make some visits. Tony Alford continues to have Ohio State very much in the mix for the Atlanta four-star. 

It seems like the 2020 season just came to an end, but winter workouts are underway after getting started on Monday. We're heading into the stretch of time that saw the Buckeyes really get rolling for the Class of 2021. Mike Hall, Jakailin Johnson, Evan Pryor, Andre Turrentine, and TreVeyon Henderson all committed in February or March of last year. We're not expecting a repeat performance this time around, but Ryan Day continues to impress on the trail. 

On a totally unrelated note, the Karate Kid was released during the year in which I was born, and I finally got around to starting Cobra Kai on Netflix. Finished all three seasons in less than a week. What an amazing bit of 80's nostalgia that was. It's gonna be a long year or so until season four finally comes out. Thankfully, pain does not exist in this dojo.