IS IT CHRISTMAS?
Ohio State lands three transfer commitments in two hours: CJ Donaldson Jr., Logan George and Max Klare.
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.
Goodwin releases top five
Some major news dropped on Friday for Ohio State’s biggest (in stature and importance) target in the 2022 class.
Future five-star offensive tackle prospect Kiyaunta Goodwin released a top five on Twitter today, and it’s what we expected when we talked about it on Wednesday.
Top 5 dead or alive @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/1bWg0HBonG
— Kiyaunta Goodwin (@K_Goodwin2022) March 19, 2021
Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Kentucky and Michigan State are the final candidates for the services of the No. 47 overall player, No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 1 player in the state of Indiana out of Charlestown High School. The future top-10 NFL draft pick (and potential No. 1 overall pick) now has his set of schools that he knows he will be making official visits to once the dead period is lifted (hopefully that’s coming on June 1).
Goodwin, in our opinion, is Ohio State’s most-important target in the 2022 class. Landing the 6-foot-8, 300-pounder is paramount, and the Buckeyes took that next step with the release of this list. Goodwin broke down that top five with Eleven Warriors earlier this week:
- Ohio State – “I talk to Coach Stud and Coach Day three times a week. I feel like I have a very great relationship with them and I know a lot about the football team. They have a history of great players and have a history of great players in the league. You know, they just have a great coaching staff. The strength and conditioning coach used to coach Chris so they have a really great relationship and so do we. Chris knows that he can develop me because he’s developed other players.”
- Alabama – “I feel like I have a great relationship with them and they also have a great history of offensive linemen in the league. I feel like I have a great relationship with Coach (Doug) Marrone. I talk to him a lot, and I feel like we’re building a great relationship. He has a bunch of connections in the league. He was a head coach in the NFL, and he’s an offensive line guy so I feel like I could do great things with him.”
- Clemson – “I called them the Chick-Fil-A school. They’re just different. I feel like they carry themselves different, but they’re still competing with everybody. They work one less day, and they still have (a great program). Coach Dabo (Swinney) and Coach (Robbie Caldwell), I have great relationships with them. You know, I’m a very big relationships guy. That’s very important to me. I don’t wanna just build a great relationship, I wanna feel like I’m wanted. I feel like I’m wanted by them and feel like that’s somewhere I can have a lot of success. If I’m wanted, I know you’re gonna put your time in developing me as a player.”
- Kentucky – “Kentucky has a very good offensive line. I keep up with the offensive lines, and they surprise you. That’s one of the main reasons. With Coach (John) Schlarman, before he passed away, we had a really great relationship. When Coach (Eric Wolford) took over, the first thing he did as soon as he got the job is he called me. That shows that he was very invested in me and he took this relationship and my recruitment very serious.”
- Michigan State – “Coach (Mel) Tucker, I have a very great relationship with him. He’s a great dude. A real great dude. And Coach (Chris Kapilovic), I have a really great relationship with him too. You can tell that’s a common theme with all the schools. It’s all about relationships.”
Goodwin is still intent on not making any commitment until after he can make official visits, but he does say that he will come to that decision “whenever the time’s right. Whenever I feel like I’m ready, to be honest with you. I don’t wanna be a kid who commits then decommits. I wanna pick the right school the first time and stick with them.”
Goodwin is an extremely thorough person and has been meticulous about this entire recruiting process. You only get to do this once, after all, and he knows that. That’s why he’s making sure to go over every minute detail and make sure he’s making the best decision he possibly can.
“All of those coaches, everything that they have said, I’ve researched and looked up,” Goodwin said. “All of those coaches (in my top five), anything that they’ve told me I’ve researched to see if they’re being honest. I’ve talked to the other players like, ‘what did this coach tell you? This coach told me he was recruiting two linemen, how many did he tell you they’re recruiting? Coach told me he’s taking two offensive tackles. Oh, he told me two, too.’ I’m always just trying to see if the coaches are honest, and I’m a big relationships person.”
The coaching staffs of those five schools, he says, have been nothing but honest and thorough with him. The backchannel research he’s done confirms that. Now, it’s just a matter of remaining patient until the NCAA lifts the dead period before Goodwin narrows his decision down from five to one.
“I’m waiting to be able to take officials,” Goodwin said, noting that he’s not interested in taking self-guided visits to any of those five schools. “Me and Coach Stud we talked a little bit about setting up an official, but I just have to sit down with my mom and (trainer/guardian) Chris (Vaughn) and see what works for them.”
Wagner releases top six
Goodwin was not the only major 2022 offensive tackle target to trim his list on Friday.
Wayne (Ohio) High School four-star prospect Aamil Wagner also cut his list, as the Buckeyes are pitted against Auburn, Penn State, Kentucky, Stanford and Notre Dame for the nation's No. 134 overall player, No. 13 offensive tackle and No. 5 prospect in the state.
Top 6... pic.twitter.com/n23Du1DzK9
— Aamil Wagner (@AamilWagner) March 19, 2021
Wagner had been set to cut his list down from his offer sheet that stands at 30, and then Ohio State came calling with an offer on March 9.
The uber-athletic, 6-foot-6 and 250-pound offensive tackle should be considered under commitment watch from now on.
Buckeyes offer another
Ohio State continued its heavy hits on the 2023 recruiting trail by extending yet another offer on Friday afternoon.
Vic Burley, the No. 33 overall player, No. 7 strongside defense end and No. 3 prospect in Georgia, announced that the Buckeyes have come calling.
Blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University @NickSebasOSU @R2X_Rushmen1 @robinsfootball1 @RobinsRecruits @Mansell247 @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/tU1he9UfVM
— Victor Burley (@VictorBurley2) March 19, 2021
Burley is a 6-foot-4, 255-pounder out of Warner Robins who holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Notre Dame.
