Gabriel Harris announced his decommitment from Florida State just five days after he camped at Ohio State.
Less than one hour later, Harris announced he had received an offer from the Buckeyes.
Based both upon how he performed on the field and what he said after his workout at Ohio State’s camp last Wednesday, neither of those developments came as a surprise.
As we documented here at Eleven Warriors last week, Harris was dominant during linemen one-on-ones at Wednesday’s camp. The four-star 2023 defensive end’s explosiveness stood out as his opponents struggled to even get their hands on him.
Then in an interview with reporters after his workout, Harris made it clear that he was far from firmly committed to the Seminoles, replying “most definitely” when asked if his recruitment was still open.
Once he made his decommitment from Florida State official, Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes didn’t wait long to extend an offer his way, making their interest in the Thomasville, Georgia native clear.
Blessed To receive an offer from Ohio state university @R2X_Rushmen1 OH-IO!! #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/gkBe2MoUjZ
— Gabriel Harris (@gabegokrazy) June 8, 2021
There will surely be other schools who ramp up their pursuit of Harris now that his recruitment is fully open again, and he’ll be exploring his options elsewhere too; he just visited Georgia on Monday. That said, there’s reason to believe Ohio State is well-positioned to land Harris, who said last week that an offer from the Buckeyes would “probably” change his recruitment.
“The camp was great. I really enjoyed it. I like being in Ohio. I like the feeling of it. I like the weather out here too,” said Harris, who's ranked as the No. 81 overall prospect in the 2023 class. “I like Chase Young. That’s my favorite player. I like the school too.”
The next Buckeye from St. Joseph’s Prep?
After signing both quarterback Kyle McCord and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. from Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in the recruiting class of 2021, Ohio State has now jumped into the recruitment for another St. Joe’s Prep prospect in the 2023 class.
Josiah Trotter, the 11th-ranked linebacker and No. 120 overall prospect in the junior class, announced that he received an offer from Ohio State after visiting OSU on Monday.
After a great visit at Ohio State, I am blessed to be able to receive an offer from Ohio State University! Thank you to the coaching staff for having me. Can not wait to be back!@ryandaytime @CoachWash56 pic.twitter.com/kRMapT2BuU
— Josiah Trotter (@TrotterJosiah) June 7, 2021
Both McCord and Harrison are already trying to recruit Trotter to join them in Columbus:
Buckeye nation show my boy some love https://t.co/ivVCa8gbeo
— Kyle McCord (@kylemccord16) June 7, 2021
Lets ball @TrotterJosiah https://t.co/KxPo8loXAe
— Marvin Harrison Jr. (@MarvHarrisonJr) June 7, 2021
Trotter comes from a family of football players, as his father Jeremiah was an All-Pro linebacker for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles while his older brother Jeremiah Jr. is a freshman linebacker at Clemson, who offered Josiah last week. Trotter has also received offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Marshall, Maryland, Syracuse and Temple.
As Ohio State looks to build a pipeline to St. Joseph’s Prep, one of the top high school football programs in the country, another prospect to watch in the future could be 2024 wide receiver Elijah Jones. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound sophomore doesn’t have any offers yet, but he had a strong showing at Ohio State camp last week.
2024 receiver Elijah Jones, from the same high school (St. Josephs Prep) as Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr., wins this one-on-one rep. pic.twitter.com/M0m071GUB8
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 2, 2021
Burgess impressed by Woody Hayes Athletic Center
Another notable 2023 prospect who participated in last week’s camp at Ohio State was three-star Indiana offensive tackle Luke Burgess, who hasn’t yet received an offer from the Buckeyes but has picked up 10 offers from Oregon, Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Boston College, Cincinnati and Toledo.
Following his visit to Ohio State on Wednesday, Burgess came away impressed by what he saw at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
“Seeing a facility like Ohio State’s, it’s mind-blowing,” Burgess said.
Burgess, who certainly has an intriguing frame at 6-foot-8 and 270 pounds, said “it would mean a lot” to him if he received an offer from Ohio State.
“Especially me being a Midwest, a Big Ten kid, it would mean everything to me to get an offer like Ohio State,” Burgess said.
Burgess is being recruited by Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who Burgess said is “good friends” with his head coach at New Palestine High School.
“He’s a real open guy, and we’ve had a lot of conversations about where he thinks my future is and where he thinks he can see me at the next level,” Burgess said of Wilson.
Burgess hasn’t yet made any plans for a return trip to Ohio State, but is visiting Indiana, Kentucky, Purdue and Boston College this month and is hoping to visit Oregon and Arizona State in July.
Webb, Baer, Covil enjoy Monday visits
Kaleb Brown left no doubt about how much he enjoyed his visit to Ohio State yesterday, committing to the Buckeyes on the very same day, but he wasn’t the only visitor who had a good time at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Monday.
Five-star 2023 running back Treyaun Webb began a multi-day visit to Ohio State on Monday and tweeted that he was enjoying his visit in a post that also included a photo with current Ohio State running back Marcus Crowley, who also played at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, where Webb is a rising junior.
Enjoying My Visit At Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes @CoachTonyAlford pic.twitter.com/MdkVv28rZC
— Treyaun Webb (@w_treyaun) June 7, 2021
Three-star 2022 offensive lineman Ryan Baer tweeted that he had an “amazing visit” to Ohio State on Monday after traveling down from Eastlake, Ohio, to visit and work out for the Buckeyes.
Had an amazing visit at The Ohio State University. Thank you @CoachStudOL @ryandaytime @CoachCookOL pic.twitter.com/wdnF85vjLJ
— Ryan Baer (@RyanBaer2003) June 7, 2021
Baer, who hasn’t yet received an offer from the Buckeyes, is set to make official visits to Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee later this month after visiting Virginia this past weekend.
Another 2022 prospect on campus Monday was Sherrod Covil, a four-star safety from Chesapeake, Virginia. He told Eleven Warriors that his visit went “great,” and he shared some images from his visit on Instagram.
