We’ve reached the halfway point of a hectic month on the recruiting trail for Ohio State.
Two weeks of on-campus visits and three camps are in the books, with two more weeks of on-campus visits and three more camps on tap before the next dead period goes into effect on July 28.
Ohio State’s third week of June recruiting visits will bring the most anticipated visitor of the entire month, as five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau – the lone player Ohio State is still recruiting for the class of 2021 – will make his long-awaited official visit to Columbus this weekend ahead of an expected late June or early July commitment and subsequent enrollment.
Several other notable official visitors will be on campus with Tuimoloau, too, but first, the Buckeyes will once again host back-to-back camps on Tuesday and Wednesday that are expected to bring another intriguing group of prospects to Columbus to work out with Ohio State’s coaches.
Two official visitors to start the week
While most of Ohio State’s official visitors this month have been making Friday to Sunday trips to Columbus, the Buckeyes will be hosting a pair of official visitors earlier this week: four-star interior offensive lineman Addison Nichols and Billy Schrauth. Nichols’ official visit to Ohio State will begin Monday and conclude Wednesday, while Schrauth’s official visit is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday.
Nichols, who’s ranked as the No. 3 interior offensive lineman and No. 104 overall prospect in the 2022 class, comes to Columbus for his third of five official visits after visiting Georgia two weekends ago and Florida this past weekend. He’s also scheduled to make official visits to Tennessee this upcoming weekend and USC on the final weekend of June visits.
Schrauth, who’s ranked as the No. 7 interior offensive lineman and No. 159 overall prospect in the 2022 class, will make his official visit to Ohio State after visiting Wisconsin during the first weekend of official visits and Notre Dame this past weekend. He’s expected to choose between those three schools.
Another four-star interior offensive lineman in the 2022 class, Earnest Greene, is set to be on campus for an unofficial visit this week along with several of his younger teammates from St. John Bosco, the high school alma mater of Wyatt Davis and Kourt Williams. The No. 2 interior offensive lineman and 57th-ranked overall prospect in the senior class, Greene is also expected to return to Ohio State for his official visit in September when Ohio State plays Oregon, according to Lettermen Row’s Jeremy Birmingham.
Two more back-to-back camps
Ohio State will hold its fourth and fifth recruiting camps of the month on Tuesday and Wednesday, and like the first three camps, there are expected to be a bunch of intriguing prospects – particularly in the 2023 class – working out at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Prospects expected to be at OSU for Tuesday’s camp include five-star Texas running back Rueben Owens II, five-star Texas defensive end David “DJ” Hicks Jr., four-star Florida linebacker Troy Bowles, four-star New Jersey offensive tackle Chase Bisontis, four-star New Jersey nose tackle Sydir Mitchell, three-star Indiana offensive tackle Trevor Lauck, three-star Michigan offensive lineman Dylan Senda and North Carolina running back JT Smith Jr., who doesn’t yet have a composite ranking but has picked up offers from Penn State and Wisconsin.
Four-star Tennessee defensive end/linebacker Caleb Herring was also supposed to be at Ohio State for Tuesday’s camp, but told Eleven Warriors he will no longer be making the trip due to a turf toe injury. Instead, he hopes to visit Ohio State this fall for a game.
Wednesday’s campers at Ohio State are expected to include five-star Alabama cornerback AJ Harris, four-star Kentucky receiver/tight end Dakota Patterson, four-star Pennsylvania linebacker Abdul Carter and 2024 Indiana wide receiver Brauntae Johnson, who picked up an offer from Purdue last week.
Five-star safety Sonny Styles, who also participated in Ohio State’s first camp of the month on June 2, confirmed to Eleven Warriors that he’ll be back at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for Wednesday’s camp.
Sonny Styles will work out at Ohio State camp for the second time this month on Wednesday.
A trio of 2024 prospects from California’s aforementioned St. John Bosco High School are expected to participate in Wednesday’s camp: defensive backs Marcelles Williams and Peyton Woodyard and linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, the first prospect in the entire 2024 class to receive an Ohio State offer (quarterback Adrian Posse became the second last week). Another St. John Bosco prospect who was expected to join them in Columbus, 2023 safety Ty Lee, told Eleven Warriors he will be visiting Oregon this week instead but is planning to make a visit to Ohio State soon.
Wednesday’s campers will also include a pair of three-star 2023 prospects from Miamisburg, Ohio, lineman A.J. Salley and running back Christian Davis, who are both looking to earn offers from the Buckeyes.
Four-star Florida defensive back Elliot Washington, who received an Ohio State offer in May, tweeted Sunday that he will be making a two-day visit to Ohio State on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Another anticipated midweek visitor for the Buckeyes is Ashton Craig, a three-star offensive tackle from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, who’s expected to make an unofficial visit to Ohio State and work out for the coaches on Thursday.
Five-star Iowa offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, the No. 9 overall prospect in the class of 2023, will also be on campus for a visit on Thursday, he told Matthew Bain of the Des Moines Register.
Tuimoloau headlines official visit weekend No. 3
Among all of the more than 50 official visits taking place at Ohio State this month, none of them come with higher stakes than this weekend’s visit by Tuimoloau, the No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2021, as it will be Ohio State’s one and only opportunity to get the five-star Washington defensive end on campus before he makes his college decision, which is expected to come in the next two to three weeks.
Tuimoloau’s trip to Ohio State, which begins Friday and concludes Sunday, will be his third of five official visits. After visiting Washington during the opening weekend of visits, Tuimoloau will start this week at USC from Monday to Wednesday, then visit Oregon and Alabama next week.
It’s hard to know where exactly Ohio State stands in Tuimoloau’s recruitment, as he’s rarely spoken publicly during the recruiting process. Alabama, who landed the coveted final official visit, is viewed as Ohio State’s biggest threat to land him. How much Ohio State impresses Tuimoloau during this weekend’s official visit really could make or break whether he’s back in Columbus in July to start his college career.
Tuimoloau will be joined on campus by one of Ohio State's five-star 2022 commits, linebacker C.J. Hicks, who originally planned to make his official visit two weeks ago but ended up rescheduling to this weekend. Other official visitors this weekend will include four-star Tennessee running back Dallan Hayden, who’s emerged at Ohio State’s top 2022 target at that position; four-star Georgia wide receiver Kojo Antwi, who’s a candidate to be the fourth and final wideout in Ohio State’s 2022 class; and Georgia three-star safety Jake Pope.
Unofficial visitors at Ohio State this weekend will include a pair of four-star tight ends from the 2023 recruiting class. Former Penn State commit Mega Barnwell will be in Columbus on Friday while Mac Markway, who played with Ohio State freshman cornerback Jakailin Johnson at St. Louis’ De Smet High School, will visit the Buckeyes on Sunday.
Header photo of J.T. Tuimoloau: Andrew Ivins/247Sports
