Ohio State’s camp season reached its conclusion on Wednesday as the Buckeyes held their seventh and final high school football camp of June inside Ohio Stadium.
Compared to the first six camps of the month, Wednesday’s camp – which was a late addition to the schedule – didn’t feature nearly as many serious candidates to receive offers from the Buckeyes. Two prospects of note that were on the field Wednesday, though, were Ohio State offensive line commit Tegra Tshabola and Texas four-star wide receiver Braylon James.
While Tshabola has been committed to Ohio State for more than a year and was already on campus during the first weekend of June for his official visit, he hasn’t had the opportunity to get in much on-field work with Ohio State offensive line coach Greg Studrawa due to the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down recruiting camps and visits last year. So he returned to Columbus on Wednesday to spend the morning working out with his future position coach.
“It’s a great opportunity to get some work in, so I’m always going to take that,” Tshabola said after the camp. “Get some great work, great knowledge from Coach Stud and (assistant offensive line coach Kennedy) Cook, and it’s just a good thing to get out here.”
Tshabola, who took one-on-one reps at both tackle and guard and got in some individual work with Studrawa as well as current Ohio State offensive linemen Josh Fryar and Enokk Vimahi after the camp, said the biggest thing he learned from Studrawa on Wednesday was that he needs to be more patient as a pass blocker.
“Wait for them to come to you, don’t lunge out too far,” Tshabola said. “Because the offense I came from was mostly run, so I got a problem with pass blocking that I’m working on. I’ll get it down here pretty soon.”
Tegra Tshabola taking reps at both tackle and guard in one-on-one. Heres a rep at guard: pic.twitter.com/4cqXqvsKcN
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 23, 2021
Tegra Tshabola getting in some extra work at the end of camp. pic.twitter.com/J6DahVRrwO
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 23, 2021
James, meanwhile, camped on Wednesday afternoon as part of his first visit to Ohio State after receiving an offer from the Buckeyes in April. He had an up-and-down day in which he dropped numerous passes, and acknowledged after the camp that he could have performed better, but showed flashes of why he’s ranked as the No. 17 receiver and No. 131 overall prospect in the 2023 class.
Texas four-star wide receiver Braylon James, who picked up an Ohio State offer in April, working out at camp this afternoon. Here he is running the 40-yard dash. pic.twitter.com/qHZ4QchBEL
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 23, 2021
Easy win for Braylon James on his first one-on-one rep of the day. pic.twitter.com/wXBOqIlX7E
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 23, 2021
Most importantly, James got his first opportunity to be coached on the field by Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, and he came away feeling as though he had already gotten better.
“This definitely wasn’t my best showcase, but I learned a lot from Coach Hartline as far as break point, catch point, little things like that,” James said. “I took in a lot today, and actually being able to get on the field and get a feel for how he coached live, that was something huge. So definitely a huge impression, and I loved it here.”
Wednesday’s camp was the only camp of the month that Ohio State actually held inside Ohio Stadium, as the first six were all held at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and that resonated with James, too.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m looking forward to maybe one day, I could be in pads in here,” James said. “You never know.”
Three more Tuesday campers earn offers
While no other prospects from Wednesday’s camp had announced receiving Ohio State offers as of Wednesday night, three more participants from Tuesday’s camp received offers from the Buckeyes on Wednesday afternoon.
Four-star 2023 defensive back Cedrick Hawkins and 2024 wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader, all of whom were part of the group of South Florida prospects that traveled to Ohio State with five-star wide receiver Brandon Inniss for a two-day visit this week, each announced Wednesday that they had been offered by the Buckeyes.
Highly BLESSED and HONORED to say i have RECEIVED an OFFER FROM OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY! #GoBuckeyes @ryandaytime @DB_CoachCoombs @CoachMattBarnes @Therula99 @Cocoa_Schneider @SouthFLExpress pic.twitter.com/eSgiOmDi4k
— Ced (@cedrick_hawkins) June 23, 2021
Blessed to Earn an offer from Ohio State University @CoachKee @ryandaytime @brianhartline @DP214EVER @SouthFLExpress @TheCribSouthFLA @OhioStateFB #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/2sVcBEA0eq
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) June 23, 2021
Bless to receive my 10th offer from the university of Ohio state #GoBuckeyes @larryblustein @CoachKee @brianhartline @ryandaytime @SouthFLExpress @TheCribSouthFLA @247Sports @DP214EVER pic.twitter.com/8CGmm0H88b
— JoshisajojoTrader (@joshisathe1) June 23, 2021
Hawkins, a product of Titusville, Florida, is ranked as the No. 114 overall prospect in the class of 2023 by 247Sports.
Smith and Trader, who both attend Monsignor Pace High School in Opa Locka, Florida, become the first two wide receivers in the 2024 class to land Ohio State offers. Their quarterback at Monsignor Pace, Adrian Posse, also received an offer from Ohio State earlier this month.
Although Ohio State has offered only seven total players in the 2024 class, two high schools already have three players in that class with offers from the Buckeyes, as Ohio State has offered linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and defensive backs Marcelles Williams and Peyton Woodyard from California’s St. John Bosco High School.
Aybar commits to Stanford
While Ohio State is still hoping to add one more defensive end to its recruiting class of 2021 as it awaits a decision from J.T. Tuimoloau, another defensive end who had emerged as a potential late addition to this year’s roster is now off the board.
Ohio State was rumored to be the frontrunner for Wilfredo Aybar, a four-star defensive end from Connecticut’s Cheshire Academy who is reclassifying from the 2022 class into the class of 2021, after he officially visited Ohio State earlier this month. After making a trip to Stanford this past weekend, however, Aybar announced his commitment to the Cardinal on Wednesday.
Committed to
— Wilfredo Aybar (@WillAybar1) June 23, 2021
The Stanford University!! #CardClass21 pic.twitter.com/NpgqGLgGF4
Aybar’s decision shouldn’t be viewed as an indicator of what Tuimoloau will do, as Ohio State would have added both of them to the roster, but it does mean that Tuimoloau is once again the only remaining high school recruit that the Buckeyes are still looking to add to their 2021 class.
Webb announces top three
After landing a commitment from Dallan Hayden on Tuesday, Tony Alford and Ohio State can now focus their running back recruiting efforts on the class of 2023, and they’ll have an answer by the end of summer on whether they’ll be landing one of their top targets at the position in that class.
Five-star Jacksonville running back Treyaun Webb announced Wednesday that he has narrowed his recruitment down to three schools – Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma – and that he will be announcing his commitment in August on CBS Sports.
I Will Be Committing To One Of These Schools In August On CBS Sports #AGTG pic.twitter.com/C9TBpZ5jfL
— Treyaun Webb (@w_treyaun) June 23, 2021
There’s reason to feel good about the Buckeyes’ chances of landing Webb, who is ranked as the No. 34 overall prospect in the 2023 class, as he told multiple media outlets after his unofficial visit earlier this month that Ohio State was the frontrunner in his recruitment. He also made visits to Georgia and Oklahoma, though, and told 247Sports’ Bill Kurelic that he plans to visit all three schools again in late July before making his decision.
Webb is one of four running backs in the 2023 class who currently have offers from Ohio State, along with fellow Florida five-star Richard Young, Georgia four-star Justice Haynes and Texas four-star Tre Wisner.
