Prep Tracker: Ohio State 2022 Commits C.J. Hicks, Caleb Burton Have Dominant Performances

By Garrick Hodge on October 10, 2021 at 11:41 am
C.J. Hicks
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Another week of high school games brought another week of standout performances from Ohio State commits/targets worthy of being included in our Prep Tracker.

C.J. Hicks has big night

C.J. Hicks, otherwise known as Captain Buckeye, has done pretty well for himself this weekend. On Saturday, Hicks attended Ohio State's 66-17 victory over Maryland and doubled as a personal tour guide for five-star cornerback AJ Harris, who also happened to be visiting this weekend. On Friday, Hicks returned a punt for a touchdown, rushed for another one and was his usual dominant self on defense in Archbishop Alter's 31-0 victory over Bishop Fenwick. 

Caleb Burton hauls in two touchdowns

There wasn't much to complain about for 2022 Ohio State wide receiver commit Caleb Burton on Thursday. Burton's high school, Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), won 62-3 in its game against Austin High. Secondly, Burton only had two targets, but both resulted in touchdown passes. The four-star wideout was taken out of the game early in the third quarter, while his team only threw nine passes in the contest.

The best of the rest 

  • Joshua Padilla is being recruited to Ohio State for his blocking ability, but on Friday, the 2023 offensive lineman executed a different kind of block. Padilla has already visited Ohio State twice this fall, and more visits could be coming later in the season.
  • Speaking of blocks, another key Ohio State target had one on special teams Friday night, but it's probably not one you'd expect: 2022 safety target Xavier Nwankpa. Nwankpa, who recently narrowed his school list down to three teams, expects to visit Ohio State on Oct. 30 for the Penn State game. 
  • Seems like 2022 offensive lineman Tegra Tshabola is getting some practice lifting up teammates after they score. Might as well do it for his Lakota West teammate and fellow 2022 Ohio State commit Jyaire Brown. Tshabola made a trip to Columbus for OSU's game yesterday, the second game he's attended this fall. 
  • We featured 2023 five-star running back Richard Young in Friday's Hurry-Up. Young surpassed the 1,000 yard mark in his fifth game of the season, rushing for 169 yards and compiling his seventh straight 100-plus rushing yard game in Lehigh's 14-7 win Thursday. But this four-yard run he made was so impressive, it's worth mentioning again. OSU hopes to get Young in attendance for the Buckeyes' game against Penn State on Oct. 30.
  • Earlier this week, we wrote about legacy recruit Will Smith Jr. and his upcoming visit to Ohio State on Saturday. On Friday, he made a nice play in the backfield on the very first defensive snap from scrimmage. 
  • The brother of 2023 offensive line priority target Luke Montgomery, 2025 quarterback Ryan Montgomery is already slinging it for Findlay. A reminder, this is a freshman in high school making these throws.
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