The Hurry-Up: Ohio State Offers 2022 Quarterback Devin Brown, Kenyatta Jackson to Announce College Choice Tuesday and Keith Sampson Jr. Includes Buckeyes in Top 10

By Dan Hope on October 15, 2021 at 6:18 pm
Devin Brown
Photo: Elite 11
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If Ohio State is going to add a quarterback to its recruiting class of 2022, it’s likely going to have to poach a commitment from another school.

When Quinn Ewers reclassified and enrolled at Ohio State in August, leaving the Buckeyes without a quarterback commitment for 2022, they initially focused their efforts on trying to flip Penn State commitment Drew Allar, a Medina, Ohio product who has soared up the rankings to become a top-100 prospect this year. That appears to be a long shot, as Allar has been adamant he remains firmly committed to the Nittany Lions.

The door might be more open with USC commitment Devin Brown, who’s ranked just behind Allar as the No. 8 quarterback and No. 95 overall prospect in the 2022 class. Brown has been exploring his options since USC fired Clay Helton in September, and after Ohio State quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis visited his school on Monday, Brown announced Tuesday that he had received an offer from the Buckeyes.

Brown, who visited Ole Miss last weekend (and subsequently made national headlines when he called out an Ole Miss recruiting analyst for quoting him without ever talking to him), told 247Sports’ Bill Kurelic he is interested in Ohio State and will “probably” make an official visit this fall.

There’s no guarantee that Ohio State will sign a quarterback in the 2022 class. Not including Ewers, the Buckeyes have offered just five quarterbacks in the class, and all of them are committed elsewhere. Because Ewers was their top target in the class from the beginning, their efforts to recruit other quarterbacks like Allar and Brown have only ramped up over the last couple of months, and they’re unlikely to sign a lower-rated quarterback just to check a box.

Given the possibility that they could lose at least one of their current quarterbacks to the transfer portal after this season, though, they’d love to convince a talented high school senior like Brown to join their quarterback room and give them another potential future starter at the position.

Jackson to announce commitment Tuesday

While adding a quarterback to the 2022 class would be beneficial, the defensive line remains Ohio State’s biggest need for the cycle. As you’re undoubtedly sick of reading about by now, Ohio State still does not yet have any defensive line commits in the 2022 class.

That could finally change on Tuesday.

Kenyatta Jackson, who’s ranked as the No. 78 overall prospect in the 2022 class, is set to announce his commitment on CBS Sports HQ on Tuesday.

While Alabama is listed as a finalist, Jackson’s father has told Eleven Warriors that the decision will be made between Ohio State and Oklahoma. 

The Buckeyes are emerging as the favorite. Over the past two days, five 247Sports insiders have made Crystal Ball predictions that Jackson will choose Ohio State.

If Jackson, a defensive end ranked as the No. 7 edge defender in 247Sports’ composite rankings, picks the Buckeyes, he would join Chaminade-Madonna Prep teammate Ryan Turner in Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2022.

Buckeyes on top-10 list for Sampson

Looking ahead to the class of 2023, defensive tackle Keith Sampson Jr. included Ohio State in his top list this week, putting the Buckeyes in a group of 10 schools that also includes Alabama, Duke, East Carolina, Florida State, Georgia, North Carolina, N.C. State, South Carolina and Virginia.

Sampson, who lives in New Bern, North Carolina, and is ranked as the No. 217 overall prospect in the 2023 class, camped at Ohio State in June and told Eleven Warriors at the time that he did not expect to announce a college decision until his senior year, though he could potentially make a decision with his parents sooner.

Coaches hit the road

Since Ohio State doesn’t play this weekend and the Buckeyes have the weekend off from practicing, it’s a big opportunity for Ohio State’s coaches to hit the road – something they’ve had very few opportunities to do since the COVID-19 pandemic shut recruiting down for over a year – and see some of their top targets in person.

One such visit came on Thursday, when Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford paid a visit to Lehigh Senior High School in Lehigh Acres, Florida, the high school of five-star 2023 running back Richard Young, one of the Buckeyes’ most coveted targets in the junior class.

As aforementioned, Ohio State quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis was in Utah to see Devin Brown on Monday. According to 247Sports, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson was in Florida to see Kenyatta Jackson and fellow 2022 defensive end Shemar Stewart on Thursday. Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa went to St. Clairsville, Ohio, on Thursday to watch in-state offensive tackle Avery Henry, while Wilson will also be in Findlay on Friday night to watch priority 2023 offensive tackle target Luke Montgomery, per Lettermen Row.

Ryan Day and Matt Barnes are expected to be in Iowa on Friday night to watch 2022 safety target Xavier Nwankpa and 2023 offensive tackle target Kadyn Proctor, while Brian Hartline is expected to be at Lambert High School in Suwanee, Georgia, to watch wide receiver commit Kojo Antwi.

Kerry Coombs announced Friday with his signature hashtags that he was spending the day recruiting in his hometown of Cincinnati.

Although I’m no coach, I’ll also be on the road tonight in Kettering, Ohio to watch C.J. Hicks play his final regular-season home game for Archbishop Alter against Carroll High School, so stay tuned this weekend for the latest from the five-star Ohio State linebacker commit.

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