North Carolina wideout Chris Culliver has had his eye on the Buckeyes ever since he attended a Ohio State camp back in June.
Since then, the 2023 three-star wideout has continued to stay in touch with the coaching staff, and was invited to attend Ohio State’s recent contest against Penn State, though an offer hasn’t quite come yet. While on the visit, he spoke with current Ohio State players Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, C.J. Stroud and Quinn Ewers.
“It was good,” Culliver told Eleven Warriors of the visit. “Coach (Kevin) Wilson and coach (Brian) Hartline, they were basically telling me they like everything I was putting on film and they would be in touch.”
Its been a great day!!! pic.twitter.com/NVYPrLKBF4
— (@chrisculliver5) October 31, 2021
Since Culliver camped at Ohio State in June, he has continued to hope an OSU offer will come his way.
“It’s just crazy, I went from watching them to possibly being able to play for them,” Culliver said. “Coach Hartline said he would like to see me just explode off the ball more.”
The 6-foot-3, 173-pound receiver said his biggest attribute as a receiver is his ability to “go up and get the ball by any means.” The Buckeyes are recruiting him as an outside receiver, Culliver added.
Culliver does not have a specific timetable for a commitment, and said he definitely hopes to take another visit to Columbus in the future. The Maiden, North Carolina resident has eight Division I offers this far, including North Carolina, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Day reflects on recruiting weekend
It goes without saying, but big recruiting opportunities like last weekend take a lot of planning from various members of the Ohio State football staff. With more than 50 recruits and their families attending the Penn State matchup, meetings and other activities were shuffled around from their normal times to ensure the coaching staff had time to talk with the visiting players. After OSU won 33-24 and picked up some recruiting momentum in the meantime, it made the effort seem worth it to the staff.
“It was a long week and a long weekend, for sure,” Ryan Day told reporters Tuesday. “There was a lot going on. The night in general was off the charts. It was first class and it was great for recruits and their families to see that. But yeah, there’s a lot to juggle on a weekend like that with so many visitors and families. They’re a priority for us when they get on campus, but we also have to go win against Penn State and win the game. But that’s college football, you have to be able to juggle a lot of balls and handle it.”
While Day understands the importance of big recruiting weekends, he stressed they’re not necessarily a make or break for every player.
“It’s just a piece of the puzzle and part of the relationship building,” Day said of the gameday visits. “Any time you come on campus, you get to see something different. Whether it’s meeting someone from the business school, or going to a basketball game, spending time with a position coach, seeing campus, whatever that is, coming to a game is a special experience. It’s another box these guys are able to check off with their families. I have to give credit to (Assistant Athletic Director, Player Personnel) Mark Pantoni and all his staff, they’re the ones that are behind all of that organization and managing all of those people, and there’s a lot to that.”
Hinzman decision coming soon?
For a while now, the recruitment of 2022 four-star offensive lineman Carson Hinzman has been a two-horse race between Ohio State and Wisconsin, the state where Hinzman resides. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Hinzman visited Columbus last Saturday, his second gameday visit to Ohio State this season, and now reportedly may decide between OSU and Wisconsin in a few days, according to Lettermen Row’s Jeremy Birmingham.
“After the visit, I was kind of leaning toward Ohio State a little because it was just an amazing experience,” Hinzman told Lettermen Row. “But right now I’m pretty much 50/50 split. I’m just really trying to find what’s right and when the time is right, I’ll know. My family and I are going to talk about it tonight or tomorrow and then we’ll sit down and lay it out pretty good but I’m split right now.”
Hinzman grew up rooting for the Badgers, so the fact Ohio State has even made this a close race for the four-star says a lot about how much of an impression the Buckeyes have made on the four-star interior offensive lineman. OSU currently has three offensive linemen committed in the 2022 cycle, including Tegra Tshabola, George Fitzpatrick and Avery Henry. There is likely one spot left in the class, which seemingly would go to Hinzman or Earnest Greene, who also visited last Saturday.
