On Sunday, Ohio State learned it would be playing Utah in the Rose Bowl.
Now more than a week past the disappointing loss to Michigan, Ryan Day said the Buckeyes’ focus for the next month would be on preparing for the Utes and recruiting.
“As we head into this bowl time right now, recruiting is like crazy right now, so we’re focused on that and the bowl game right now,” Day said. “That’s really where our focus is right now.”
Of course, Day and OSU assistants didn’t wait until Sunday to get a jump start on trying to put the finishing touches on the Buckeyes’ 2022 recruiting class. With no game to prepare for last week and the early signing period approaching on Dec. 15, Day and OSU assistants hit the road, visiting prospects they’re still hoping to land the commitment of by then. Those names include Earnest Greene, Carson Hinzman, Zion Branch, Caden Curry, Hero Kanu, Xavier Nwankpa and others. While they won’t land all of those players, Day feels good about the class the Buckeyes are building, and will hit the road again this week to make more visits.
“The guys that we’re recruiting right now, they feel strongly about Ohio State and feel this is where they want to be for a lot of reasons,” Day said Sunday while also touching on various recruiting subjects. “I feel really good about our class right now, we’re still going to look at a few guys and see if there’s some guys we can add to it and then we’ll go from there. Come January, we’ll make the transition to focusing on the 2023 class.”
With various coaching changes taking the college landscape by storm the past two weeks, Day said OSU can pivot its recruiting strategy sometimes to try and capitalize on other institutions’ uncertainty.
“We try to talk to our guys all the time to make sure you pick the school for the right reasons,” Day said. “There’s a lot of guys out there who’s coaches have moved around a little bit, so maybe there’s some of those guys that will reconsider other options. Maybe there will be guys that don’t sign on the early signing day, that might be part of it as well. For the ones that we’ve been recruiting early on that decided to go in a different direction, those are the ones you can grab on to a little bit because you have a relationship prior. The ones you don’t have a relationship with, it’s harder to get that built up in a short period of time. However we’re going to look at all those things, and when you can do some in-home visits and get back on the road like we’re doing again, you can make up some time right there.”
Day also spoke briefly on former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers’ decision to transfer, saying he was caught off guard by the decision while acknowledging the Texas native was in a “unique situation” after his decision to reclassify from 2022 to 2021. He also wished Ewers the best moving forward. As it pertains to OSU’s future, Day said he’d like to have three to four quarterbacks on scholarship at a given time, which he said isn’t always possible. The Buckeyes should have at least three for next season with C.J. Stroud and Kyle McCord returning, plus the recent commitment of 2022 quarterback Devin Brown.
“We always want to have three or four (quarterbacks),” Day said. “It’s not always that easy, when Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields were here, some of those years we had two and at times three. A lot of guys want to play and I get it, we’ll just do the best we can to forecast it. We feel good about the guys we currently have.”
Eli Ricks to visit OSU
Ohio State is getting its shot at landing one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal.
Eli Ricks, a five-star cornerback out of high school, visited USC last week and plans to visit Ohio State this weekend, according to Rivals’ Mike Farrell.
Elias Rick on #FightOn visit this weekend and will see #Buckeyes next weekend. Good reports early from LA visit.
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) December 6, 2021
Ricks, who decided to transfer from LSU in late November, would give the Buckeyes a strong one-two punch at cornerback next season alongside Denzel Burke. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound cornerback is also considering Alabama and Georgia in addition to Ohio State and USC.
The Buckeyes already have strong familiarity with Ricks dating back to his recruitment in the class of 2020.
“Ohio State was my No. 2 choice out of high school," Ricks told 247Sports. "At the time, Urban Meyer was my lead recruiter and we talked all the time and I loved Ohio State. I’ve been texting with coach (Kerry) Coombs. They’re another school that has great defensive back play and a great tradition for getting guys drafted and that’s obviously the goal for me.”
Rated as the No. 2 cornerback and No. 14 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class, Ricks made an immediate impact for LSU as a true freshman, appearing in eight games and intercepting four passes – two of which he returned for a touchdown. He missed most of the 2021 season with a shoulder injury.
He hopes to make a decision by mid-December and enroll at his school of choice in January.
OSU makes Hale’s Top 12
Five-star 2023 wide receiver Jalen Hale has narrowed down his top schools list. Hale put out a top 12 on Sunday that included Oklahoma State, Alabama, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Michigan, Georgia, USC, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Florida and Oregon.
BREAKING: 2023 WR Jalen Hale has narrowed his list to 12 Schools, he tells @On3Recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 5, 2021
The 62 175 WR from Longview, TX is ranked as a Top 50 Player in the 2023 Classhttps://t.co/C6iJn0wXi7 pic.twitter.com/jjqIHWjUZl
Hale, a Texas native, is ranked as the 31st-best player and the fourth-best wideout in 2023. He is one of the Buckeyes’ top wideout targets in the class in addition to Carnell Tate and Zachariah Branch.
OSU offers Denmark
Ohio State extended an offer to 2024 wide receiver prospect Tyseer Denmark on Monday afternoon.
Extremely grateful to receive an offer from Ohio state university #Gobuckeyes @CoachMattBarnes @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/xJ9IX5ygIR
— tyseer5denmark (@tyseer5denmark) December 6, 2021
Denmark, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound wide receiver from Philadelphia, has already amassed 20 Division I offers including Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
