Heat Check: Richard Young Moves Into the Top Spot on Ohio State’s 2023 Recruiting Board After Luke Montgomery’s Commitment

The Buckeyes landed only one commitment in February, bringing their total to five for the 2023 class thus far, but it was a seismic one. Four-star Ohio offensive tackle Luke Montgomery, the No. 1 target in the February edition of the Heat Check, committed to Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes an elite in-state offensive line prospect.

With Montgomery now on the board as a commitment, five-star running back Richard Young slides into the top spot of the Buckeyes’ list of targets.

Much like we did last month, we've updated the top 11 Ohio State targets for 2023 in order of their importance to OSU's 2023 recruiting class. This doesn't mean these are the best 11 players the Buckeyes have offered in the 2023 cycle, but rather they're the most important recruits for OSU to land based on a combination of the prospects’ talent, the Buckeyes’ positional needs and how much of a chance the Buckeyes have to actually land the recruit in the end. As things go in recruiting, the board will likely look much different in April than it does in March after OSU hosts a bunch of recruits for spring visits.

With that being said, here's Eleven Warriors' updated 2023 board heading into spring practices. 

Richard Young

Ohio State remains in great shape to land the highest-rated running back in the 2023 class. It's going to be a fight to the end, though, as schools like Alabama and Georgia certainly won't make things easy. Young is now making a last round of visits before making a commitment, which will likely come by the end of the summer. He started with a visit to Oklahoma on Saturday. 

AMAZING Visit at Oklahoma Today !!!! #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/U0BMWq5GIL

— Richard Young (@richardyoung239) March 6, 2022

Young also plans on visiting Oregon and Florida this spring. Ohio State should be considered the favorite to land its now most-coveted target, but there is still work to be done. 

Carnell Tate

After making two visits to Columbus in the fall, Tate will be making another trip to Columbus on the first weekend of April alongside a bunch of his 7-on-7 teammates from Florida. Tate has seemingly been OSU's No. 1 wide receiver target for a while now, and there's nothing that's happened in the last month to disrupt that narrative.

That April visit will be crucial in landing Tate, though, as Notre Dame remains steadfast in its pursuit for the 6-foot-2, 185 pound five-star receiver. Southern schools such as Alabama and Tennessee are surging with momentum. Nevertheless, Ohio State remains in a good position with Tate. 

Chase Bisontis

Even with Montgomery in the fold, there’s still a need to at least one more offensive tackle to the 2023 class. Bisontis would certainly fit that mold for offensive line coach Justin Frye and OSU.

For my money, Bisontis is probably the most likely offensive tackle remaining on the board to end up with OSU when all is said and done. The four-star New Jersey offensive tackle told Eleven Warriors in late January he expects to visit Columbus this spring, but did not specify an exact date. He plans to commit to a school by the end of June. 

Samson Okunlola

Not much is new on the Okunlola front from a month ago. The five-star tackle still plans to visit OSU in either the spring or summer, and the Buckeyes will likely receive one of Okunlola's five official visits. 

When describing to Eleven Warriors in February some of the biggest factors he’ll consider when choosing a college, he discussed a desire for a proven track record of developing NFL offensive linemen and relationships with the coaching staff. He also would like to see the field as quickly as possible, which is something OSU could potentially offer Okunlola or any other potential tackle if its expected starting tackles for 2022, Dawand Jones and Paris Johnson Jr., declare for the 2023 NFL draft.  

AJ Harris

When Kerry Coombs departed Ohio State, it seemed like hope was nearly lost for the Buckeyes to land Harris. But newly hired cornerbacks coach Tim Walton has picked up right where Coombs left off, as Harris and Walton are communicating frequently and developing a strong rapport quickly. 

Harris will likely take a visit to OSU later this spring, and seeing as there's not a clear front runner at the moment for the five-star Alabama cornerback, Harris' spring visits could go a long way in determining where he ultimately ends up. Ohio State still has a real shot here. 

Tackett Curtis

It's clear by now that Curtis, a four-star linebacker, is Jim Knowles' No. 1 target at linebacker for the 2023 class. Knowles flew down to Louisiana twice in January to visit the hard-hitting Curtis, and Curtis and his family will return the favor with a visit to Columbus this week. 

It wouldn't be far-fetched to call OSU an early favorite for Curtis, but the 6-foot-2, 218-pound linebacker is also intrigued by Wisconsin and will take numerous other visits before making a decision.

AJ Hoffler

Last month, I firmly believed Hoffler was the likeliest recruit on the board out of all 11 prospects to end up at Ohio State. I still feel that way.

Hoffler still doesn't plan to commit until the summer, but after visiting Columbus for a second time in January, he has another visit planned for late March. Barring something unexpected, the Buckeyes should be the heavy favorite to land the four-star defensive lineman.

Malik Hartford

Hartford will visit OSU this week, his second trip to Columbus in 2022 after he made an unofficial visit to Ohio State in late January, which is when he received his offer from the Buckeyes. 

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound safety continues to rise in the national recruiting scene, as Hartford is now considered to be the 11th-best safety in the nation per 247Sports' composite rankings. Ohio State would like to take two more safeties in the current cycle, and the in-state four-star prospect seems to be the most likely to commit to the Buckeyes among their current targets.

Olaus Alinen

Frye has heavily recruited Alinen since he became Ohio State’s offensive line coach in January, and Alinen is warming up to the Buckeyes, with an unofficial visit planned for this week. 

What's more noteworthy is Alinen has already penciled in an official visit to Ohio State for June 23, per On3. The Buckeyes are only the second school to receive a confirmed official visit from the Finland native, with Alabama being the other.

At the moment, the Crimson Tide are the likely favorite to land Alinen, but the gap is narrowing and could continue to over the next few months. He plans to take all five of his official visits before making a decision by the end of the summer. 

Caleb Downs

Whenever a five-star player reveals Ohio State is the school currently recruiting him the hardest, it's probably wise to take notice. That's exactly what the top-rated 2023 safety has said about the Buckeyes. 

He's also locked in a visit to Columbus for April 1-3, so the Buckeyes are going to get a great chance to make an impression on the promising safety. In terms of raw talent, it's hard to find a better safety prospect than Downs in 2023. Prior compliment aside, landing the highly-touted Georgia resident will be the tricky part, with traditional powers such Alabama, Georgia and Clemson all in heavy pursuit.  

Brandon Inniss

Inniss is ranked as the No. 1 wideout in the 2023 recruiting class and with Brian Hartline as Ohio State's wide receivers coach, you can never say never with any wide receiver. The buzz in the recruiting industry is Inniss is high on both USC and OSU, and like Tate, he will also visit Columbus from April 1-3.

If that visit goes well, Inniss will find himself featured much more prominently in the April Heat Check, but it still looks like it’s going to be difficult to fight off Lincoln Riley, especially since Inniss originally committed to Oklahoma when Riley was still the Sooners’ coach.

Honorable Mentions

Five-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor was booted from the board because he left Ohio State out of the top-five list he released in February, while four-star offensive tackle Payton Kirkland lost his spot in the rankings simply because there seems to be more momentum with other prospects at the moment.

Cormani McClain is subtracted from the board because I believe he remains a bit of a long shot for Ohio State to land. But the No. 1 rated cornerback in the 2023 class will also be visiting Ohio State from April 1-3, so he's at least giving the Buckeyes his due diligence. As of now, OSU is probably behind Florida and Alabama in his recruitment, but that could change on his visit. If it does, he's a good bet to find himself back on the board.  

If things don't go as planned with Young, another running back to watch could be four-star Cedric Baxter Jr. 

There are no shortage of wide receiver options for OSU this recruiting cycle, and any of Bryson Rodgers, Rico Flores Jr., Hykeem Williams, Noah Rogers and Johntay Cook II could find their way on the board before long.