Four-star 2024 Michigan defensive back Jacob Oden couldn’t help but be impressed with what he saw from Ohio State while visiting Columbus last weekend.
“It was good, I got to see a lot of stuff,” Oden told Eleven Warriors of his visit. “I watched some practice and watched some film, so it was a good experience.”
Oden was particularly impressed with what he saw from OSU’s safeties and cornerbacks during the practice.
Go hype this up Buckeye fans #gobucks #ohio https://t.co/cZ2Q009O7W
— Jacob Oden 4 DB (@JacobOden4) April 8, 2022
“The DBs are lockdown at Ohio State, as usual,” Oden said. “That was basically my main thought.”
The 6-foot, 175-pound Oden plays both safety and cornerback for Harper Woods High School (Harper Woods, Michigan), and is being recruited at both positions by Ohio State.
“It doesn’t really matter which one I play when I get there,” Oden said.
This wasn’t his first visit to OSU, as he camped with the Buckeyes last summer, but it was his first time meeting some of the new defensive coaches. Perry Eliano and Oden already had a relationship, though, as Eliano was Oden’s lead recruiter while he was coaching for Cincinnati.
“I think coach Eliano is cool,” Oden said. “He recruited me at Cincinnati so we built a good relationship there, and it’s the same way here at Ohio State. I met coach (Tim) Walton on the visit and I thought he was cool. He brought a lot of energy.”
Oden said Eliano is impressed with his athletic ability and versatility to play anywhere on the field. Oden, the 130th-ranked player in the 2024 class according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, currently holds 24 Division I offers. He doesn’t yet have one from Ohio State, however.
“It would mean a lot because they’re a big-time school and a big-time program,” Oden said. “They’re a big-time school, so that stands out the most. They should be a top-five program coming into next season.”
Although Oden is from Michigan, he insists he did not grow up rooting for either Michigan school, or anyone else for that matter.
“I was really just a college football fan, I like watching everybody,” he said.
Oden said he might return to Columbus this fall for a game visit.
Graham to visit Columbus this weekend
One of the top linebacker prospects in the 2024 class, Myles Graham, will visit Columbus this upcoming weekend for the spring game, the four-star Georgia product announced Tuesday.
I will be visiting The Ohio State University this weekend!! #GoBucks @MattGuerrieri @OSUGriffith @ryandaytime pic.twitter.com/7GmE6MRK8R
— Myles Graham (@MylesGraham2_) April 12, 2022
Ohio State made an offer to Graham on Jan. 20, the same day he received offers from Alabama, Auburn and Georgia Tech, after Ryan Day visited Graham in person. This weekend will be his first trip to Columbus since receiving the OSU offer.
“Ohio State is a great program obviously, it’s a winning program and one of the best in the nation,” Graham told Eleven Warriors in February. “The offer came from coach Ryan Day himself, so it felt personal and it felt real. It felt like they really wanted me and needed me.”
As a sophomore, Graham attended Evangelical Christian High School (Fort Myers, Florida), where he played virtually every position under the sun and recorded 130 tackles with eight pass deflections, an interception and two forced fumbles. He recently transferred to Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, the same school as 2023 four-star defensive lineman and OSU target AJ Hoffler.
“That’s my guy,” Graham said. “We’ve talked (about Ohio State). Nothing too personal yet, it’s obviously his dream school. We may take a visit together here in the future. But he loves it. He’s trying to get me to maybe play with him one day. Nothing really too crazy right now, though.”
Vizzina picks Clemson
As expected, Christopher Vizzina will not be coming to Ohio State. The four-star quarterback from Alabama announced his commitment to Clemson on Tuesday, the school he most recently visited.
— Christopher Vizzina (@vizzina2) April 12, 2022
Vizzina was offered by OSU on March 10 when the 6-foot-4, 207-pound signal-caller took a visit to Columbus. The Buckeyes made his final six top schools, but he opted for the Tigers instead.
Other quarterbacks with an Ohio State offer in the 2023 class that remain uncommitted are Dylan Lonergan, Dante Moore and Eli Holstein. The Buckeyes appear to be in better position to land a top signal-caller in 2024 than they do in 2023, however, as it might be a hard sell to convince an elite quarterback in the current cycle to pick OSU with Kyle McCord and Devin Brown waiting in the wings behind C.J. Stroud.
