Three-star Connecticut offensive tackle Miles Walker’s rise within the recruiting industry has exploded over the last couple of months.
But his journey to develop into Ohio State’s newest offensive lineman commitment as of Friday goes much further than that. Three years ago, Walker sat at what his high school coach described as a “sloppy” 280 pounds. After rigorous workouts, Walker slimmed down to 235 pounds by the start of his junior season.
“He’s one of the only people during COVID where his weight went the other way,” Walker’s high school coach, Wayne McGillicuddy, told Eleven Warriors in May.
By the spring, Walker had bulked back up to 285 pounds. On May 16, Brunswick High School had a showcase for more than 50 colleges, which is where Walker’s gains really started to get noticed and offers furiously came his way after that.
Justin Frye made his own visit to see Walker in person on May 25. One day later after studying his film, Frye gave Walker a scholarship offer to Ohio State.
“Coach Frye and I had a really good talk about Miles and he told me he was going to go back to OSU the next day and sit down with the staff and talk about guys they saw on the road,” McGillicuddy said. “Obviously he was really impressed with Miles, he had a really good workout. He called (the next day) and told us he was going to pull the trigger on Miles.”
Despite the fast rise in his recruiting profile, Walker didn’t feel the need to make an impulsive decision considering he observed former high school teammate and current Michigan wideout Cornelius Johnson navigate through a similar situation in the 2019 cycle. Walker was actually ahead of Johnson’s timeline, as he didn’t receive many of his Power 5 offers until the summer of his senior year.
Walker took official visits to OSU, Texas A&M, Duke and Vanderbilt in June, but committed to Ohio State in the end. His presence in the current cycle gives the Buckeyes a much-needed true offensive tackle prospect.
On The Field
For someone of his 6-foot-6, 285-pound stature, Walker is relatively lean for the position and has the frame to continue to add size when he gets into OSU’s strength and conditioning program.
Walker fires off the ball with great burst and quickness, and has shown he’s capable of steamrolling a defensive end into the ground on running plays. Walker displays a mean streak OSU is known for searching for in its linemen and shows no fear of facing any opponent.
Last season, Walker primarily lined up at left guard. He also was the team’s long snapper.
Walker will likely need a few years to develop before he sees the field at OSU, but his size, tenacity and quick hands give him a very high upside as a prospect.
In The Class
With Walker’s commitment, Ohio State now has four offensive linemen committed in its current class. Joshua Padilla and Austin Siereveld both profile as inside linemen at the collegiate level, while Luke Montgomery will be given the chance to begin his career as a tackle.
While Walker is a true tackle prospect, the Buckeyes aren’t done with offensive line recruiting in the 2023 cycle quite yet. Their top remaining target is four-star offensive tackle Olaus Alinen, who took an official visit to Columbus June 24-26.
Alinen is thought to be deciding between Ohio State, Alabama and perhaps Miami as his recruitment winds down. Landing him would be a feather in the cap of Justin Frye in his first recruiting cycle, and would finish off the Buckeyes’ 2023 offensive linemen recruiting.
If Alinen goes to Alabama or anywhere else, Ohio State might pivot toward Oluwatosin Babalade, who has a July 31 commitment date lined up. Should OSU miss on Alinen and Frye doesn't want to push hard for Babalade, he can take things to the fall and try to get either Samson Okunlola and Monroe Freeling on campus to take another swing at landing a premier tackle.
