The top two recruiting stories from Ohio State’s weekend were obviously the commitments of four-star defensive lineman Jason Moore and three-star offensive tackle Miles Walker.
Their commitments give Ohio State eight total within the last three weeks and put the Buckeyes ahead of Notre Dame for the No. 1 spot in the 2023 247Sports national recruiting class rankings. But there were also some smaller – albeit still notable – recruiting news items you might have missed, so let’s catch up on those now.
Thurman sets commitment date
Chances are, you weren’t awake when four-star 2023 Georgia tight end Jelani Thurman announced his commitment date at midnight. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound tight end announced then that he will make his commitment at noon Sunday.
The wait is almost over July,17 12:00 pic.twitter.com/Pprxwdhlfm
— jelani (@jelani3345) July 11, 2022
Thurman took official visits to Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn and Michigan State, so he’ll likely be choosing from one of those four schools. He took his official visit to OSU June 24-26 and is the Buckeyes’ top preference for a second tight end in the 2023 cycle.
Me and @CJ7STROUD chillin pic.twitter.com/s5TO3MYzDp
— jelani (@jelani3345) June 25, 2022
The Buckeyes’ lone committed tight end in the class, Ty Lockwood, is openly welcoming the idea of Thurman joining him in Columbus.
— Ty Lockwood (@TyLockwood7) July 11, 2022
Thompson includes Buckeyes in top five
A 2023 defensive lineman with an Ohio State offer has narrowed down his top schools list. Four-star Michigan product Jalen Thompson included Ohio State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Penn State in his top five Saturday.
Top5#AGTG @recruitgfx pic.twitter.com/qV8gURiFXr
— Jalen Thompson (@__4jalen) July 9, 2022
Thompson camped with Ohio State on June 1 and impressed Larry Johnson enough to earn an offer from the Buckeyes. He took official visits to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Penn State this summer, but does not yet have a commitment date set.
Considering OSU landed one of its top targets in Moore Sunday and is heavily recruiting Desmond Umeozulu, John Walker and Matayo Uiagalelei, it's possible there may not be room for Thompson in the 2023 class unless another target commits elsewhere.
Ricks puts OSU in top 10
The nation’s top cornerback recruit in 2024 raised some eyebrows when he dropped his top 10 on Saturday. Five-star Florida cornerback Desmond Ricks told On3 he almost committed to Florida State earlier this summer, but then did not hear from the Seminoles for months, saying “they must have gave up or something.”
Florida State didn’t even crack his top 10, but Ohio State did, along with LSU, Oregon, Miami, USC, Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida, Jackson State and Oklahoma.
Still be thanking god that I made it this far pic.twitter.com/j0CVsQSzP6
— Desmond Ricks (@DesmondRicks2) July 9, 2022
Ricks, an IMG Academy product, was offered by OSU on March 29. According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, he’s the No. 2 player in the entire 2024 class, sitting behind only Ohio State quarterback commit Dylan Raiola.
Ohio State cracks Heyward’s top 12
The Buckeyes have only been recruiting four-star 2024 safety Jaylen Heyward for a few months, but they’ve already made quite the impression on the Florida product. Heyward included OSU on his top 12 Sunday along with Miami, Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, UCF, Tennessee and Florida.
Where will be? @Reel1sRecruits pic.twitter.com/WjAvwlCHUb
— Jaylen Ap Heyward (@Jayasii) July 10, 2022
Heyward is considered the 47th-best player and fifth-best safety in the 2024 class. He received his OSU offer on May 15.
Aguirre moves up commitment date to Tuesday
Four-star 2023 linebacker Raul Aguirre will commit four days earlier than expected. Aguirre originally set a commitment date for July 16, but instead will commit at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
UPDATE- I will be moving my commitment date up to Tuesday July 12th @Whitewater High School
— Raul Popo Aguirre (@lRaulAguirre) July 10, 2022
3pm!!
Be there pic.twitter.com/yJms4LnV43
Last month, Aguirre dropped a final six of Ohio State, Alabama, Miami, Georgia, Florida and Arkansas. He’ll likely commit to either Alabama or Miami, and it would be a surprise if he picked the Buckeyes at this point. But that hasn’t stopped four-star Georgia cornerback and OSU commit Kayin Lee from doing some last-minute recruiting anyway.
yall tell @lRaulAguirre slide
— Kayin Lee (@_kayinlee) July 10, 2022
Lonergan commits to Alabama
Considering four-star 2023 Georgia quarterback Dylan Lonergan didn’t take an official visit to Ohio State this summer, it’s not a big surprise Lonergan committed elsewhere on Monday.
But it might be a surprise to some that he chose Alabama instead of South Carolina, considering Eli Holstein is already committed to the Crimson Tide.
BREAKING: Four-Star QB Dylan Lonergan has Committed to Alabama!
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 11, 2022
The 62 215 QB from Snellville, GA chose the Crimson Tide over Stanford and South Carolina.
He will play both baseball and football at Alabama.
More Here (FREE): https://t.co/Zuv8luIFJJ pic.twitter.com/iH6IfVsl6V
Ohio State still would like to take a quarterback for its 2023 cycle, and continues to wait on four-star Texas signal caller Austin Novosad’s decision. Novosad told Eleven Warriors last week he anticipated making a decision by the end of the weekend, but now, he’ll likely need additional time to decide between honoring his commitment to Baylor or flipping to Ohio State or Texas A&M.
