Ohio State is going to get its shot at landing five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley.
Per On3, Ohio State’s persistence with the 6-foot-6, 242-pound former Notre Dame commit has paid off as he will take an official visit to Ohio State for the season opener against the Fighting Irish on Sept. 3.
Keeley will also take official visits to Alabama, the presumed favorite to land the Florida prospect, and Florida later this fall. It’s unclear if he’ll use his other two officials before making a decision, which is not expected to be any time soon.
This will be Keeley’s second visit to OSU, as he visited Columbus for a spring practice on March 22. Keeley is ranked as the seventh-best prospect and the top-rated edge rusher in 247Sports’ composite rankings for 2023.
Keeley is among Ohio State's top remaining defensive line targets, along with Damon Wilson and Matayo Uiagalelei, both of whom are also expected to be in attendance for the Notre Dame game. Other remaining defensive line targets include Kayden McDonald, James Smith, Qua Russaw and Jordan Hall.
Hurley locks in rivalry game visit
One of Ohio State’s biggest quarterback targets in the 2025 class has locked in his next OSU visit. Four-star quarterback Colin Hurley confirmed he’ll be in Columbus for the rivalry game with Michigan on Nov. 26.
“That’s one of the most iconic matchups and biggest rivalries in the country,” Hurley told Eleven Warriors. “This game, played on such a special weekend, is college football on the biggest stage. Ohio State, Coach Day and the staff were super good to me during my visits and camps. They said they’d love for me to be a Buckeye and remain a priority school for me.”
Hurley is one of two quarterbacks Ohio State has offered in the 2025 cycle along with Ohio product Ryan Montgomery. He picked up his OSU offer after camping with the Buckeyes on June 21, the same camp 2024 five-star OSU commit Dylan Raiola participated in.
2025 QB Colin Hurley (@ColinHurley) throwing to 2024 RB Stacy Gage (@3stacygage). pic.twitter.com/0deMWlbO7E
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) June 21, 2022
Nice deep ball from Colin Hurley: pic.twitter.com/KBgu5T9wPD
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 21, 2022
“I had a great camp there too,” Hurley said. “I feel I threw it well and impressed the staff. I’ve assembled a hard-to-match total body of work with respect to the ‘25 and ‘24 class.”
Lockhart will also attend The Game
Four-star 2024 cornerback Miles Lockhart also told Eleven Warriors he has his eyes set on attending Ohio State’s contest against Michigan in late November, though it’s also possible he could visit earlier in the month.
“I should be up there for the team up north game but if not, then the Indiana game,” Lockhart said.
The Arizona product picked up an Ohio State offer after impressing Tim Walton at a recruiting camp on June 21 and called the Buckeyes his “top choice” in his recruitment in July.
“It’s the top one to be completely honest,” Lockhart said in July. “It’s hard to compete with Ohio State, I’ve said that multiple times. There’s a brotherhood there and a winning tradition. Coach Walton was telling us how Ohio State won the Rose Bowl and went 11-2 last year and the whole city was mad they didn’t make it to the national championship. It’s like you have to win there. That winning tradition is something that I think makes the whole environment special.”
Umeozulu to commit Monday
Four-star 2023 Maryland defensive end Desmond Umeozulu will announce his commitment on Monday, choosing from a group of Ohio State, South Carolina, Pittsburgh and North Carolina.
I will be announcing my commitment live on CBS Sports HQ August 29th 2022 at Charles Herbert Flowers at 11:00 AM.
— Desmond Umeozulu (@KashDez) July 20, 2022
All media outlets are welcomed , the event will take place inside the Helena Nobles-Jones Auditorium, everybody is welcomed! @BrianDohn247 @TomLoy247 @CHFJAGS pic.twitter.com/tl7WZRh4xP
Umeozulu took an official visit to Columbus June 24-26 and it felt like Ohio State led for a good portion of his recruitment, but in the months since the Buckeyes seemingly have pivoted to other targets while Umeozulu is trending toward South Carolina.
If he picks South Carolina, maybe he can weigh in on what the new name should be for the Gamecocks’ live rooster mascot, though it’s doubtful he can top the already colorful names being floated around.
