One of Ohio State’s top cornerback priorities in the 2024 class certainly felt wanted by the Buckeyes on his most recent trip to Columbus.
Four-star Ohio cornerback Bryce West made his second game visit of the month to Ohio State last weekend and told Eleven Warriors he had a great experience.
“The visit was great, because when you get down there, you really get the hometown love,” West said. “The atmosphere was great, the fans love you, the coaches love you and show that love toward you. You could see a lot of young guys on that field on Saturday, so if I was to commit there, I could come down to work for a spot and get on the field as a freshman. This was my second time here this (fall), the difference to me was definitely the blackout. With the blackout, the fans were going crazy, the seats were great, and just walking around and talking with all the coaches and getting to see all the recruits that you know was great.”
West spoke with Tim Walton, Ryan Day, Tony Alford, Mark Pantoni and Matt Guerrieri during his visit. Both Day and Walton had a message for West on the visit.
“They just told me to keep improving on my game and keep shutting people down,” West said. “A lot of the games, some teams don’t throw my way, and they told me to keep improving day by day.
West said he speaks with Walton weekly, usually on Sundays.
“It’s good, we talk about football, but we usually talk about how life and school are going and how I feel going through the recruiting process and stuff like that,” West said.
West went on the trip with a host of his Glenville teammates, including 2023 Ohio State linebacker commit Arvell Reese and 2024 OSU tight end target Damarion Witten.
“It’s definitely powerful because I know Arvell well, when we get there, he tells you ‘This is the place you want to be, there’s no better place to be than (Ohio State),’” West said. “Then Damarion, I talk to him a lot about colleges and I can see that he really likes Ohio State too.”
Against the Badgers, Ohio State had to start a pair of inexperienced and young cornerbacks in Jyaire Brown and JK Johnson because of injuries to Cameron Brown and Denzel Burke. Brown and Johnson made the most of their opportunities, and West took notice of OSU not being afraid to play young players early.
“To me, it’s always about the next man up,” West said. “If someone said the starters are sitting out, you’ve got to be ready to go at any given time and be ready to do your job. That’s the standard because they’re called BIA, Best in America. They were very physical and played with great technique, played good in zone coverage and great in man-to-man. They got off blocks physically and were able to come down and make hits.”
A day before his visit, West sent out a tweet saying he doesn’t plan on making a decision any time soon and that he’s still exploring all his options in his recruitment. He expanded on that by saying he just wants to be thorough in his process.
Colleges My RECRUITMENT Is still 100% open, wont be making any decisions anytime soon. pic.twitter.com/JgkoUdZ4Z6
— (@bryvonny) September 23, 2022
“I think I’ve seen everything I need to see in my opinion, I’m just not ready to make a commitment because I just want to see what’s out there for me,” West said. “That’s my biggest thing. I don’t want to let it get to me and commit too soon and make the wrong decision.”
So when does he plan on making a decision?
“Definitely going into my senior year, I think around that time I’ll make a decision,” West said. “Maybe around that time, or in the middle of my senior year, but if not, maybe at the end since I’m playing in an All-American game so I could potentially make the decision on TV.”
Regardless of whether or not West commits soon or extends it into next year, Ohio State is going to be a big player for the Glenville product until the end and is the heavy favorite to land the top-50 prospect.
“It would definitely mean a lot to me,” West said of potentially playing for Ohio State. “I’ve been around Ohio State players all my life. The opportunity to play for them and be around that coaching staff and players would mean a lot to me.”
McClellan coming to Columbus
Ohio State’s most recent wide receiver offer in the 2024 class will be in Columbus this weekend. Four-star Missouri wideout Jeremiah McClellan announced on social media he’ll make his first visit to OSU on Saturday for the Rutgers game.
The Ohio State this weekend @brianhartline @ScottPingel10 @ryandaytime @OhioStateFB
— Jeremiah Mcclellan (@jay_mac2481) September 28, 2022
McClellan plays for Christian Brothers College High School (St. Louis, Missouri), the alma mater of OSU cornerback Cameron Brown and wideout Kamryn Babb. He picked up his offer from OSU Sept. 12. McClellan caught 41 passes for 989 yards and nine touchdowns in his sophomore season and already has 23 catches for 514 yards and seven touchdowns in his first five games as a junior.
Scott also visiting this weekend
McClellan won’t be the only key visitor on campus this week. Five-star Illinois defensive tackle Justin Scott was supposed to be at Ohio State for last weekend’s game against Wisconsin, but he and his family will instead be making the trip to Columbus this weekend for Saturday’s game against Rutgers, he confirmed to 247Sports.
Scott is the No. 31 overall prospect and fourth-ranked defensive lineman in the 2024 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings. A two-way player at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago who could also play on either side of the line at the next level, Scott was offered by OSU on Sept. 5.
