Ohio State is in the midst of an open week and, as such, will use that time off as an opportunity to visit with various prospects in different cycles, both in-state and out-of-state.
According to 247Sports, Ryan Day and defensive line coach Larry Johnson started their weeks off by visiting five-star 2023 defensive end Damon Wilson Monday in Florida. Johnson and Day also plan to visit five-star 2023 Florida defensive end Keon Keeley in the same swing, either Monday evening or on Tuesday.
The timing makes sense for both Johnson and Day to visit the dynamic tandem because they are coming off official visits to other schools perceived to be the biggest challengers to the Buckeyes in landing each of them. Keeley took an official to Alabama on Saturday, while Wilson visited Georgia.
Keeley and Wilson took their official visits to Ohio State on Sept. 3 for the Notre Dame game. The former returned to Columbus for the Wisconsin game on Sept. 24. While neither has commitment dates set, decisions could be coming within the coming weeks for either prospect considering neither has further visits planned for this fall as of now.
Ohio State commits shine in high school action
It was a productive weekend for Ohio State football commitments on the prep gridiron.
Perhaps no one had a better week than Ohio cornerback Jermaine Mathews, who continues to have an electric season. Mathews led Winton Woods to a 28-14 victory over Milford Friday to advance to 8-0 behind four tackles, three pass deflections and a 95-yard pick-six. The interception Mathews returned for a touchdown was his third pick-six of the season.
3rd Pick Six of the year @Winton_WoodsFB pic.twitter.com/ROEbzCmpsk
— Jermaine Mathews Jr (@Jr2Maine) October 8, 2022
Both wide receiver Brandon Inniss and running back Mark Fletcher had impressive performances in American Heritage’s (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 42-18 win over Western High last week. Fletcher had 12 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown, while Inniss caught six passes for 112 yards and a touchdown in the win. In seven games this season, Inniss has 29 receptions for 602 yards and eight touchdowns, while Fletcher has run for 964 yards on 99 carries with eight touchdowns.
Little something something from last night6 catches 112 receiving yards 1 touchdown 134 all purpose yards!! 18.6 yards per catch!! Most importantly the Wonto the next!! pic.twitter.com/ti7hsjtUin
— Brandon Inniss (@brandon5star2) October 8, 2022
Florida wideout Carnell Tate also showed off his playmaking ability for IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida), helping his team to a 45-0 victory against St. Thomas More with four catches for 82 yards. Two of those catches are displayed in the tweets below, with a third highlight being saved for 2025 OSU wide receiver target Winston Watkins Jr. In five games this season, Tate has caught 24 passes for 496 yards with four touchdowns.
— Darin Bradford (@darin_bradford) October 10, 2022
Georgia tight end Jelani Thurman was a force in Langston Hughes’ (Fairburn, Georgia) 59-0 victory over East Paulding with five catches for 51 yards and a touchdown in the win. Thurman has caught 16 passes for 223 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Looking at the 2024 class, Dylan Raiola led Chandler High School (Chandler, Arizona) to a 40-21 victory over previously undefeated Casteel High School. Raiola completed 13 of 18 passes for 214 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the victory. Through six games, Raiola has completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,198 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also run for two scores.
Chandler now with a 14-0 lead over Casteel after this scoring pass from Dylan Raiola to Tyreeq-Styles Obichere. #azc_preps pic.twitter.com/3BhK7PA1ti
— Ben Stapley (@benstapley76) October 8, 2022
Chandler 35 Casteel 0 halftime. Jaxon Branch caught this pass from Dylan Raiola for a 54 yard touchdown. pic.twitter.com/QN4pPVxYPi
— Ben Stapley (@benstapley76) October 8, 2022
Feagin leaves OSU off top five
Tavoy “Seatbelt” Feagin likely won’t be coming to Columbus. The four-star 2024 Florida cornerback left Ohio State off his top five schools list on Sunday, narrowing his recruitment down to Miami, Alabama, Florida State, Clemson and LSU. He also set a commitment date for Nov. 20. Clemson is the perceived favorite to land the 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback.
Whats the move @SWiltfong247 @ChadSimmons_ @RWrightRivals pic.twitter.com/yaoGBKupP7
— 4 (@FeaginTavoy) October 9, 2022
Feagin picked up his offer from OSU on Feb. 26 and told Eleven Warriors on Sept. 1 the Buckeyes were not one of the schools to reach out once coaches were permitted to directly contact 2024 recruits. Other uncommitted 2024 prospects with an OSU offer include Bryce West, Aaron Scott, Braydon Lee, Marcelles Williams, Charles Lester III, Ellis Robinson IV, Miles Lockhart and Desmond Ricks.
