Georgia 2025 linebacker Mantrez Walker had been looking forward to his Ohio State visit for weeks.
The Buford High School (Buford, Georgia) product may have grown up in the south, but remembers vividly over the years watching Ohio State play Michigan and loved the high-stakes rivalry the Buckeyes participated in yearly. He’s long dreamed of playing for Ohio State since.
Walker made the trip to Columbus on Saturday for the Buckeyes’ 54-10 thrashing of Iowa, and it measured up to his expectations in every way.
GA>>>OH pic.twitter.com/bOv8KXaKOO
— Mantrez Walker (@MantrezWalker) October 23, 2022
“It was the greatest experience I ever had,” Walker told Eleven Warriors. “I loved the relationships built with the coaches, and I loved the history and game atmosphere. They have a great defensive scheme, and they really showed me how I would fit into it. I got some great takeaways from it. I’m definitely applying what I was taught into my game.”
On his visit, Walker met with several OSU defensive coaches, including Jim Knowles. Before taking the visit, Walker said he expected to be offered by the Buckeyes based on what coaches had been telling him leading up to the visit. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound playmaker concluded his visit on Sunday with a verbal offer in hand from Ohio State. He could hardly contain his excitement.
“I felt great when I got that offer,” Walker said. “It doesn’t get too much bigger than Ohio State, and that’s something I would love to be a part of. It really seemed like dreams to reality.” Defensive quality control coach Miguel Patrick presented the offer to Walker from Knowles on Sunday because Knowles himself was in a defensive meeting. But Walker said he enjoyed meeting Knowles earlier in the visit.
With that offer, Walker has 11 Division I offers total, including Arkansas, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Walker, who does not yet hold a composite ranking, is high school teammates with several other Ohio State targets, including KJ Bolden, Eddrick Houston, KingJoseph Edwards and Jadon Perlotte.
Leading up to the visit, Walker said he was considering committing on the spot if the Buckeyes offered. His interest in Ohio State is still significant, but he clarified that the offer was a verbal offer instead of an official one. He intends to be back for another visit next month.
“I’m definitely gonna be back up for the Michigan game, I think,” Walker said. “I’m gonna be up here in the summer for a private workout. I might commit then. I’m definitely heavily considering (committing to OSU), though.”
Mathews, Gilbert make big plays in prep games
Four-star 2023 Ohio State cornerback commit Jermaine Mathews is preparing for what he hopes is an extended playoff run as undefeated Winton Woods has earned a No. 1 seed in the Division II, Region 8 Ohio high school playoffs starting this week. But he closed the regular season with a bang on Friday, chasing down a ball carrier, forcing a fumble and recovering it in the same swoop.
Another Strip Fumble pic.twitter.com/PvURvn8oY2
— Jermaine Mathews Jr (@Jr2Maine) October 22, 2022
Mathews finished his senior regular season with 30 tackles (4 for loss), three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, five interceptions (two pick-sixes), 17 pass deflections, a punt return touchdown and a kickoff return touchdown.
Meanwhile, 2025 Georgia cornerback commit Jontae Gilbert may be a few seasons away from suiting up for Ohio State, but he’s already showing why OSU took his commitment early in his high school career, as Gilbert delivered a bone-crushing hit in Douglass’ (Atlanta, Georgia) contest against Carver on Friday.
When they ask can I hit pic.twitter.com/KPG8WipYlr
— Jontae Gilbert (@J7ontae) October 24, 2022
Akana leaves OSU off top 10
A four-star 2023 linebacker with an Ohio State offer has narrowed down his final schools, and the Buckeyes did not make the cut. Top-100 prospect Tausili Akana released a top 10 Tuesday of Penn State, Texas, Hawaii, Notre Dame, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Utah, Oklahoma and LSU.
BREAKING: Four-Star Edge Tausili Akana is down to Schools!
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 25, 2022
The 64 215 Edge from Laie, HI is ranked as a Top 100 Player in the 23 Class.
Where Should He Go?https://t.co/2UHlWG3c9t pic.twitter.com/89X23YKsmG
Akana was offered by OSU on June 9, 2021, but the Buckeyes haven’t made much contact of late with the Utah prospect, so it’s not surprising to see him leave Ohio State off the list entirely. The Buckeyes have one linebacker committed in 2022 in Arvell Reese, and are likely content with finishing the 2023 cycle with just one commitment unless they can land Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter, who is scheduled to take an official visit to OSU on Nov. 12.
