The Hurry-Up: Five-star 2024 Defensive End Eddrick Houston Includes Ohio State in His Top 10 Schools List and Several Commits Impress on the Gridiron

By Garrick Hodge on November 8, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Eddrick Houston
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One of Ohio State’s top defensive end targets in the 2024 class has started to narrow down his recruitment.

Five-star Georgia prospect Eddrick Houston released a top 10 on Tuesday consisting of Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Tennessee and LSU. 

The recruitment of Houston is not expected to be a fast one, as the playmaking defensive end does not plan on deciding until his senior year of high school. Houston took an unofficial visit to Ohio State earlier this fall for the Buckeyes’ season opener against Notre Dame and was impressed by the team’s defensive scheme. 

“It was great just to see the energy and how electric it is when the Buckeyes play,” Houston told Eleven Warriors in September. “I saw great things from the different types of schemes they run and how they try to utilize their players up front. (I liked) how they can have stand-up guys and four-point guys and still be able to rush the quarterback.” 

Based on his experience, his trip to Columbus this fall won’t be his last. 

“I’m for sure going to get back up there because I need to see more,” Houston said. “I didn’t get to see that much because I was stuck in traffic in Cincinnati and was late to some stuff, but I’m for sure going to get back up there and see what Ohio State has to offer.” 

Ohio State’s coaches also came to him. During the team's off week in October, Ryan Day and Perry Eliano visited Buford for a highly-anticipated matchup with Mill Creek. The game featured multiple premier prospects in which the Buckeyes have interest, with Houston being one. 

“It means a lot to see how much coach Day cares about his recruits that he made the trip to come see us,” Houston said after the visit.

OSU commits shine on prep gridiron

Last weekend resulted in big performances from Ohio State commitments on the gridiron as several future Buckeyes continued their dreams of becoming state champions in their respective states. 

Starting in Ohio, cornerback commit Jermaine Mathews made yet another electric play for Winton Woods, returning a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately for the talented defensive back, the touchdown was wiped out due to a holding penalty, but Mathews’ team earned a 34-21 win over Ross regardless and will have a rematch with Kings in the Division II, Region 8 semifinals on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Arvell Reese and Glenville kept their perfect season alive with a 43-6 victory over Bellevue, in which the Tarblooders held Bellevue to 148 yards of total offense. Glenville will face Elyria Catholic in the Division IV, Region 14 semifinal.

I always have a soft spot for future Power Five athletes who are still willing to contribute to special teams. That’s what Lakota West safety Malik Hartford did on Friday, as the Firebirds cruised past Princeton 35-0 to keep their perfect season alive. Hartford and Lakota West will face Elder Friday in the next round of the Division I, Region 4 playoffs. 

Tight end Jelani Thurman continues to prove himself an electric target in the passing game for Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Georgia), catching two touchdown passes in his team’s 56-23 victory over Paulding County. 

The newest Ohio State commit, Kayden McDonald. was instrumental in helping North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Georgia) to a 7A Regional Championship 35-27 victory over Norcross. The future OSU defensive tackle had six tackles (4 for loss), two sacks and two quarterback hurries. He also was a factor offensively, as his 6-foot-3, 310-pound frame ran for 61 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown.

Fellow Buckeye commit Luke Montgomery attended McDonald’s playoff game Friday evening, considering he was going with his brother, Ryan, as a guest to Georgia’s game against Tennessee Saturday. 

Safety Cedrick Hawkins had a game to remember for Cocoa (Titusville, Florida) on Friday, intercepting a pass in the final minutes of the contest to ensure a 28-20 victory and also running for a one-yard touchdown.

Chiles hopes to visit OSU again

A 2024 linebacker with an Ohio State offer is hoping to return to Columbus sometime soon. 

Four-star Maryland prospect Aaron Chiles told On3 this week Ohio State is one of several programs showing continued interest in him and that the interest is mutual on his end. Chiles, a top-100 prospect who picked up his OSU offer on May 16, played a high school game in Ohio on Sept. 10 against Archbishop Moeller, a game Our Lady Good Counsel (Olney, Maryland) lost 39-31. But before that contest, which happened the same day OSU played Arkansas State, Chiles and his teammates stopped by Ohio State. 

“I definitely want to get back to Ohio State for a real visit or a game,” Chiles told On3. “We got to tour the facilities and see a little bit of the campus, but it was quick and we couldn’t really do a lot. I liked what I saw, and I like their style of play. They transform guys into monsters at Ohio State, and I will be back there.”

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