The Hurry-Up: Four-star 2023 Linebacker Arion Carter and Four-star 2024 Defensive End Dylan Stewart Are Among Ohio State's Top Recruiting Visitors This Weekend

By Garrick Hodge on November 11, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Arion Carter
Twitter/@ArionCarter
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Considering Ohio State opened its season with five straight home games, two consecutive road contests have made it feel like it’s been forever since the Buckeyes played a game at Ohio Stadium.

Nonetheless, OSU is back in Columbus Saturday with a matchup against the struggling Indiana Hoosiers, who have lost six straight. It’ll be the Buckeyes’ second to last home game before the all-important rivalry contest on Nov. 26 against Michigan. 

While the regular-season finale could be on track to give the Notre Dame game a run for its money regarding its massive visitor list, there still are several notable storylines regarding prospects visiting OSU this weekend that are worth monitoring. We’ll delve into those below.  

Buckeyes get their chance to impress Carter

Tennessee four-star linebacker Arion Carter is arguably the most important player OSU will have on its campus Saturday afternoon, both because he’s a 2023 recruit with a decision to make soon and because of his prospect pedigree. 

Carter, who was offered by OSU late in the cycle in September, will be taking an official visit to Columbus. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker also plans on taking official visits to Michigan and Alabama later this month, with the Crimson Tide being the perceived favorite to land the commitment of the Tennessee product. But Ohio State will do its best to turn the tide and make a notable impression on the current Memphis commit this weekend, as the Buckeyes would surely love to pair him with 2023 linebacker commit Arvell Reese to complete the current cycle.

Stewart likely to return to Columbus this weekend

One of the biggest standouts of the OSU recruiting camp circuit this summer was four-star Washington D.C. 2024 defensive end Dylan Stewart. Stewart camped in Columbus despite already holding an offer from OSU, and impressed in individual drills and in one-on-ones during his one-day camp. 

While talking with reporters in June, Stewart said OSU sees him playing a Chase Young role in college and that his interest in Ohio State is a “10.” This week, Stewart told 247Sports there is an “80% chance” he’ll make the trip for Ohio State’s game against Indiana on Saturday, which would be Stewart’s first trip to Columbus since the summer.

Stewart is considered a fringe five-star prospect and the 36th-best player nationally per 247Sports’ composite rankings, so he’s sure to be an impact player for someone. Other schools Stewart is highly interested in include South Carolina, Penn State, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama, Florida State, LSU and others. 

The best of the rest

Four-star 2024 safety Garrett Stover will be back on campus for a whopping fifth time on Saturday, this time fresh off his visit to Notre Dame where he saw the Fighting Irish take down Clemson. Stover is targeting a decision near the end of the month or early December, so continuing to make a strong impression on the Ohio prospect is critical. 

Four-star Illinois wide receiver I’Marion Stewart also plans on visiting OSU this weekend, and he holds offers from the likes of Michigan, Arizona State, Boston College, Illinois, Oregon, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee and Wisconsin. 

Three notable Ohio offensive linemen will make the trek to Ohio Stadium Saturday, including 2024 three-star athlete Jake Wheelock, 2024 lineman Marc Nave and 2025 prospect Jake Cook.

Austin Alexander, a 2025 defensive end that camped with OSU over the summer, confirmed to Eleven Warriors he’ll be among the various recruits in attendance Saturday. Alexander, the nephew of former NFL MVP running back Shaun Alexander, impressed OSU coaches at camp and continues to work toward an OSU offer. 

“It would be excellent, I would love that,” Alexander said in June of the potential of earning an OSU offer one day. “The culture here is excellent and how they present themselves is great. And then to just play for coach Johnson, that's a dream because he's just an amazing coach.” 

OSU will also welcome a four-star 2025 tight end to campus on Saturday in Ethan Barbour, who holds plenty of big-time offers such as Florida, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame and South Carolina. Speaking of tight ends, recent 2024 OSU offer and four-star Missouri tight end Jaden Reddell is slated to make his first visit to Columbus. 

It’s never too early to talk about 2026 prospects, right? Right??? Anyway, daily Hurry-Up readers already know that wideout Chris Henry Jr., the son of the late former Cincinnati Bengals player Chris Henry is visiting this weekend, but another promising 2026 wideout will be in Columbus in Aaron Gregory. Gregory, a Georgia prospect, already holds offers from Arkansas, Kentucky and South Carolina.

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