Recruits Left with Lasting Impression of Ohio State Following the Buckeyes’ 56-14 Victory over Indiana

By Garrick Hodge on November 14, 2022 at 10:20 am
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In its second to last home game of the regular season, Ohio State made the most of its opportunity to impress recruits during its 56-14 victory over Indiana Saturday.

Several highly-touted prospects from the 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 classes were in attendance and enjoyed their experience at Ohio Stadium, winter flurries and all. 

Most notably, Ohio State added to its defensive end targets in the 2023 class by hosting and offering four-star Indiana defensive end Joshua Mickens, who currently is an LSU commit but is now expected to return to Columbus for an official visit.

We’ll touch more on Mickens in the Hurry-Up later on Monday, but in the meantime, Eleven Warriors caught up with various recruits who were in attendance for the Buckeyes’ win to ask what their main takeaways were from their visit to Columbus. 

You can see their answers below, plus check out a photo gallery of some of the recruits in attendance above. 

  • Four-star 2023 cornerback commit Jermaine Mathews: “Everything just feels like home when I’m in Columbus.” 
  • Four-star 2023 offensive lineman commit Joshua Padilla: “I think my biggest takeaway from the game was how good our running game was.” 
  • Four-star 2024 tight end target Jaden Reddell: “I had an amazing time at Ohio State, the environment was amazing. Loved talking to all the coaches they were all caring and easy to talk to. I loved the place can’t wait to go back.”
  • Three-star 2024 tight end Tysen Smith: “I had a great time at OSU visit. It was the first time to a game in The Shoe and it was very impressive. They do a great job hosting recruits and families. I talked to Coach Wilson and we spent a couple minutes on the field before the game talking with him just making small talk. I have been talking with him a lot over the past year on the phone and he is really easy to talk with. They see me as a H back/tight end.
  • Three-star 2024 offensive lineman Jake Wheelock: “I got to talk to coach Frye and Sollenne again. Always love talking to them. Frye was big on telling me the importance of the offseason and to make sure that technique is the number one priority for me this offseason. The weight room is always important but what matters is becoming a better football player. And of course, the game day experience was great as always. I loved the environment and seeing the offensive line dominate again.”
  • Ohio 2024 offensive lineman Marc Nave: “The environment and energy was crazy. The players just came in and handled business. There’s great people there working with you. Coach Ed Terwillinger has been watching my film since last year and my last three games and said he was really impressed.”
  • Four-star 2025 wide receiver Andrew Marsh: “The visit was good, but cold. I was not expecting that. I initially have been talking to Coach Cass but at the game I was able to talk to Coach Day and Coach Hartline. During the conversation, both asked if I could see myself playing there and if I could stand playing in the cold. All of the recruiting team was nice. Sunday, I had a more in-depth time there. I was able to see the football facility and meet with different departments. The place is huge. I see that everything is up-tempo. Talking to coach, I learned about the style of play for their receivers and their expectations of all players. This visit made a lasting impression on me and I will be back.”
  • Kentucky 2025 defensive end Austin Alexander: “It was so much fun to experience a game in Columbus. As soon as you got into the recruiting lounge, you just knew they were about business. Everything was done very well. Seeing the stadium from on the field with all the people was an incredible sight. It was such a nice stadium. And watching the players get fired up in the 25-degree snow made you know what they were about. And it was a pleasure to be able to see Coach Johnson again. It was a very good time.”
  • Ohio 2025 offensive lineman Jake Cook: “My visit was great. I loved watching them have fun and play as a team. The offensive line did great in the run game. I talked with coach Frye a lot throughout the day and he wants me to have me come to the Michigan game. Also coach Frye and coach Sollenne love that I wrestle and they want to come watch me in a match this winter.”
  • Georgia 2026 wide receiver Aaron Gregory: “The game atmosphere from yesterday was great. Nothing like The Ohio State. I had a great visit. I made some great connections with the wide receiver coach Brian Hartline and the safety coach Perry Eliano. They liked my size and potential, future visits are definitely in the works. Great hospitality, enjoyed being able to watch practice and learn from a great group of players and coaches.”
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