A trio of Ohio State signees were named Gatorade Players of the Year on Friday.
Five-star wide receiver Brandon Inniss was named the top player in Florida, four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz earned those honors in South Dakota and Jason Moore was selected as Maryland’s Gatorade Player of the Year as the top high school football player in every state was honored.
Blessed to be named the Florida Gatorade player of the year!!@Gatorade @D2Dperformance pic.twitter.com/b68kTGGe85
— Brandon Inniss (@brandon5star2) January 6, 2023
Extremely honored, thankful, and proud to announce @LincolnKienholz as the @Gatorade South Dakota Football Player of the Year! #GatoradePOY #GoGovs pic.twitter.com/1t1ZUlWW0n
— Steve Steele (@Steele_House) January 6, 2023
Thank you!! https://t.co/anS0iJc9i7
— Jason Moore (@jayymoneyy32_) January 6, 2023
Inniss led American Heritage High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) to a state championship appearance in his senior year as he caught 73 passes for 1,336 yards and 16 touchdowns. Kienholz led T.F. Riggs High School (Pierre, South Dakota) to a perfect 12-0 season as he completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,422 yards and 46 touchdowns with six interceptions and 1,435 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns. Moore finished with 13 sacks and added 18 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception for DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland).
Ohio’s Gatorade Player of the Year award went to a player the Buckeyes are very much hoping joins their 2024 recruiting class: four-star Cincinnati running back Jordan Marshall. Marshall was also named the Ohio Division I co-Offensive Player of the Year after he ran for 1,951 rushing yards, scored 34 total touchdowns and racked up 364 receiving yards in his junior season for Archbishop Moeller.
Peyton Woodyard to commit Saturday
One of Ohio State’s safety targets in the 2024 class will announce his commitment during Saturday’s All-American Bowl (1 p.m., NBC). While All-American Bowl commitments are usually reserved for uncommitted seniors that are either silently signed or plan on signing with their school of choice in February, four-star California prospect Peyton Woodyard feels confident enough to end his recruitment a year out and announce a decision Saturday.
4 more days and Ill be making my commitment this Saturday at the All American Bowl on NBC! @AABonNBC @NBCSportsPR @NBCSports @boscofootball https://t.co/XKYrcGtDxO
— Peyton Woodyard (@peypey_wood) January 5, 2023
Heading into his commitment, Woodyard has a final seven of Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, USC, Texas, Oregon, Michigan and Notre Dame.
“Once I commit, that's going to be it for me,” Woodyard told 247Sports. “I'm not one of those guys who plans to commit but still take visits and listen to other colleges. Once I lock in my decision, that's going to be it and I'm looking forward to being able to just focus on football, training and getting better so I can make an impact early on in college.”
While Ohio State looked like a frontrunner for Woodyard for a good portion of his recruiting process, the race for his commitment has turned into a two-horse race between Texas and Georgia. Multiple recruiting networks project the Bulldogs will land Woodyard’s commitment.
Seven OSU signees playing in All-American Bowl
While no commitments scheduled for the All-American Bowl outside of Woodyard have any OSU connections, fans may want to tune into the game Saturday to get their first glimpse of seven Ohio State signees scheduled to participate in the all-star game.
Lincoln Kienholz, Joshua Mickens and Calvin Simpson-Hunt will represent the West while Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, Luke Montgomery and Malik Hartford will play for Team East.
Kam Pringle leaves OSU off top 6
The top-ranked offensive tackle in the 2024 class has eliminated Ohio State from his recruitment. South Carolina prospect Kam Pringle, who received an offer from the Buckeyes in March, released a top-six list Thursday consisting of South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Clemson and North Carolina State.
Blessing!!! @ggpringle33 @CoachSibert @CoachEFord5 @RivalsFriedman @adamgorney @SWiltfong247 @Mansell247 @ChadSimmons_
— Kam Pringle (@PringleKam) January 5, 2023
Credit: @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/KRcPMq16oh
The Buckeyes currently have one offensive lineman committed to their 2024 class: Ian Moore, the No. 59 overall prospect in the cycle. Other offensive tackles holding OSU offers include fellow top-60 national prospects Guerby Lambert, Daniel Calhoun and Brandon Baker.
