On Tuesday, Alex Graham heard his phone ring.
Little did the 2025 defensive back know big news was on the other end of the call. Earlier in the day, Ohio State safeties coach Perry Eliano had spoken with his high school coach and told him Graham earned an offer to Ohio State.
“I was in school and got a call from my coach to come down to his office and talk to him after school,” Graham told Eleven Warriors. “He sat down and told me Ohio State had offered me. I was in shock, I was just excited when I first heard it. I’m very blessed to receive an offer from there.”
Blessed to Receive an Offer from The Ohio State University!! #AGTG #GoBucks @Coach_Eliano @CoachRush_CTFB pic.twitter.com/Vef2Oc2YYX
— Alex Graham (@Alexgraham__3) January 31, 2023
Considering Graham is from Detroit, he looks up to Detroit native and NFL cornerback Sauce Gardner. Considering Eliano coached Gardner at Cincinnati, Graham felt special to be offered by Eliano.
“(Eliano) told my coach they don’t really do this often, they usually want to get me down on campus and take a look,” Graham said. “But he said to my coach they didn’t want to wait too long (to offer me) because of the dead period.”
The Ohio State offer was Graham’s 14th Division I offer, with other schools that have extended offers including Michigan, Michigan State, Arizona State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Graham plays cornerback for Cass Technical High School but says he may play some safety in his junior season. While the 6-foot-1, 170-pound playmaker also plays wide receiver, Ohio State is recruiting him as a defensive back.
“I have a good burst on defense and really can be a lockdown corner and just make tackles and everything,” Graham said. “When I find out who we play each week, I really lock in and find out who their best receivers are and know who I’m going to be guarding that week. That first practice on Monday, I just really lock in.”
Other schools Graham is high on include Michigan, Miami, Michigan State, Tennessee and others.
“Ohio State has always been one of the schools that I really like,” Graham said. “Seeing the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan is also really cool.”
Graham said he plans on taking his first-ever visit to Columbus in March or April for a spring practice.
“I’m going to be looking at how they run practice, how the coaches coach and those are really the main things.”
Marc Nave Jr. picks up Buckeyes offer
Ohio State also continued its trend of offering in-state prospects Tuesday as three-star Ohio offensive lineman Marc Nave Jr. picked up an offer from OSU offensive line coach Justin Frye.
WOW!! I am extremely blessed to be offered my 18th division 1 scholarship to THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY! AGTG!#Gobucks pic.twitter.com/jdcqIaQXXW
— Marc Nave Jr. (@marcnavejr) January 31, 2023
Nave Jr., a Toledo product, grew up rooting for the Buckeyes his entire life and attended OSU’s game against Indiana last November. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound plays offensive tackle for Central Catholic but is considered to be a guard or center prospect at the next level. He’s the third in-state player to pick up an OSU offer, the other two being Devontae and Deontae Armstrong.
Other Division I offers Nave Jr. has picked up includes Akron, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Miami (OH), Missouri, Pittsburgh, Purdue and Toledo.
Sadler Jr. earns OSU offer
Graham wasn’t the only Cass Tech player to get an offer from OSU Tuesday, as 2026 prospect Corey Sadler Jr. also picked up an offer from Eliano. A versatile athlete, Sadler saw time at wide receiver, quarterback and cornerback last season for Cass Tech and returned kickoffs and punts.
Blessed to receive an offer from my dream school Ohio State University @Coach_Eliano @CoachRush_CTFB pic.twitter.com/MDJAr1krT4
— Corey Sadler jr (@cos_jr1) January 31, 2023
After a standout freshman season, Sadler has amassed nine Division I offers, including Arizona State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Marshall puts OSU in top four
In case you missed it earlier on Thursday, Ohio State made the cut for four-star in-state running back Jordan Marshall’s top four list. Marshall, OSU’s top running back target in the 2024 cycle, has narrowed his list down to the Buckeyes, Michigan, Wisconsin and Tennessee.
HELL YEAH https://t.co/1vttD9o2cq
— Jordan Marshall (@J_MARSH2024) February 2, 2023
Marshall plans to visit OSU again this spring and will take an official visit to Columbus later this year. The talented in-state prospect plans on committing sooner rather than later, as he doesn't want any distractions heading into his senior season.
“I'm gonna commit early summer, that's the goal right now to just commit in early summer," Marshall told Eleven Warriors in December. "So I’ll try to take my officials around the spring, so we have a good mix right now."
OSU is looking to take two running backs in the 2024 class. Other options in addition to Marshall include Jerrick Gibson, Stacy Gage, Sam Williams-Dixon, Taylor Tatum, James Peoples and Jordan Lyle.
