The Hurry-Up: Garrett Stover Got a “Surreal” Glimpse of What Life Will Be Like at Ohio State on His Official Visit, Marquise Lightfoot Includes OSU in His Top Six

By Garrick Hodge on June 13, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Garrett Stover
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It’s possible no 2024 recruit has visited Ohio State’s campus over the past year as much as four-star linebacker Garrett Stover. 

The Sunbury resident was back at OSU last weekend for his official visit, and while he had already seen the majority of the campus and athletic facilities, he still felt mesmerized by the experience.

“Being down there so many times, I was going into the visit being like ‘You know, I’ve already seen all this and it’ll probably be the same thing,’” Stover told Eleven Warriors. “I was way wrong. It’s not like I wasn’t excited to go on the official or anything, but the best part was just connecting with the players and developing relationships with guys already on the teams and the commits. It was a surreal experience because it was getting us ready for what life will be like at Ohio State. Especially for me since I’m enrolling early, it was really good to see. My family enjoyed it and I enjoyed all my time spent with the coaches.” 

On his visit, Stover met with Jim Knowles, quality control coach Sam McGrath, James Laurinaitis and Ryan Day. His player host was Reid Carrico.

“My family and I get along so well with them and it was so great to see,” Stover said. 

Stover, the cousin of OSU tight end Cade Stover, spent some time golfing with his cousin and Tommy Eichenberg, Steele Chambers, Cody Simon and Jalen Pace. One evening, Stover attended a bonfire at Cade’s house along with other OSU commits, giving him a feeling for what his future will be like in the years to come. 

“That gave me a glimpse of what it’ll be like,” Stover said. “That’s what all the commits were kinda saying, it felt like we were already moved in and getting life started as a college student-athlete at Ohio State.” 

Stover said he spent time with fellow OSU commits Ian Moore, the Armstrong twins, James Peoples and others. 

“It was really good, we all really just clicked this weekend and said we can’t wait to all room together and officially be on the roster and get going in training with coach Mick,” Stover said. “We all thought how crazy it’ll be to run out of the tunnel for the first time.” 

The Big Walnut standout said he also spent time peer recruiting another OSU linebacker target in four-star Tennessee prospect Edwin Spillman, who was also taking his official visit to Columbus last weekend. 

“We got to hang out quite a bit. He was with another host, but from what he tells me, he loved it. His family really enjoyed their time and liked it. Ohio State does a great job selling itself to recruits, so my job is to just do little things here and there and say comments like it would be great if you, me and Payton (Pierce) were all staring at OSU at this time. I think he really enjoyed it, he comes from a great family and is a great job. I think he’s really going to take into consideration the people Ohio State has and how he can get along with them.” 

Last fall, Stover was the first defensive commit to pledge to Ohio State in the 2024 class. The Buckeyes didn’t get a second until Texas linebacker Payton Pierce gave his verbal in April. Over the weekend, though, OSU started to build more defensive momentum recruiting, as it secured the commitment of four-star New Jersey safety Jaylen McClain. While McClain announced his commitment publicly Monday, he told the group of OSU commits he was officially joining the class at dinner on Saturday during his official visit. 

“We actually sat next to him at dinner one night,” Stover said of McClain. “He’s a good dude as well. It says a lot about Ohio State that the players they get have all-around great character and they’re a hell of a football player. I remember one night at dinner he announced he was committing and everyone went crazy and stuff. I’m excited to build a relationship with him and get this class rolling.”  

In six months, Stover will enroll at Ohio State and get to work on becoming the next standout OSU linebacker. But he hopes to have a successful senior season before then, and is determined to improve his skillset daily. Several OSU commits have made appearances at an OSU recruiting camp this summer already, including Moore, Marc Nave and Mylan Graham. On Wednesday, Stover will be in Columbus to work out with Knowles and Laurinaitis at Ohio State’s third recruiting camp.

Lightfoot puts Ohio State in top six

One of Ohio State’s top remaining defensive end targets in the 2024 class is coming closer to a decision. Four-star Illinois prospect Marquise Lightfoot announced a top six on Monday consisting of Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Miami and Illinois. 

Lightfoot took an official visit to OSU last weekend and has upcoming visits scheduled to USC this weekend and Miami on June 26. Following his trip to Columbus, the Buckeyes have established themselves as a clear frontrunner for the Chicago product. 

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound edge rusher also visited OSU in April for a spring practice and has developed an admiration for the Buckeyes’ culture. 

“Larry Johnson, I truly believe he’s not just selling me a dream, I have no doubt if I go down there and put in the work, then I’ll no doubt become one of his projects that’s he worked on like Chase Young, Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa,” Lightfoot told Eleven Warriors after his visit in April.

Social media reaction to Jaylen McClain's commitment

In case you missed it Monday evening, Ohio State landed its first commitment in the secondary for the 2024 class in four-star New Jersey safety Jaylen McClain. With the commitment, OSU sits at 14 total for the 2024 cycle, with three commitments coming on the defensive side of the ball. 

The Buckeyes are optimistic momentum will continue to heat up on the recruiting trail this summer as official visits continue and OSU should again finish with a top-five recruiting class nationally. Following McClain’s commitment, OSU commits and football staffers took to Twitter to celebrate the commitment of McClain. We’ve rounded up some of their reactions below.

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