The Hurry-Up: Top-40 Prospect Riley Pettijohn Puts Ohio State in Top 12, 2024 DT Commit Eric Mensah Returns a Fumble 77 Yards for a Touchdown

By Garrick Hodge on October 20, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Riley Pettijohn
Instagram/@rileypettijohn7
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An Ohio State linebacker target in the 2025 class has narrowed down his decision to 12 teams.

Four-star Texas linebacker Riley Pettijohn released a top 12 list on Thursday consisting of Ohio State, Texas, Colorado, LSU, Auburn, Oklahoma, SMU, Florida, Michigan, Florida State, USC and TCU. 

Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Pettijohn is considered the 37th-best prospect and the fifth-ranked linebacker in the 2025 class. Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles offered him on Sept. 14. 

Pettijohn has had a terrific junior season thus far, as he’s racked up 73 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, two quarterback hurries, one interception and one pass deflection this year. 

The recruitment of the 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker will likely stretch into next summer, but Ohio State has stood out to Pettijohn so far. The main competitors from his top 12 list to the Buckeyes will likely be Florida State, Texas and Florida. 

Ohio State could take as many as four linebackers in its 2025 class, and Pettijohn would be a great add for Knowles and James Laurinaitis if they can eventually secure his commitment.

Eric Mensah returns a fumble for a 77-yard TD

When was the last time you saw a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman rumble 77 yards for a touchdown? Well, three-star Ohio State defensive tackle commit Eric Mensah did just that last week. 

In what ultimately was just a flat-out strange play, Mensah recovered a fumble from his own teammate after he had secured an interception but fumbled after getting tackled from behind. Mensah ran 77 yards downfield to give Mountain View (Stafford, Virginia) its seventh win of the season. 

The Ohio State commit has visited Columbus twice this season – once for the Buckeyes’ home opener against Youngstown State and again for the Maryland game.

“While I was watching Ohio State’s defensive line play, I was just like, ‘Wow.’ Their power getting off the line and seeing their explosiveness and pursuit to the ball and everything just brought joy to me,” Mensah said after his first visit. “They’re a really disciplined team and you know they know what they’re talking about and they know what they’re doing.”

Booker Pickett Jr. commits to Miami

One of Ohio State’s remaining defensive lineman targets in the 2024 cycle is off the board. Four-star edge prospect Booker Pickett Jr. committed to Miami on Thursday in a move that was expected for a few months now. 

Pickett Jr. was expected to visit Ohio State before his commitment for either of the Buckeyes’ next two home games, but contact between the two sides had halted, and Ohio State has already since moved on to different targets.

With Eddrick Houston, Justin Scott and Mensah committed to Ohio State at the moment, the Buckeyes would like to take at least one more prospect and possibly two for their 2024 class. One of those remaining targets will be visit Ohio State this weekend in four-star North Carolina defensive lineman and Florida commit Amaris Williams. The other, four-star defensive end and Kansas commit Deshawn Warner, will make his trip to Columbus on Nov. 11 for the game against Michigan State. 

Ohio State has a solid chance of flipping either one or both prospects, and both would be taken if they want into the Buckeyes’ 2024 class. 

Recruits tweet about their upcoming visits to Ohio State

Despite a noon kickoff, Ohio State is prepping for its biggest recruiting weekend of the fall on Saturday.

On Thursday, Ryan Day said he expects more than 80 prospects and their families to attend the Buckeyes’ matchup with the undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday, with intriguing prospects from the 2024, 2025 and 2026 classes all expected to be in Ohio Stadium.

We’ve compiled some tweets from recruits expected to attend Ohio State’s crucial matchup with Penn State on Saturday below. For a full preview of which highly touted prospects are expected to make their way to Columbus this weekend, you can find that here. 

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