What a wild day Wednesday was, am I right?
After misses on two targets, Jeremiah McClellan's flip and Ohio State hanging on to Jeremiah Smith and Eddrick Houston despite late momentum from other schools, it definitely was one of the more chaotic Signing Days the Buckeyes have had in a while.
Ohio State had 20 signees in total, the same amount it had at the end of the Early Signing Period last season. Eleven of the signees are on the offensive side of the ball, while nine play defense. All in all, Ohio State finished No. 4 nationally in 247Sports' recruiting class rankings, giving the Buckeyes another top-five recruiting class under Ryan Day.
With the class now all but finished, it's time to have some fun and hand out some superlatives for the 2024 class, which will surely be fun to mock a few years from now.
- Player most likely to have the best career at Ohio State: Jeremiah Smith. Sometimes the easy answer is simply the right one. It's not exactly going out on a limb to project the No. 1 recruit in the country is going to have the best collegiate career, but picking anyone else would be dishonest. Even though Ohio State has produced first-round receiver after first-round receiver, Smith has the potential to be the type of generational prospect coaches can only dream of. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say he's the best high school wide receiver recruit I've ever seen. Ohio State fans may have some understandable fatigue after following Smith's recruitment, even through the night on Wednesday as his National Letter of Intent came in far later than his actual announcement. But good news: The recruitment saga is over. I guarantee you that when Smith will make absurd touchdown catches at Ohio Stadium over the next three years he's in Columbus, nobody is going to care that his recruitment had various twists and turns.
- Most underrated player: Damarion Witten. Typically when fans think of Ohio State's Glenville commit in the 2024 class, Witten can get overlooked by talented cornerback Bryce West. But Witten is a certified baller in his own right and brings tremendous athleticism and pass-catching ability to the tight end position. Witten showcased his talents amongst 80 of his peers in the U.S. Army Bowl on Monday, as the 6-foot-4, 215-pound product earned MVP honors after catching four passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Witten will need to improve on his blocking to be an All-Big Ten tight end, but the tools are here for a very productive player despite only being the ranked 455th prospect nationally in the 2024 class by 247Sports' composite rankings.
- Prospect most likely to see the field early: Eddrick Houston or James Peoples. If we're honest, Smith is probably the correct answer to this question, but we won't use the same athlete twice. It was pretty hard to pick between Houston and Peoples, so we'll cheat and use them both. Depending on decisions made by draft-eligible underclassmen at those positions, both Houston and Peoples are talented enough to crack the two-deep in Year One and eventually work their way into a significant role. Both should eventually be impact players for the Buckeyes, and the great ones have a habit of forcing their way to the field sooner rather than later.
- Player most likely to line up somewhere that's not his listed position: Garrett Stover. Changing positions yearly is practically in Stover's blood. His cousin, Cade Stover, had multiple position changes throughout his Ohio State career between tight end and linebacker. While you don't envision the younger Stover will move around on the field quite as much as Cade, Garrett was initially recruited to Ohio State as a safety. While he's expected to begin his career as a linebacker, his versatility and athleticism could be an asset in Jim Knowles' defense, especially in one that deploys a three-safety scheme.
- Future fan favorite: Air Noland. Air has a couple of things working in his favor. First, he's a lefty, which is simply a cool aesthetic. Secondly, his five-star prospect pedigree is enough to have even casual fans excited about his potential. Finally, his quick release and arm talent could have him in line to be the next great Ohio State signal caller.
- Endeared himself the most to Ohio State fans: Aaron Scott. For months, Scott's recruitment was a back-and-forth affair with Michigan. Heading into his decision day, Scott had most fans guessing which team he'd pick between those two. Well, there's no better way to endear yourself to the Buckeye fan base than subtly dissing Michigan while honoring Ohio State, and that's exactly what Scott did. The Springfield native had three backpacks on a table representing Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan, cast the first two aside, then pulled a Braxton Miller jersey out of the Michigan backpack to signal he was choosing OSU. It was definitely one of the more epic commitments of the entire 2024 class.
Aaron Scott had one of the more entertaining Ohio State commitment announcements I can remember, complete with smoke effects and faking out the room he was going to Michigan. pic.twitter.com/Xdg4jRKRnd
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) July 30, 2023
- Bleeds scarlet and gray: Miles Lockhart. Ryan Day always talks about recruiting kids who want to be Buckeyes. Lockhart is definitely example A of who he has in mind. Despite residing in Arizona, once the talented cornerback received an Ohio State offer, he hardly considered any other school. In fact, he didn't even take an official visit to another college. It did take him a year to commit after receiving the offer, but Lockhart had publicly maintained OSU was the leader for him in his recruitment, and he meant it. In an NIL era full of twists and turns with many blueblood players that often frustrate fans, Lockhart is the type of guy you want to celebrate on National Signing Day.
