Friday has brought all kinds of news in the Ohio State realm for various reasons.
We'll start by breaking down three new offers in the 2025 class.
DeShawn Stewart
Four-star 2025 New Jersey safety DeShawn Stewart became the second safety Ohio State offered this week (James Johnson) after secondary coach Tim Walton offered him on Friday.
blessed to receive an offer from THE Ohio State University @ryandaytime @CoachTimWalton @dpfootball @SCSportsR @CoachDarrisaw @RivalsFriedman @MohrRecruiting @BrianDohn247 pic.twitter.com/dcYItqxvA1
— Deshawn Stewart (@shawnstewartjr) January 19, 2024
Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Stewart is considered the 249th-best player and the 19th-rated safety in the 2025 class. He’s earned 12 Division I offers, including Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Liberty, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Stewart racked up 56 tackles, one tackle for loss, 19 pass deflections in his junior year at DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey). In his sophomore season, he recorded 26 tackles, six pass breakups and three interceptions.
Harry Dalton III
Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford was recruiting in Virginia on Thursday and stopped in at Dinwiddie County High School (Virginia) to offer three-star prospect Harry Dalton III.
#AGTG Wow!! After a great conversation with @CoachTonyAlford I am truly blessed to receive an offer from THE Ohio State university!! @GeneralsFootbal @RecruitDHS1 @showcaseneohsfb @OhioStateFB @OhioState pic.twitter.com/2r6kSviUcF
— Harry Dalton III (@Harry_Dalton6) January 18, 2024
Dalton is considered the 483rd-ranked prospect in the 2025 class. The 5-foot-10, 197-pound speedster has picked up nearly 20 Division I offers thus far, including Alabama, Duke, Florida, James Madison, Kentucky, Liberty, Maryland, Minnesota, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
In his junior season, Dalton played quarterback for Dinwiddie County, completing 107 of 203 passes for 1,662 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He ran for 1,295 yards on 175 carries with an eye-popping 27 rushing touchdowns. The Buckeyes view Dalton as a running back at the next level, but maybe it would be fun to utilize his passing skill set on the occasional trick play.
Trajen Odom
Defensive line coach Larry Johnson also extended an offer on Friday after visiting three-star North Carolina defensive lineman Trajen Odom.
Odom doesn’t have a 247Sports composite ranking as of yet, but he holds offers from 25 Division I schools, including North Carolina, Auburn, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, NC State, Oregon, Oregon State, Tennessee, USC, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Washington and West Virginia.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Odom recorded 54 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, four sacks and one forced fumble in his junior season.
Dorian Brew reportedly postpones his commitment
Five-star cornerback Dorian Brew has been scheduled to commit on Jan. 24 for about two weeks, yet the priority Ohio State target may postpone that decision, according to 247Sports’ Tom Loy.
#247Sports has learned that elite 2025 defensive back Dorian Brew is postponing his commitment.
— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) January 19, 2024
He was set to decide in Jan. 24, but wants to take a little more time, talk to schools, take a few visits, then go from there: https://t.co/7YeQ0Ltmrn@BrewDorian15@247Sports pic.twitter.com/G4Qp0URGbI
Since announcing a commitment date – and, with it, a top five of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon and Texas – Brew has picked up offers from USC, Houston and Georgia. The Buckeyes are still likely the frontrunner for Brew at this point, but in light of the recent offers, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound cornerback wants to do a little more due diligence before shutting his recruitment down.
Four Buckeyes assistant coaches visit five-star 2025 OT Michael Fasusi
Landing at least one premier offensive tackle in the 2025 class is one of Ohio State’s top goals for the current cycle. So it should come as no surprise that four Buckeyes assistant coaches – Justin Frye, Brian Hartline, Keenan Bailey and Corey Dennis, who is expected to remain with the program even though he is no longer the Buckeyes’ quarterbacks coach –stopped in Texas on Thursday to visit five-star prospect Michael Fasusi.
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/zdAhLwswJ4
— Michael Fasusi (@Michael_fasusi7) January 18, 2024
Fasusi is considered the No. 16 player in the country and the No. 2 offensive tackle behind David Sanders Jr., another Ohio State target.
ICYMI
The Alabama transfer portal exodus continued Friday as the No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2024 class, Julian Sayin, announced he’ll transfer from the school. Ohio State and USC are the two schools being connected to Sayin the most, with multiple reports suggesting the Buckeyes could be the frontrunner to land him.
It remains unclear whether Ohio State will ultimately add Sayin. Between Will Howard, Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and Air Noland, the quarterback room in Columbus is already crowded. The Buckeyes’ coaching staff will reportedly meet Saturday and decide whether or not to pursue Sayin, according to 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong.
In the meantime, there’s also a big recruiting weekend underway at OSU with countless priority prospects from the 2025 and 2026 classes on campus. Prospects of note expected in town this weekend include Nate Roberts, Marquise Davis, Carter Lowe and Justin Hill.
