The Hurry-Up: Four-Star 2025 Running Back Bo Jackson Calls Ohio State Official Visit “Amazing,” DeShawn Stewart Spent Time Peer Recruiting Justin Hill Over the Weekend

By Garrick Hodge on June 3, 2024 at 5:30 pm
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This weekend’s official visit was crucial for Ohio State to get back in the thick of things for 2025 running back Bo Jackson.

Following the four-star in-state running back’s Georgia visit in May, there was worry about a momentum surge from the Bulldogs in Jackson’s recruitment. He left Athens without committing to Georgia, though, and OSU at the very least recaptured some momentum following Jackson's visit this weekend. Though he still plans to make an official visit to Alabama, it might be fair to consider the Buckeyes the favorite for Jackson at this point.

“Overall, it was a great weekend for me and my family,” Jackson told Eleven Warriors. “Spending time with coach Ryan Day, Chip Kelly and Carlos Locklyn were great, but the real highlight with both trips so far was hanging with current players around campus.”

Jackson’s player host was Sam Williams-Dixon, who made quite an impression on the Cleveland product along with JT Tuimoloau.

“Sam hosted me and he loved being there,” Jackson said. “I had a fantastic time with JT Tuimoloau, who hosted a big event at his house.”

With two official visits down and one to go, Jackson could be closing in on a decision. 

“The Georgia visit was amazing, the Ohio State visit was amazing,” Jackson said. “I can’t wait to do the Alabama visit, I’m just going into all of them open with no expectations.” 

More reaction from the weekend’s official visits

In case you missed it, we caught up with wide receiver targets Daylan McCutcheon and Vernell Brown III on Sunday to get their thoughts on their official visits, on which Ohio State impressed both four-star pass-catchers.

RELATED Four-Star 2025 Wide Receiver Daylan McCutcheon Says Ohio State is “Sitting At The Top” of His Recruitment Following His Official Visit

RELATED Four-Star 2025 Wide Receiver Vernell Brown III Says Ohio State “Opened My Eyes” on His Official Visit: “I Really Loved Everything About It”

The Buckeyes moved the needle with four-star Texas linebacker Riley Pettijohn, making his top four released on Saturday which consisted of USC, Texas, Texas A&M and Ohio State. OSU linebacker commit Tarvos Alford hung with Pettijohn for a good chunk of the weekend and did his best to help peer-recruit Pettijohn to join him in Columbus. While Texas will be tough to beat, the Buckeyes impressed Pettijohn enough to give themselves a chance at the top-35 prospect. 

USC, Alabama and Oregon are all battling with OSU for four-star Ohio edge rusher Justin Hill, who has a July 3 commitment date scheduled. Larry Johnson, Jim Knowles and James Laurinaitis all spent time with Hill showcasing him how he’d be developed at Ohio State, and the visit likely put the Buckeyes in good standing with the Winton Woods product.

New Jersey safety commit DeShawn Stewart was back on campus for his official visit and tried to convince Hill to join the Buckeyes’ 2025 class. 

“I spent a lot of time with Justin,” Stewart told Eleven Warriors. “While I was up there, I kept throwing him a couple hints and a couple jokes trying to get him to commit. I think he’s taking his time right now, but he knows (where home) is.” 

Five-star Texas wide receiver Dakorien Moore was back on campus for the third time in two months and was impressed by what Ryan Day, Brian Hartline and Chip Kelly had to offer.

"It was an excellent visit," Moore’s mother Marjahn told 247Sports. "My family and I all agreed. They will be very tough to beat in my eyes because they are just on another level in every way."

The Buckeyes are battling Oregon, Texas and to some degree LSU for Moore’s commitment, but they feel like they’ve got a shot after this weekend. It didn't hurt that fellow Texan Devin Sanchez and his family made a surprise unofficial visit to Columbus to help with Moore's peer recruitment.

Ohio State also hosted a pair of three-star offensive linemen in Kaden Strayhorn and Henry Fenuku. The visit went well for both prospects, both of whom profile as interior offensive linemen in college, but Fenuku is the more likely of the two to end up in Columbus.

OSU hosting first two camps on Wednesday and Thursday

While official visits have rightfully received a large amount of column inches recently, the other big element of the June recruiting period is Ohio State’s high school football camps. Players from the 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 recruiting classes will have the opportunity to work out with Ohio State’s coaches at those camps.

Some prospects in attendance already have offers from the Buckeyes and are on campus to both receive instruction from the staff and visit the university. The majority of recruits attending do not hold OSU offers and are essentially competing for one through individual workouts and one-on-one competition.

OSU will hold two camps this week at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, on Wednesday and Thursday, the first of five one-day camps this month. Ohio State will also host two high school 7-on-7 competitions on June 12 and 18. 

Both of this week’s camps feature plenty of intriguing prospects who are expected to work out in Columbus. Keep in mind that visitor lists for camps can be fluid, as recruits often change plans at the last minute while there are always unexpected standouts who show up.

Neither day is short on talent, but Thursday’s list of attendees particularly stands out. Ohio State tight end commit Nate Roberts will camp at OSU before he starts his unofficial visit over the weekend and five-star defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, the No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class, is also expected to camp with the Buckeyes on Thursday.

A list of some of the prospects we’re expecting to see at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center this week:

Wednesday

Thursday

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