The Hurry-Up: Five-star Offensive Tackle David Sanders Jr. Headlines a Star-studded Official Visitor List for Ohio State As the Buckeyes Host Their Final OV Weekend of the Summer

By Garrick Hodge on June 21, 2024 at 5:30 pm
Jordon Davison and David Sanders Jr.
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Ohio State is in the home stretch of recruiting in June.

The Buckeyes are hosting 13 official visitors on their final official visit weekend of the summer, and it’s arguably the most important recruiting weekend yet for Ohio State.

If nothing else, priority target No. 1 David Sanders Jr. will be back on campus. The five-star North Carolina offensive tackle is making his third trip to campus within the last three months and OSU has as good a chance as any in this recruitment. It’ll be all hands on deck for Justin Frye, Ryan Day and the rest of Ohio State’s coaching staff as they try to secure the commitment of the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country on his final official visit of the summer. With other premier offensive tackles in 2025 connected to the Buckeyes starting to trend elsewhere, Sanders’ recruitment feels a little bit like make-or-break for Frye this cycle. 

The staff won’t be alone recruiting Sanders and will receive help from five-star quarterback commit Tavien St. Clair, fresh off an impressive Elite 11 performance, tight end commit Nate Roberts and offensive tackle commit Carter Lowe, who will be making an unofficial trip to campus. A decision may not be imminent for Sanders, but a successful visit may go a long way toward pushing this across the finish line.

Tim Walton will also be in for a big weekend as he tries to cap off what could be the greatest cornerback recruiting haul in a single class for OSU if he can secure the commitment of five-star 2025 cornerback Dorian Brew. Like Sanders, Walton is going to get a lot of help from current OSU commits coming to campus this weekend, including Devin Sanchez, Na’eem Offord and Faheem Delane, who is returning to campus for a second straight weekend, this time in an unofficial capacity. 

Carlos Locklyn has only been on campus for a few months, but he’ll have won over nearly every OSU fan if the Buckeyes’ coveted three-running back class gets cemented with a commitment from Jordon Davison to pair alongside Bo Jackson and Isaiah West. 

During Sanders’ last visit to OSU in May, two other highly touted prospects and Alabama natives were on that trip: four-star defensive end Zion Grady and defensive tackle Malik Autry. The duo, who have a friendship with fellow Alabama resident Offord, will be getting plenty of attention from Larry Johnson this weekend. 

Fresh off his commitment on Friday, three-star 2025 wideout Bodpegn Miller will be on campus this weekend. A pair of in-state prospects, offensive lineman Jake Cook and tight end Brody Lennon, will also visit Ohio State after picking up offers from the Buckeyes within the last eight days. 

The expected official visitor list for this weekend is as follows: 

Tyler Atkinson visiting Ohio State this weekend

As if the visitor list for this weekend wasn’t marquee enough for you, five-star 2026 linebacker Tyler Atkinson is also on campus this weekend for an unofficial visit.

Atkinson, the first 2026 prospect Ohio State offered, will be back in Columbus for the first time in a while, giving him a crucial opportunity to strengthen the relationship with James Laurinaitis. Ohio State will likely face strong competition from Georgia to land the country’s No. 1 linebacker, but the Buckeyes will have at least a puncher’s chance here.

Social media reaction from Bodpegn Miller’s commitment

As mentioned earlier, the weekend got off to a good start with a commitment from in-state wide receiver Bodpegn Miller. Miller earned his offer Tuesday and the lifelong Buckeye fan decided he didn’t really need to stretch things out much further and shut his recruitment down three days later. 

Following his commitment, social media was abuzz with reactions from OSU staffers and commits following the news. We’ve rounded up some of their tweets below.

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Kurtis Rourke
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