3-2-1: Decisions, decisions, decisions

In this recruiting-themed edition of "3-2-1," which is presented by Infinit Nutrition, BuckeyeGrove takes a look at some of the most recent news relating to Ohio State football recruiting.

Down below, we talk about three things we learned recently, a couple of questions that we still have and dish out one bold prediction regarding a Buckeyes commit.

Some of the topics below include a discussion on Rivals250 OL Jager Burton delaying his commitment date, a 2022 pledge tweeting that his recruitment is shutdown and if the Buckeyes will add yet another five-star prospect from Texas.

1. Jager Burton is delaying his commitment

Rivals250 offensive lineman Jager Burton's tweet on Sunday that he will no longer be committing on Aug. 24 was great news for the Buckeyes' pursuit of him.

Burton has taken one visit to Ohio State, and with uncertainty as to whether or not the dead period will be extended again past July 31, this announcement will give the staff another opportunity to host him on campus.

As long as everything works out and there are no major changes, Burton's first trip to Columbus of 2020 will actually be for an official visit. While speaking with BuckeyeGrove's Dave Lackford earlier this week, Burton mentioned that Ohio State is going to be one of the five OVs he utilizes before he makes a decision.

The other programs guaranteed officials from the eighth-ranked guard in the country are Alabama, Clemson, Kentucky and Oregon. Those colleges, plus Penn State, Texas and the Buckeyes, all reside in Burton's top seven.

This one is definitely going to be a fight until the finish for Ohio State and others due to his close proximity to UK as Burton resides in Lexington. Even with that said, Burton probably would have committed to the Wildcats in a couple of months if that's where he intends on going anyways, but this delay shows he's truly evaluating all of his options.

Burton's recruitment is definitely going to be a wait-and-see situation, and certainly a lot can change in the coming months after each official is wrapped up. Kentucky probably has the slight edge at the moment due to how close he is to the school, but this one is seemingly wide open.

2. LSU gained a commitment from Garrett Dellinger

To no surprise, Garrett Dellinger wound up committing to the LSU Tigers on Wednesday. Dellinger previously had a top four of LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

Now, why am I bringing this up in an Ohio State-themed "3-2-1"? Well, there are a couple of reasons for this section being relevant here.

For one, Dellinger hails from Michigan, so him choosing an out-of-conference program instead of the Wolverines is something the Buckeyes definitely don't have a problem with. Michigan is not a threat to eclipse Ohio State in the rankings, but this decision by Dellinger keeps the large gap between the two schools intact.

Another reason I bring up the Dellinger-to-LSU commitment is that this now paves the way for a guy like Tristan Leigh to receive even more attention from Ohio State's coaches. Greg Studrawa and the rest of the staff will probably continue staying in touch with Dellinger and Alabama pledge J.C. Latham, but Leigh is now unquestionably the top remaining uncommitted offensive tackle target for the Buckeyes.

Leigh has already described his relationships with Studrawa, assistant o-line coach Kennedy Cook and head coach Ryan Day as "really tight." The fourth-ranked OT on Rivals is also close with Paris Johnson, a 2020 signee for the Buckeyes.

I bring up Leigh here not only because of the previous two points, but also due to the fact that Dellinger committed to a school Leigh appears to be leaning toward. A couple of recent predictions from Rivals' recruiting analysts Zach Berry and Sam Spiegelman have come in for Leigh to wind up in Baton Rouge.

Had Dellinger not chosen the Tigers, the program would have no offensive linemen committed in their current class. This definitely may have opened Leigh's eyes even more to the Tigers.

Now, both Ohio State (Ben Christman) and LSU (Dellinger) have a coveted tackle in their class, which somewhat evens the playing field. With Leigh going from a Clemson lean to an LSU lean, the Buckeyes certainly will have an opportunity to sway his opinion yet again.

3. C.J. Hicks is not going anywhere

Ohio State's 2021 class is on track to be one of the top recruiting classes ever, but the program is also off to a good start in next year's cycle.

In April, four-star prospects Jyaire Brown and Tegra Tshabola committed to the school in back-to-back days. There was even more good news with Brown just over a couple of weeks ago as he announced his transfer from Warren Easton — which is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — to Lakota West, a high school that's in West Chester, Ohio.

On Sunday, Ohio State's highest-rated pledge in the 2022 cycle, C.J. Hicks, made an important announcement on Twitter.

"My recruitment is shut down," Hicks tweeted. "Forever a Buckeye!!"

This is great for Day and company as their goal, year in and year out, is to not let top talent in Ohio leave the state to attend another school at the next level. As a result, keeping a guy like Hicks, who fills his Twitter feed with mostly content about the Buckeyes, on board is significant for the staff continuing their momentum from the 2021 class to the 2022 class.

It's not like Hicks does not have a multitude of options to choose where he wants to play in college, either.

The future Rivals100 member is armed with over two dozen offers, including ones from Florida State, Michigan, Penn State and Texas A&M. Hicks has even received offers from Clemson and Oregon since announcing his commitment to Ohio State on May 1.

In Hicks, the Buckeyes are getting not only someone who can be a versatile hybrid safety/linebacker at the next level, but also a person capable of being the leader of next year's class.

The product out of Kettering, Ohio, is consistently retweeting tweets from fellow Ohio State commits, has four-star DB Bobby Taylor on his radar, and is hyping up the potential for the program's 2022 class.

Day's staff will obviously be putting in the work to reel in yet another talented group of high school recruits, but having commits like Hicks in the fold is extremely helpful on the trail.

1. Is Kam Dewberry destined for Ohio State?

Dipping into a state that is a hotbed for high school football talent, such as Texas, is not an easy endeavor. You're usually going to have to go up against the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies, both of whom recruit very well in general.

Ohio State, however, has built up an impressive resume when it comes to courting prospects based in the Lone Star State.

Assuming Donovan Jackson and Tunmise Adeleye sign with them, it will be the third consecutive cycle that the Buckeyes have signed a Rivals100 player from Texas. The program has previously added Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson over the past couple of years.

Led by Studrawa, the school is now attempting to sign yet another five-star prospect out of Texas: Kameron Dewberry.

Dewberry, who is versatile enough to be either a guard or tackle in college, recently spoke with Dave Lackford about his interest level in Ohio State. Based on their conversation, in which Dewberry refers to them as his "dream school" and one of the top schools in the country, you could tell there is a high level of interest on his end.

Even as an incoming junior, Dewberry says he speaks with a trio of Buckeye coaches and has good relationships with them, with those staff members being Cook, Day and Studrawa.

This update led to Dave putting in a FutureCast prediction for Dewberry to Ohio State. I'm trusting his judgement on this one.

There are a lot of things going in the Buckeyes' favor here: Solid contact with the coaches, an admiration for the program since Dewberry was a kid and how both Adeleye and Jackson are recruiting him.

As a rule of thumb, I am always hesitant to make predictions about prospects who are only halfway through their high school careers, but I believe Ohio State ends up with a commitment from Dewberry when it's all said and done.

2. Would Tywone Malone choose baseball over football?

This is a very important question for the Buckeyes.

Tywone Malone is the program's top defensive tackle target in this cycle, but excels on the diamond as well. In fact, despite his high ranking on Rivals, Malone could opt for a future in baseball over football.

This is an interesting dilemma you see play out for athletes every single year. Over a year ago, there was a debate as to whether or not Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray would choose the diamond or gridiron at the professional level.

Murray, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, chose the latter option, and was picked No. 1 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in last year's NFL Draft.

Usually with these situations, however, it is seen with quarterbacks, not defensive tackles like Malone. Think about it — Dan Marino, Jameis Winston, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady and countless other QBs have been selected in the MLB Draft.

Besides a few cases with players at other positions getting picked, it is mainly signal callers who are selected in this draft.

With defensive tackle not being a position where you can make as much money in the NFL compared to being a quarterback, however, this could entice Malone to ultimately choose baseball.

If Malone and his family do believe he has the potential to be a star baseball player, then the benefits are tremendous. Fully guaranteed contracts at the professional level, a dramatically lower risk of suffering major head injuries and playing in a mostly non-contact sport are all appealing aspects of baseball.

From my perspective, I view football as the better option long-term. For one, there are more teams in the NFL than in the MLB and more roster spots per team as well. Also, there are a countless number of examples where players slip through the cracks, go undrafted and ended up contributing with their respective organization.

Baseball, on the other hand, is a different story. Unless you are a sure thing coming out of high school or college, you're going to have to spend a significant amount of time in your club's farm system. Some players never make it out of the minor leagues due to the incredible grind and competition that is present there.

This one remains to be seen, but on top of competing with other top programs for Malone's services, Ohio State will also have to compete with his baseball aspirations and sell him on his potential as a football player.

1. Tunmise Adeleye sticks it out with Ohio State

Yeah, you can say I am cheating with this prediction. After all, it really isn't that bold to say an already committed prospect will wind up signing with the program he is committed to.

I do think, however, that Ohio State fans would have legitimate reasons to be slightly concerned about the status of Adeleye's pledge.

Adeleye was initially slated to take all five of his official visits prior to committing on Aug. 1. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and his inability to check out other schools, the five-star pass rusher decided to move up that date and chose the Buckeyes on April 15.

In this industry, you always have to be weary of early commitments, especially when the recruit could end up taking their officials after joining forces with a program.

Also, once he arrives back at IMG Academy, Adeleye will be roughly two and a half hours away from the University of Florida's campus. The Gators were viewed at one time as the favorite for the third-ranked strongside defensive end on Rivals, and Adeleye told me a few weeks ago that he was still in touch with the staff.

With all this said, however, I expect the Buckeyes to keep Adeleye on board.

Adeleye has labeled Ohio State as his dream school, Larry Johnson produces top pass rushers into the NFL year in and year out, and he won't be afraid to compete against other elite players at his position.

I do think Florida could make a push in his recruitment late, especially with his friend, Kamar Wilcoxson, recently committing to the program, but there has been no indication to me that Adeleye won't be suiting up in the scarlet and grey in college.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.