3-2-1: Good news on the horizon?

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 a prediction about a key matchup for Ohio State's 2021 football season.

Some of the topics below include a discussion on the newly released Rivals rankings, an update on the recruitment of a 2022 offensive lineman target, speculation on the good news that CJ Hicks recently alluded to, and much more.

1. Ohio State's 2022 class is off the charts

This week was Rivals Rankings Week for the Class of 2022, in which we were shown the updated Rivals250, as well as new position and state rankings for recruits all across the country.

Ohio State absolutely dominated in nearly every major category that counts.

First off, the Buckeyes are tied with Georgia for first when it comes to total five-star commits: three. That is a little deceiving, however, as Ohio State's pledges are ranked significantly higher than the members of UGA's 2022 class.

Ryan Day and his program have the No. 1 overall prospect in Quinn Ewers, the No. 8 junior in Jaheim Singletary and the No. 10 recruit in CJ Hicks; whereas, Keithian Alexander checks in at No. 4, and Gunner Stockton and Tyre West are at No. 15 and No. 16, respectively.

Also, what Ohio State has over Georgia, and every single other college in the country, is that they have the most Rivals250 pledges (eight) at this juncture. The two commits who are not in the Rivals250 are Bennett Christian and Benji Gosnell, who was once a member of the group prior to the December update.

Another aspect of Ohio State's 2022 class that should not go unnoticed is how well they have recruited in each state. According to the new update, the Buckeyes have the top-ranked prospects in the state of Ohio and Texas, as well as the second-ranked junior in Florida.

Out of tOSU's 10 commits, six of them hail from different states, with those being Florida, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. Only Notre Dame has more commits from different states - seven - than the Buckeyes do in this cycle.

Looking at the numbers right now, Day and company are well ahead of their competition, by a significant margin. LSU is second in the Rivals Team Rankings and has as many pledges as Ohio State does, but they are over 400 points behind them.

Georgia (eight total pledges) appears to be the school best suited to challenge the Buckeyes at this time given their trio of five-star commits; even so, it is statistically impossible for them to usurp Ohio State in the rankings with their next two commits.

As it stands right now, tOSU has 1,735 total points, and the average star rating of their 2022 pledges is 4.2. There is still a while to go, and multiple updates that will be made to the rankings, but I like their chances of signing the top-ranked class.

2. Aliou Bah says he's had the "urge to commit" a couple of times

If you go on our front page, the first person that pops up under the "FutureCast 2022 Top Targets" section is offensive lineman Aliou Bah. Bah, a product of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, recently received a FutureCast on his profile page from our own Kevin Noon in favor of the Buckeyes.

He is a name we have heard good things about when it comes to Ohio State's pursuit of him. We know the staff has had success at IMG in previous years, with their most recent signee being defensive back Lejond Cavazos in the 2022 cycle.

They're setting themselves up to be in a good position for Bah, who has yet to narrow down the top eight that he unveiled a couple of months ago. In fact, the top-45 offensive tackle on Rivals has added Alabama, Michigan and Texas to his top group.

Even with such an expansive list, Bah had some interesting things to say when speaking with Rivals recruiting analyst Chad Simmons this week. He said, "I've had the urge to commit at a couple of points," before going on to note that he wants to take his visits first prior to wrapping up his recruitment.

While he did not label any one school as his leader, Bah did mention that the Buckeyes are sticking out to him. Bah told Simmons that Florida State, Michigan State, Ohio State and Texas A&M are the programs doing a "really good job" of recruiting him.

Bah, who reeled in an offer from Day's staff back in August, had this to say when discussing his interest in the Buckeyes.

"Ohio State is a school that has been recruiting me for a long time," Bah said. "I grew up watching them, and there is no doubt they can do it all. They have a great program, they have great coaches and I like their academics too. I talk to coach Stud (Greg Studrawa) a lot, but coach Ryan Day is in the mix and other coaches recruit me too."

There is no question that o-linemen, specifically tackles, are a major necessity for Studrawa and company in this cycle. After signing just a pair of OTs in December, they have already extended offers to over a dozen players at the position, and a couple of in-state recruits could be in line to receive the green light soon.

With the uncertainty regarding some of their top guys, such as Kam Dewberry or Zach Rice, Ohio State would very much be pleased with adding Bah to the fold. The optics of doing so would look good, too, considering the schools that are in play for him, the fact that he plays for a respected team in IMG, and they would once again be making an impact in the Sunshine State, which is a hotbed of talent on a yearly basis.

We'll see what ultimately ends up happening with Bah, but the Buckeyes are in a good position at this time.

3. Kamari Ramsey includes Ohio State in his top five

Speaking of a position group the Buckeyes are prioritizing heavily in this class, they received some good news in their pursuit of a Rivals100 defensive back this past weekend.

California-based target Kamari Ramsey included Ohio State in his top five on Saturday. Also joining them on his list were Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA and USC.

Now, some may view Ramsey as a long shot for multiple reasons.

For one, the Buckeyes have a significant disadvantage as a result of the prolonged dead period. Through no fault of their own, they are unable to host Ramsey, or any other high school prospect, on campus for a visit until June 1, at the earliest.

With so many local schools being in the hunt for his services, Ohio State definitely needs a patient approach from Ramsey in his recruitment for them to have any shot at landing him.

Also, one has to think that if USC wants a local prospect at this point, they are going to get him. The Trojans have been on a tear in recent weeks, and they have one of the best in the business recruiting Ramsey: Donte Williams.

Even though Ohio State will seemingly have a lot of work to do in this one, Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes have not given up on Ramsey. Their pursuit of him, long with tOSU's rich tradition and how they compete for national championships every season, has caught Ramsey's attention.

“They win games. They put people in the league,” Ramsey previously told BuckeyeGrove. “They produce great players that produce in the league. It’s just what they bring to the table. It’s so great. It’s hard to pass up on a school like that.”

If Ramsey does not pan out, then that won't be the end of the world for the Buckeyes. Their other options at safety are Rivals100 prospects Xavier Nwankpa and Zion Branch. Most view Ohio State as the top school, or at least a top-two option, for each of these players.

1. Who was CJ Hicks referring to in our BIA Podcast?

This week, we were fortunate enough to have five-star verbal commit CJ Hicks stop by and join Kevin and I on the "BIA Podcast." If you haven't listened to it, be sure to check it out HERE.

It was a great conversation that featured us talking about Hicks' offseason, what he has been working on, his reaction to keeping his five-star status in the latest update, what he thinks about the future in Columbus, and much more.

We also had the opportunity to talk about Hicks' efforts on the recruiting trail. As most of you all know, Hicks has taken it upon himself, along with some of his other future teammates, to ensure that this 2022 class is the best in Ohio State's history.

The top-ranked outside linebacker on Rivals says he is recruiting the likes of Branch, Nwankpa, Kiyaunta Goodwin, and several other top targets.

What was interesting, however, is that Hicks alluded to some potential "Booms" in the future. He told us that there could be a couple of commitments in the near future, though he did not specify who those players would be.

The first name that comes to mind is obviously Kyion Grayes. Tomorrow, Grayes is slated to begin a multi-day visit to Columbus, and he will be accompanied by his parents on that trip.

Not only does Grayes have a handful of FutureCast predictions in favor of the Buckeyes on his Rivals profile, but he's gone on record saying they are his leader. Grayes reiterated that after receiving an offer from USC, and it would be a shock if he does not wind up in Ohio State's 2022 class sooner rather than later.

Another name Hicks could have been referring to is Bah. We know Bah says he is waiting to take his visits, but maybe the Buckeyes can convince him to join their class now instead of waiting it out and potentially losing a spot if other players decide to commit.

Unless I am missing anyone, I would say that Grayes, followed by Bah, are the ones Hicks was most likely talking about during his appearance on our podcast.

2. What does the 2023 board look like right now?

To answer this question objectively, we do not know exactly what Ohio State's 2023 board looks like at this juncture.

There is still so much time left until the class becomes a priority for them, and they've only offered just over a couple of dozen prospects to this point. Even though we don't have a clear picture of who the definitive No. 1 targets are at each position and who is the biggest priority, we have started to see the offer list take shape recently.

The Buckeyes have dished out offers to a number of sophomore prospects in the past few weeks, so I wanted to outline all of the players they have offered thus far in the 2023 class.

At the quarterback, their only offer to this point is Malachi Nelson. Nelson is likely going to be a five-star prospect whenever our initial 2023 rankings are released.

At running back, the Buckeyes have given the green light to Justice Haynes, Richard Young and Treyaun Webb. Webb, who hails from Jacksonville, Florida, is likely going to be their top target at the position.

Switching over to their pass catching options, Ohio State has dipped into the recruitments of Brandon Inniss, Cormani McClain, Jalen Hale and Joenel Aguero. They also recently extended an offer to Tennessee-based tight end Ty Lockwood.

The Buckeyes have also offered a number of o-linemen: Aidan Leigh, Alex Birchmeier, Chase Bisontis, Clay Wedin, Kadyn Proctor, Payton Kirkland and TJ Shanahan.

Staying in the trenches, their defensive tackles offers at this time are Jaeden Jackson, John Walker and Stantavious Smith. As for strongside defensive end, the Buckeyes have offered Brenan Vernon, Luke Montgomery and Derrick LeBlanc, the first two being perceived as Ohio State leans.

At linebacker, tOSU has given the green light to Anthony Hill and Malik Bryant, who plays for IMG Academy. Going over to the secondary, they are in the mix with Alex Styles, Caleb Downs, Tony Mitchell and Tre Wisner.

The Buckeyes have yet to add a commitment to their 2023 class, so we'll see if they can change that this spring.

Look, I will not be making any predictions that I do not feel confident in.

Since I've already predicted Aliou Bah and Kyion Grayes to wind up with the Buckeyes, I am going with the safest bet possible in this "Bold Prediction."

I'll hopefully have a more bold prediction for next week's edition of 3-2-1, but I could not pass up the opportunity to remind you all of how long it's been since The Team Up North beat Ohio State in football.

The last time it occurred was back on Nov. 26, 2011, exactly 3,379 days ago. For reference, the New York Giants were in the midst of their second Super Bowl season of the century, Luke Fickell was Ohio State's head coach, and former Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields was still in middle school.

It's safe to say it's been a long, long time since the Wolverines beat tOSU, and I don't see them changing their fortunes later this year.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.