3-2-1: Looking ahead to the future

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 for the 2022 cycle.

Some of the topics below include a discussion on yet another former Buckeye signing a big contract in the NFL, recent offers to over a handful of incoming sophomores and what to make of Ohio State commit C.J. Hick's recent tweet.

1. Another former Buckeye cashes in with an NFL team

For the second consecutive year, an NFL player who once suited up in the Scarlet and Gray has agreed to a contract extension that is worth at least 100 million dollars.

On Tuesday, it was reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Los Angeles Chargers and Joey Bosa came to terms on a five-year, $135 million extension. The key part of this deal is that $102 million of it will be guaranteed, which is an NFL record for a defender.

A year ago, we saw a couple of former Buckeyes cash in big-time with their respective NFL teams as well.

In late July of 2019, Michael Thomas and the New Orleans Saints agreed to a five-year, $100 million contract ($61 million guaranteed), making him the highest-paid wideout in the league. Just over a month later, running back Ezekiel Elliott signed a six-year, $90 million contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys. Since he had two more years on his rookie deal at the time, it ended up coming out to $103 million over eight years, with $50 million guaranteed.

There is no question that Bosa is deserving of this enormous contract. In 51 games with the Chargers, Bosa has recorded 40 sacks, 201 total tackles and has forced six fumbles. He was the 2016 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and has also made it to two Pro bowls.

While his accomplishments in the NFL cannot be overlooked, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson will be sure to let recruits know where Bosa attended college. During his three years in Columbus, two years of which were under Johnson's tutelage, Bosa tallied 26 sacks, 148 total tackles and forced five fumbles.

The contracts that Bosa, Elliott and Thomas have received certainly will be used as a recruiting advantage for the Buckeyes. Shortly after Bosa's contract was announced, the team's official Twitter account posted a previously made edit after Elliott's and Thomas' deals last year, but the second tweet zoomed in on the text that said, "Who's Next?"

Ohio State already has five-star pass rushers Jack Sawyer and Tunmise Adeleye on board, but they're still in the market for another defensive end. The two notable ones are J.T. Tuimoloau and Florida commit Tyreak Sapp, both of whom are top-20 overall prospects on Rivals.

I'm not Nostradamus, but I'm fairly certain Johnson and the staff will emphasize to both players, even their pledges, about the potential for earning large amounts of money as a pro after attending Ohio State. Once San Francisco 49er Nick Bosa gets a deal that should be record-setting, then that will be even more ammunition for the program.

2. 2022 tight end includes Ohio State in his top three

Bennett Christian still has under a year and a half left until he officially signs his Letter of Intent, but made a pretty significant decision in his recruitment this week.

On Wednesday, the three-star tight end in the Class of 2022 unveiled his three finalists: Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee. BuckeyeGrove's Dave Lackford says he gets the vibe that the Volunteers are leading right now, but it's too early for any predictions here.

The reason why UT is a serious contender here is that Christian's father, Bill Christian, played for the program in the late 1970s. He even went on record saying that Tennessee is the team he grew up rooting for.

Christian also does have a tie with Penn State as well as his uncle, Greg, was a Nittany Lion defensive lineman in the 1970s. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder also likes the way PSU utilizes the tight ends in their offense.

While there is no family tie with Ohio State, Christian was high on the school before they offered him on June 2. It's interesting to note that Penn State offered Christian six hours after the Buckeyes gave him the green light, while Tennessee followed up with an offer a day later.

During his conversation with Rivals recruiting analyst Chad Simmons, Christian detailed what led to Ryan Day's program making the cut yesterday.

“Before I got to high school, Ohio State was one of those schools that’s always been high on my list," Christian told Simmons. "Really, [it’s] because Ohio State is just one of those teams that always wins. They’re always going to be up there, near the top. I mean, me and Coach [Kevin] Wilson, Coach [Tim] Hinton and coach [Parker] Fleming have a really good relationship going up there. It’s one of those schools I really see myself fitting in at as a tight end and they’re definitely high on my list for those reasons.”

When detailing the message from Ohio State's staff, Christian has been told that his blocking efforts, to go along with what he does in his team's passing attack, has caught their attention.

“Really, the main thing they like about me is how I’m a really complete tight end," Christian said. "I’m good at everything, with blocking and receiving. That’s really the main thing, feedback, I get from Ohio State.”

There's no commitment timeline here, but the Buckeyes would certainly benefit from an unofficial visit after the dead period ends.

3. There are several early priorities in the 2023 cycle

Over the past seven days, Ohio State's coaching staff has dished out offers to over a handful of rising sophomores.

Shortly before publishing my "3-2-1" last Thursday, offensive linemen prospects Clay Wedin and T.J. Shanahan announced that the Buckeyes had extended offers to them. Both players are based in Florida, and are expected to be two highly rated OL when the 2023 rankings are released.

Then, back on Monday, the program dipped into the recruitments of Aidan Leigh and Joenel Aguero. You may recognize Aidan's last name as he is the brother of Tristan Leigh, one of Ohio State's top remaining targets in the Class of 2021.

The Buckeyes didn't stop there as they offered 6-foot-7, 285-pound o-lineman Payton Kirkland and Derrick LeBlanc just yesterday. Dave Lackford and I recently caught up with three of these recruits, so I will link each article to their name and give a brief rundown of what they told us.

Aguero: A couple of aspects about Ohio State that stands out to Aguero is that they are known for developing players and getting them to the next level, but would also provide opportunities for him academically. Capable of lining up as a wideout or playing in his team's secondary, Aguero sees potential for himself on either side of the ball in Columbus.

It is important to note that while the Buckeyes offered him as a defensive back, that can certainly change over the next three years. Aguero doesn't have a preferred position at the next level, but did say that "'DBU' is crazy over there" in Ohio State, so the school's tradition with DBs is sticking out to him.

Along with the Buckeyes, other notable options on the table for the 6-foot, 180-pounder at this time are Michigan, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee and USC.

Shanahan: Shanahan told Dave that the offer actually went down during a FaceTime call with area recruiter Tony Alford. Alford, who is Ohio State's running backs coach as well, told him and his family that he's looking forward to developing a relationship with them, and that offering him was a "no brainer." Assistant offensive line coach Kennedy Cook has also been in touch with Shanahan.

The product out of Orlando, Florida, has actually camped with the Buckeyes before, and was set to return to Columbus prior to the COVID-19 outbreak shutting down recruiting visits. Florida, Florida State, Miami, Oregon and West Virginia have also given Shanahan the green light thus far.

Wedin: Wedin's resume to this point is extremely impressive as 24 programs have extended offers to him. The most recent ones are Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and USC. Wedin spoke with me after the Buckeyes jumped into the mix, and said he was "very surprised and excited" when Alford and Cook gave him the good news last week.

The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder, who is capable of playing in the interior or exterior of the o-line, highlighted his footwork, flexibility and technique as a few of his top attributes. When discussing Ohio State, Wedin praised them for being a national powerhouse, and also likes the way their o-linemen play. A leader has yet to be named in his recruitment, but Wedin says the Buckeyes are "definitely up there."

1. What should we make of fan capacity potentially being limited to 20 percent?

On Tuesday, Ohio State confirmed it is likely that no more than 20 percent of seats will be filled with fans by the time the season begins. This is definitely disappointing for fans of the Buckeyes and the players, but it was also somewhat expected given the current pandemic.

Since this is a recruiting-themed article, however, I am very much interested in seeing how this decision could potentially impact recruiting visits. More specifically, as I have pondered in past editions of "3-2-1," should there be a maximum number of high school prospects allowed in the stadium on each game day?

In my opinion, given this recent development, I do believe we are heading for such a scenario.

This alone brings up a wide array of questions. How is it determined which prospects would get first priority for each game? Will it be based on seniority or level of priority on the staff's board? Will recruits be allowed to interact with one another, or must they maintain social distancing?

Here's a brief way I could see recruiting visits on game days playing out this fall, if it does occur.

First, there is probably going to be a requirement that each prospect wears a mask, practices social distancing and frequently uses sanitation provided by the school. Secondly, there will most likely be temperature checks for every one prior to entering the facilities. If it's higher than a certain number, then they will be sent home.

Then, during games, you can sit in groups with the parties that you drove to the game with, but each group will have at least six feet of separation between them. Also, I imagine that people attending the games, not just recruits, will need to sign some sort of agreement acknowledging they understand the increased risk of COVID-19 exposure in large group settings.

Finally, I believe there will be limited, if any interactions, between recruits and the coaches/players. Any unnecessary potential exposure to the virus will be avoided, in my opinion.

I don't have answers to every question on this matter, but we are getting awfully close to them needing to be answered.

2. Who is C.J. Hicks referring to?

On top of landing one of the top defenders in the 2022 cycle back on May 1, Ohio State is getting someone who is greatly assisting them with recruiting.

C.J. Hicks out of Kettering, Ohio, is very active on social media about pushing for Buckeye targets to join him at the next level. In fact, the coaching staff has even told him about a few players he should prioritize because of how involved he is with their efforts on the trail.

Last night, the four-star prospect, who has a 6.0 Rivals Rating, hinted at another potential commitment.

The question here is this: Who could Hicks be referring to in this tweet?

I'm in the mindset that it may be a while until another member of the 2021 class joins forces with the Buckeyes. Jordan Hancock was a player we were expecting to pop after he decommitted from Clemson, but there is not a guy right now that I envision committing any time soon.

Targets such as Emeka Egbuka, Jager Burton, Tristan Leigh and Tywone Malone would probably need another visit to Columbus before even thinking about committing, while Oregon pledge Jaylin Davies and five-star defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau have yet to even visit the school.

So, this leads me to believe that Hicks is probably talking about someone in his own class. One of the choices could be Dasan McCullough, who currently has Ohio State in his top ten.

A few minutes after Hicks sent out this tweet, McCullough quote-tweeted it and said, "What if.." with the eyes emoji at the end. This is also not the first time that the two of them have gone back and forth on Twitter, and I even submitted a FutureCast prediction in favor of the Buckeyes a few weeks ago.

While McCullough could be who Hicks was talking about in his post, it is more likely than not that Ohio State would want to get the talented defender on campus before he commits to the program.

Another possibility is that Hicks is talking about in-state linebacker target Gabe Powers. When looking at some of the recent tweets under Hick's post that he has liked, one of them said this, "gabe or dasan.. both are welcomed."

Also, the Buckeyes have been favorited to land Powers for a while now, so he may wind up pulling the trigger earlier than he expected.

Dissecting tweets from high schoolers is never an easy task, but we try our best to do so here at BuckeyeGrove.

Gabe Powers commits to Ohio State

Initially, I was going to make my bold prediction be that the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers will be the two victorious teams in the first night of the NBA Restart. The primary reason for this is that I did not necessarily qualify the prediction I ended up choosing as one that is bold.

Instead, an actual bold prediction in Powers' recruitment would be that he winds up with a team not named The Ohio State Buckeyes. If Ohio State truly wants a top player in their backyard, I'm going to roll with them landing that player nine out of 10 times.

In interest of keeping this article specifically related to football recruiting, however, I decided to make Powers-to-Ohio State as my bold prediction of the week. He has a solid relationship with the coaching staff, his fit in their defensive system would be a seamless transition for him, and he had a productive visit to Columbus last fall.

In my opinion, it's a matter of when, not if, Powers will wind up rewarding the Buckeyes with a commitment.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.