3-2-1: Making progress with some targets, but losing ground on others

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.

Some of the topics below include new developments when it comes to defensive line recruiting, a couple of updates on a pair of wideouts in the 2022 cycle, the Buckeye Bash and much more.

1. Tywone Malone is off the board, for now

Tywone Malone has been one of the top 2021 targets for the Buckeyes for quite some time, but he officially eliminated the program from his list of contenders on Monday.

Malone's top six features Florida State, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC, with all of those schools residing in different states. Given the current state of each football program for these finalists, it's clear to see that baseball played a huge factor in this decision.

I had previously been told that whoever does the best job of recruiting Malone in both baseball and football had a great shot at landing him. We know that Larry Johnson and the rest of Ryan Day's staff did their part, but Greg Beals' staff did not have that same level of interest in Malone.

This is a tough blow as a lot of time was put into recruiting Malone, but forces out of their control led to Ohio State missing the cut earlier this week.

Now, this is not to say that the Buckeyes are 100 percent out of this one. Maybe Beals and company take another look at his film and starts to contact him on a regular basis, which could put the school back in the mix. Even though Ohio State's baseball team is not an elite program, they are not a dumpster fire, either, and recently had a competitive season.

But, for now, Day and the staff will have to either look elsewhere at defensive tackle, or put all of their focus into pursuing five-star J.T. Tuimoloau when it comes to d-line recruiting.

I've mentioned Alabama pledge Damon Payne and Maryland commit Marcus Bradley as a couple of flip options they could consider. With Michael Hall and Tyleik Williams on board, however, the Buckeyes could just call it a day with their DT recruiting in this class.

2. Ohio State is one of J.T. Tuimoloau's seven finalists

While Malone's top schools list did not go the way they were hoping for it to, Ohio State did recently receive good news from the other coveted d-lineman on their radar.

Last Thursday, a few hours after I published my "3-2-1," Tuimoloau sent out his first tweet since April. That tweet featured a graphic with his top seven, which had Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC and Washington in it.

The major surprise and takeaway here is how expansive this list is. I was more expecting a top four or top five, and schools like Michigan and USC making it were somewhat surprising.

With each of these schools residing in different states, Tuimoloau is going to have to do a lot of traveling if his intentions are to sign in December. A likely scenario would be to take a visit to the Midwest to check out Michigan and Ohio State, a separate plane flight to Oklahoma and a road trip to down to USC's campus, which would allow him to see Oregon along the way.

Tuimoloau is nearly impossible to reach to conduct interviews, so I have been unable to get ahold of him just yet. Some of the biggest questions are if he will be signing in December or NSD, when does he want to take his visits and what he's looking for the most in a program.

Ohio State has been viewed as the favorite for quite some time here, but I have yet to make a FutureCast prediction because of how close to the vest Tuimoloau is keeping things.

Could Oklahoma be a real contender if fellow Washington native Emeka Egbuka's interest starts to rise in the school? How appealing is Alabama considering the amount of national championships they have won in this century? As his recruitment gets closer to concluding, could Tuimoloau decide he wants to stay closer to home near his family at the next level?

These uncertainties have been why I am not saying Tuimoloau is a shoo-in for the Buckeyes. Either way, I give them a slight edge right now, but he needs to take a visit to the school at some point over these next few months.

3. Top-30 overall junior includes the Buckeyes in his top 12

It has certainly been an important past few days for top upperclassmen prospects as junior wideout Caleb Burton unveiled his top 12 on Tuesday.

Ohio State made the cut for the fifth-ranked wideout in the 2022 cycle, along with Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford, Texas and USC.

I never read too much into these big lists, unless of course the program I am covering does not make the cut.

Although the Buckeyes are one of 12 teams in the final group for Burton, they may be a little bit higher than some of the programs in the mix for his services. Ohio State has been a favorite of Burton's well before the program dished out an offer to him in March.

"Even as a little kid, I grew up watching and knowing about Ohio State," Burton previously told Rivals' Sam Spiegelman. "Coach (Brian) Hartline, what he does with the wide receivers is really great. He played in the league, so I like talking to Coach because he's been through it all. I was super excited when Ohio State offered because I've been looking forward to that one for a while."

Hartline and the staff have offered just four wideouts who are members of next year's class. One of those, Luther Burden, is trending to Oklahoma at this time with a decision date potentially around the corner.

With Burden possibly committing to the Sooners soon, this places a greater emphasis on a guy like Burton. It also opens up the door for Utah-based wideout Darrius Clemons to be in line for an offer from the program.

1. Who is going to be in attendance for the Buckeye Bash?

We are still collecting information on the recruiting summit that will be hosted by Ohio State's commits on Oct. 24. We know of a half-dozen pledges who are attending and that Jack Sawyer will be hosting it at his house, but there are still some details we are gathering.

The most important one will be which targets are going to be at the Buckeye Bash in just over a couple of weeks.

My most recent conversation with Laura Rigney, mother of five-star OT Tristan Leigh, indicated to me that they are looking to be in attendance. She says they need to have a conversation about it, but assumes they'll be in Columbus for that weekend.

The other key names to watch out for will be Derrick Davis, Emeka Egbuka and J.T. Tuimoloau. I would throw Jager Burton in this group, but he seems all locked in with Kentucky at this time.

As for Davis, this would be a big visit as he recently said on a podcast that a decision could arrive on Nov. 14. This is not penciled in stone, but it is close to the day his father told me last month he would be making his decision.

Davis has ties to Ohio and has visited the campus numerous times, so another visit could give the Buckeyes the momentum they need in his recruitment.

With Egbuka, the top-ranked wideout on Rivals has been to Ohio State a couple of times, with both of those trips occurring in 2019. A third visit could all but seal the deal if if it goes well.

Oklahoma may be the Buckeyes' top competitor here, and for good reason. The program's offense is wide receiver-friendly, with them producing first-round picks at the position in back-to-back NFL Drafts.

In my opinion, however, Ohio State should be seen as the favorites for Egbuka unless something drastically changes in his recruiting process.

The biggest prospect that the Buckeyes would want to attend this event would almost undoubtedly be Tuimoloau. I don't see him committing if the visit goes really well, but he needs to make the trip out to Columbus and see the campus at least once before making his final decision.

We'll have more information on this event in the next couple of Skull Sessions, so stay tuned.

2. Does Ohio State have any shot with Luther Burden?

Shortly before publishing this article, five-star junior pass catcher Luther Burden revealed something interesting on Twitter.

Burden sent out a tweet that simply said, "big news maybe tomorrow" with the eye-looking emoji. This comes a couple of weeks after he deleted an Instagram post where he hinted at an upcoming decision.

If Burden winds up committing tomorrow, which certainly appears to be the case, then I am going with Oklahoma. Kevin Noon and I have already submitted a FutureCast prediction in favor of the Sooners as well.

This is certainly a weird time to announce a commitment to OU, assuming that happens.

For one, Burden just released his top five back on Sept. 19. I've been covering recruiting for several years, and you really don't see commitments shortly after these types of lists are dropped.

For another, Oklahoma has lost back-to-back games against teams they should have beaten (Kansas State and Iowa State). Their offense is certainly inviting for elite pass catchers, but committing to a program that is reeling at this time would certainly be an odd choice.

If Burden does commit to Oklahoma tomorrow, the other offered 2022 wideouts Ohio State will focus their attention on are Burton, Armani Winfield and C.J. Williams. Like I mentioned above, Clemons could also receive the green light if Burden teams up with the Sooners.

This is definitely one of my most bold predictions yet, but I just envision this happening.

I do believe Tristan Leigh and his family will get up to Columbus for the recruiting summit, so that's one five-star prospect right there. His mother has told me in the past that they were just waiting for a commit-organized event to occur before they return to the school, so this would be a perfect opportunity to do so.

Egbuka and Tuimoloau, the other two five-star targets for the Buckeyes, also are not playing football at this time. With their schedules seemingly free, I see at least one of them getting out to the Buckeye State on Oct. 24.

A lot remains to be seen here, but I think a couple of five-stars will end up making their way to Ohio State in a couple of weeks, which would be a significant victory for the program's recruiting efforts in this cycle.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.