3-2-1: New faces on Ohio State's radar in the 2022 class

For the first time since last month, we are back with our 3-2-1 piece, and there's a lot to dissect below.

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 how many commitments we believe the Buckeyes will get in June.

Some of the topics below include a look at Ohio State's 2022 wide receiver recruiting efforts, a quick preview of our upcoming defensive targets breakdown piece, what to make of new offer Dani Dennis-Sutton, and much more.

1. New wide receiver options are on Ohio State's radar

Since our last 3-2-1, a lot has changed when it comes to the landscape of Buckeye wide receiver recruiting.

We've gone from this class being viewed as one with three pass catchers to a class that could feature up to four. A likely part in this development is the decision by Jameson Williams to transfer to Alabama.

Over the past few weeks, one name has surfaced to the top of the "Likeliest Wideout to Commit to Ohio State" list, and his name is Kaleb Brown.

Brown is not a recent addition to the Buckeyes' big board whatsoever; he's been in possession of an offer from the program for over a year. Recently, however, Brian Hartline and the staff have seemingly prioritized him more, and Ohio State is now being viewed as the favorite to land him.

Some, including myself, assume that Brown will be the third wideout in their 2022 class, but it gets tricky when evaluating who could be that fourth player at the position.

Even though it's likelier he winds up in the SEC than at Ohio State, you cannot rule out Kojo Antwi. Fellow Rivals100 target CJ Williams, who we will talk about later, is still in touch with the staff on a regular basis, and is eyeing an official visit to the school in the fall.

If a fourth wideout is added to this class to join Caleb Burton, Kyion Grayes and possibly Brown, then I think it would be someone who is not yet in possession of an offer from the Buckeyes.

Several players, including Darrius Clemons, are still hearing from the staff, but I'm going to focus on a couple who are visiting Columbus next month: Kevin Thomas and Landon Samson.

Starting with Samson, the Texas-based recruit has nearly a dozen offers on the table, with Nebraska being viewed as a standout school to him. He will officially visit the school on June 4, but Samson is also gearing up to camp at Ohio State next month.

Samson, who checks in at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, said that he's been led to believe the staff will give him the green light if he performs well. If that offer is extended, it would be hard to see Samson passing on the opportunity to commit right away.

For one, the Buckeyes would immediately become the biggest offer on his list thus far. Also, being able to play with teammate Quinn Ewers again at the next level may be too good to pass up.

There is no date for when he will camp at Ohio State as he is working on setting that trip up, but don't be surprised if Samson is offered sometime next month.

Switching over to Thomas, I recently spoke with the four-star prospect out of Pennsylvania. Some will say, and I agree, that Thomas is flying a little bit under the radar as he did not have a junior season due to the pandemic.

Hartline and assistant Billy Fessler want to get a chance to evaluate him in person, and will be able to do so next month. Thomas has June 3 as a tentative date for a private workout with them, but may change that due to school obligations.

At 6-foot-3, 203 pounds and an impressive 60-meter hurdle time of 7.83 seconds, Thomas has a solid combination of speed and size, so keep an eye out for him.

It's hard to predict what the full wide receiver class will end up being, but I believe Brown, Burton, Grayes and a new offer is the likeliest outcome.

2. Encouraging news relating to a pair of defensive targets

It's certainly been interesting to follow Shawn Murphy's recruitment.

The five-star prospect had been viewed by myself and others as an Ohio State lean for a long time. 100 percent of the FutureCasts submitted on his profile are still in their favor, but that's mainly due to the fact that no other school has clearly separated themselves from the pack.

When the program had a trio of linebackers committed, however, things between Murphy and the Buckeyes stalled to some extent. The program remained in touch with him, but other linebackers, like Jalon Walker and Jihaad Campbell, were high on their list.

With Walker out of the mix and Campbell not as high on Ohio State as he once was, coupled with Dasan McCullough's flip to Indiana, that opens up the doors for them to focus even more attention on Murphy.

The second-ranked outside linebacker on Rivals.com recently told National Recruiting Analyst Adam Friedman that tOSU remains in his top eight, and also admitted that McCullough's flip "bumps them up a little bit."

“Everything is good with them,” Murphy said. “I have a lot of friends there. It seems like everybody is going there but I try to stay on my own path and do my own thing. The coaches are very knowledgeable, especially coach Al, coach Johnson, and all them."

Murphy is thinking about visiting Columbus the first week of June, so we'll continue to keep close tabs on his recruitment.

The next update on an Ohio State defensive target is about California-based defensive tackle Hero Kanu. Kanu is a native of Germany, and his first season of football in the United States led to his stock skyrocketing in the spring.

The four-star prospect told Rivals.com's Adam Gorney that he is looking to take 10 unofficial visits this summer. Included in his jam-packed itinerary will be trips to Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, and Ohio State.

Not only will Kanu take a trip to Columbus in the summer, but he also intends on returning for an official visit in the fall. The only other official he's looking to take is one to LSU in the fall as well.

It will be worth paying attention to, however, what Oho State's board looks like prior to Kanu taking that official. If they're close to filling up on numbers and have enough defensive linemen committed, then that could play a role in how much, if at all, they're still pursuing him by the time October and November comes around.

3. Preview of defensive breakdown

With Ryan Turner's recent commitment and a new defensive end offer recently, I have held off on my big board breakdown for defensive prospects. I will now release that on Friday, but I wanted to give a little bit of a preview of what's to come.

I recently was able to confirm which defensive recruits the Buckeyes remain in pursuit of, with this confirmation coming after Turner's commitment. I am being told that they are not giving up on cornerbacks in this class despite having three on board, with Austin Jordan, Ephesians Prysock, Jayden Bellamy and Toriano Pride being the names to watch.

Sticking with defensive backs, the safeties to pay attention to are Jake Pope, Kamari Ramsey, Markeith Williams, Xavier Nwankpa and Zion Branch. Sherrod Covil was a name on their radar, but it remains to be seen what will transpire with him as he recently narrowed his options down to four schools, with Ohio State not making the cut.

There are plenty of defensive linemen that remain on their board, and we'll provide as much on the Buckeyes' pursuit of each of them as we can.

1. Will Ohio State land Dani Dennis-Sutton?

This is a difficult question to answer given the fact that Dani Dennis-Sutton reeled in an offer from the Buckeyes back on Monday.

It is very late in the recruiting process for Dennis-Sutton; to put it into some perspective, Penn State offered him as a freshman, and Alabama and Georgia gave him the light in spring 2020. These are the three schools that currently lead the way in his recruitment, so the relationships with their coaching staffs will be tough to beat.

Also, it's important to point out that this is not a similar case as Jaheim Singletary. If you recall, Singletary was a couple of months away from announcing his decision before Ohio State dished out an offer, but the asterisk there is that he was already in contact with the staff for several months prior to the good news being delivered.

Meanwhile, Dennis-Sutton says Monday was his first time speaking with the staff. This is going to be tough to overcome as there is a lot of work to be done to manufacture a strong relationship with him.

I spoke with Dennis-Sutton earlier this week, and he was open about his desire for Ohio State to have dipped into his recruitment sooner. The big takeaway from the conversation, however, was that Dennis-Sutton said it is "not too late" for the Buckeyes to become a contender for his services.

Although Dennis Sutton says he is exploring the possibility of officially visiting Ohio State, the answer I'm going to provide to this question is "no."

I say this primarily because of the relationships he has constructed with the trio of programs mentioned above, and how little time the Buckeyes have to connect with Dennis-Sutton. Remember, the top-25 overall junior in the nation is hoping to commit some time in July, which only gives Larry Johnson and company roughly a couple of months to win him over.

The world of recruiting relies heavily on building bonds with recruits, and this is the main reason why it was so crucial for the dead period to end as soon as possible. A recruit wants to feel comfortable knowing that at the next level, they can trust the coaches to develop them on the field and prepare them for life after football.

So, as long as Dennis-Sutton follows through his game plan to commit in July, I don't see Ohio State landing him.

If he takes his official visit to Columbus and pushes his decision back to the fall, then that makes it interesting. Based off what we are hearing at that time, I may be inclined to give the Buckeyes the edge as that offer may have influenced the delay in his announcement.

You can never rule out Johnson with a top defensive end and Ohio State's recruiting efforts in Maryland has been solid, but I won't feel good about their chances unless Dennis-Sutton pushes back his commitment timeline.

2. Where do things stand with CJ Williams?

For some Buckeye fans, Williams may be viewed in a similar way as five-star prospect Walter Nolen. Yes, both speak highly of Ohio State, but it would be very surprising if either of them are donning the Scarlet and Gray at the next level.

So long as Williams continues to talk about the Buckeyes and there are updates on him, however, then we are going to mention him in stories like these. The latest update on Williams is that after canceling his official visit to Columbus on June 11-13 due to track obligations, the top-three wideout on Rivals.com is aiming to still make his way out to the school this year.

Williams recently spoke with Mike Singer from our Notre Dame site, and had the following to say about Hartline and that official visit.

“I love Coach Hartline and Coach Day," Williams said. "I was looking forward to getting up there and taking my visit and putting some faces to some names. Hopefully I’ll still be able to do that. I definitely think that will be a fall visit for me."

This is just yet another example of what I mentioned above when talking about Dennis-Sutton. Ohio State has two wideouts committed and are likely pursuing four in this class, but Williams is maintaining interest in them, in large part due to the relationships they've established.

At this time, Notre Dame appears to be the one out in front for his services, with Texas, the nearby USC Trojans and others also in the mix. Williams says that until his recruitment is officially wrapped up, Ohio State will be a contender for his services.

"They will play a crucial role once recruiting comes to an end for me," Williams said. "The amount of players they put in the draft recently and the competitors they have in the room will only make me a better football player and person.”

It is unlikely that Williams becomes a Buckeye in college, but he's still on their radar, and will be for the foreseeable future.

I posed a similar bold prediction in my last 3-2-1, but I'm doubling that number after confirming well over a dozen more official visitors since then.

I'm still going with Dallan Hayden as one of the players I believe will commit in June, though I am not as sold on Nwankpa as I was before. After hearing from a source close to him that he may push his announcement to January, I am going with a few other players for this response.

Another recruit I see committing next month would be Aamil Wagner, which is not too much of a surprise. Wagner is close with Ohio State commit and fellow Buckeye Bash 2.0 official visitor CJ Hicks, resides close to the school's campus, and has built up good relationships with the staff dating back to last year, and I think that will culminate in him joining the class next month.

I also think Kaleb Brown could end up committing to the program, but his is a little tricky as the visit is set to conclude on June 27. Part of this bold prediction is saying that he'll make an announcement either that Sunday or Monday, which would be huge as he's a Rivals100 prospect and Michigan was once viewed as the favorite for him.

The final commitment I'll say Ohio State gets next month is from five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau. A lot remains to be seen in his recruitment - particularly how his other trips go - but I believe the Buckeyes will knock this one out of the park and score a huge victory over Alabama to add him to their 2021 class.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.