3-2-1: Taking things up a notch

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 a 2021 commit.

Some of the topics below include an assessment of Gabe Power's commitment to the Buckeyes, what to make of a senior tight end receiving an official offer from the staff and Jordan Hancock's potential new ranking later this month.

1. Gabe Powers is now a member of Ohio State's 2022 class

Prior to this past weekend, the Buckeyes had not received a commitment from a prospect in the 2022 cycle since C.J. Hicks teamed up with the program on May 1.

On Saturday, however, highly coveted linebacker target Gabe Powers opted not to wait any longer in his recruitment and announced his commitment to Ohio State. All four members of the team's 2022 class, the other two being Jyaire Brown and Tegra Tshabola, are from the Buckeye State.

There are multiple factors to analyze when discussing the implications of Powers' pledge to the Buckeyes.

First of all, this decision is just continuing the trend of Ryan Day and his staff setting up a wall around Ohio and convincing top players to stay close to home. As I mentioned above, each of their junior commits are from the state, and they're in a good position with four-star offensive lineman Blake Miller as well.

Also, in this current recruiting cycle, they hold pledges from five of the top six highest-rated prospects in Ohio. This is an extremely impressive feat, especially when taking into account that they've also been successful dipping into enemy territory and luring players from Penn State in this class.

Secondly, Powers' commitment is important because of what he will bring to the Buckeyes when he arrives on campus. Check out what BuckeyeGrove's Dave Lackford had to say about his skill set following Saturday's announcement.

"Ultimately, Powers has the prototypical frame, athletic base, and growth potential as a rising junior that a lot of incoming college freshmen possess," Lackford wrote. "What makes him a potential five star is his speed and quickness in addition to his propensity for violence. It's hard to find a knock on him but there are some aspects of his game that can improve."

This is an exciting player for Ohio State to add to the fold, especially considering the fact that Hicks is already in the fold and the program is looking good for five-star target Shawn Murphy.

The last point I'll mention here is that Powers' decision is even more impactful considering what he told me after his announcement. Powers says his recruitment is over with, and he is completely locked in on making the transition to Columbus in a couple of years.

This is music to Day and his staff's ears. Their top two 2022 commits, in terms of ranking, have now both said they are done with the recruiting process, and are working to add more talented players to the class.

While in the middle of compiling what should go down as one of the best classes ever, the Buckeyes could not have drawn up a better start in next year's cycle.

2. A schedule has been released

Look, I'm not going to get ahead of myself here.

I understand that there are a lot of factors at play right now, and college football will probably not look the same this fall. Players will, and have already started to, opt out, there will unfortunately be individuals who catch COVID-19 and need to miss time, and the all-conference schedule will take some getting used to.

Heck, it's not even a guarantee that college football will have a full season from beginning to end.

For the time being, however, we have a season, and now a schedule. Ohio State will open up on the road against Illinois on Thursday, Sept. 3, followed by their home opener against Rutgers a weekend later, then Purdue (away) and Indiana (home).

Following a bye week the weekend of Oct. 3-4, they will face Nebraska (home), Michigan State (away), Michigan (home) and will have two straight road matchups versus Maryland and Penn State. After another bye, they'll close the regular season off at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 21 against Iowa.

As for any recruiting implications, none have jumped out to me. The biggest factor will be whether prospects are allowed to attend games and what their visits will look like. If recruiting trips are permitted on game days, look for some good news to pop out during or after the weekend Ohio State host players on visits.

The game day atmosphere will not be comparable to what it has been in years past due to limited seating, but seeing the Buckeyes perform well in person in a rivalry game could be impactful for prospects.

While it remains to be seen what those trips look like this fall, I wanted to include this section because we are less than a month away from college football, and I don't believe fans of the sport could be any happier.

3. Ohio State's 2021 commits are continuing to recruit on social media

Now so more than ever, social media has become an instrumental aspect of recruiting.

Prospects go to their individual accounts to post edits they’ve received from schools on their radar, show their interest in a program or even use it as a way to troll fan bases and the media.

One of the most interesting parts of covering different recruits is the way they interact with one another on Twitter, and deciphering their messages is certainly not an easy process.

This was on full display last week as two of the nation’s top linebackers - Barrett Carter and Raesjon Davis - had a public conversation with Ohio State commits Jordan Hancock and TreVeyon Henderson. I normally don’t include tweets in my 3-2-1 articles, but here is their exchange below.

Carter and Henderson went back and forth one more time in the comments, but these tweets give you the gist of the conversation.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting this means that Carter and Davis are going to flip to Ohio State from LSU and Clemson, respectively. The Buckeyes would gladly welcome them in this class, but I wouldn’t say the exchange above means both are Ohio State-bound.

My biggest takeaway here is that the Buckeyes are going to be welcoming some strong leaders into the locker room next year. We know how involved Henderson is with communicating with top targets, and his energy on the trail has been infectious.

Someone who commented under Davis’ tweet as well was Rivals100 OL pledge Ben Christman, who posted the eyes emoji. He’s another person active in Ohio State’s recruiting efforts, and even tried getting several hashtags to trend: #MekaToColumbus and #TristanToColumbus.

Seeing these young men take initiative with a role that isn’t expected of them is an encouraging sign, and I believe this Buckeyes roster will have great chemistry once they all begin their collegiate careers.

1. Are the Buckeyes going to aggressively pursue Jordan Dingle?

Aug. 1, when official offers start going out, is a crucial day for high school football prospects as it allows these players an opportunity to see which programs are truly invested in them and want them to join the team.

Conversely, however, it also gives recruits a chance to eliminate colleges because they may have received an offer from them early in their recruitments, but they could not commit to the school without an official offer.

That is why it was somewhat surprising to see that the Buckeyes extended an official offer to Jordan Dingle this past Saturday. Dingle, who is tabbed as the 17th-ranked tight end on Rivals, reeled in an offer from Day's staff in June 2019, and last weekend's news confirms there is still interest here.

Dave Lackford wrote about Dingle and Ohio State's pursuit of him back in June, but there were some question marks here after Hudson Wolfe committed to Tennessee. With Sam Hart already on board and their top TE target committed elsewhere, it remained to be seen if tight ends coach Kevin Wilson would continue recruiting at the position in this cycle.

We now have those questions answered, at least temporarily that is. I say this because there is one question I still have: How hard will the Buckeyes push for Dingle?

I'm going to be reaching out to him soon, but I would like to hear how much contact he is having with Wilson and company. Also, I want to know where the Buckeyes rank amongst some of the other options that Dingle has on the table.

At this time, Dave views Vanderbilt as the likeliest option for Dingle, who is placing a heavy emphasis on his education. With Commodores head coach Derek Mason on the hot seat, however, this one is not yet a guarantee.

As a result, Ohio State could become a serious contender for the Kentucky-based prospect down the line, so we'll be following his recruitment closely.

2. Will Aidan Leigh's offer from Ohio State impact Tristan Leigh's interest in the program?

Last week, sophomore prospect Aidan Leigh revealed on Twitter that Ohio State became the second school to dish out an offer to him in his recruitment. That was followed up on the same day with an offer from LSU, and Florida also jumped into the mix a few days later.

Those offers from the Buckeyes and Tigers, however, are the ones to pay attention to. Following the good news, Rivals100 OT Tristan Leigh quote-tweeted his young brother's post about Ohio State, saying, "This the move lil broo??" with the caption #GoBuckeyes. The elder Leigh made sure to spread the wealth with LSU as well, saying, "How we movinnn bro?" with the caption #GueaxTigers.

As I mentioned in a previous section, interpreting what high schoolers post on social media is a difficult task, and I won't claim to be an expert in doing so.

What I'm more interested in, however, is seeing how Ohio State's offer to Aidan could impact Tristan's thoughts on the school. Maryland was Aidan's first offer, but the Buckeyes are the first major powerhouse program to have taken a chance on him.

Also, out of the five finalists Tristan is down to, Ohio State and LSU are the only ones to have given the green light to Aidan so far. If what Aidan said to me last week is in legitimate consideration for him and his brother, last week's news could be something to pay attention to.

"Oh yeah, all the time," Leigh previously told me when asked if they've discussed going to the same school. "Our age, even though we're two years apart, we don't really get that chance to play together. We've been discussing playing together ever since he got his first offer. He pushed me to literally get my own. Ever since we've been in love with football, we've always thought about playing with each other. Playing with each other in college would be the greatest thing ever."

The Tigers definitely appear to have the edge right now, but Tristan's willingness to approach his recruitment with impressive patience benefits Ohio State and other colleges that are perceived to be trailing LSU.

Jordan Hancock will jump into the Rivals100

I was hoping to get some inside knowledge here on the rankings, but I have nothing to report for right now. When Sunday's Skull Session arrives on Sunday, however, I should have some information about where Ohio State's commits are trending in terms of their rankings.

So, for the purpose of this section, I will make this purely a guess based on what I've heard in the past and what I've seen on film: Jordan Hancock will be in the Rivals100 when the Class of 2021 rankings are dropped.

In my opinion, this is somewhat overdue, and I believe Hancock has a good case to be considered a top-five cornerback on Rivals. I don't know if that last statement will transpire soon, but I see him making the tremendous leap of jumping over 42 spots to reside in our top 100 this month.

Since he recently announced that he will not be playing this year, however, I will not predict that he will finish in the Rivals100 when the final rankings are released next year. Hancock not playing shouldn't hurt his stock, necessarily, but it could give other prospects a chance to leapfrog him if they put together stellar seasons.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.