3-2-1: The Buckeyes are on a roll

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 and basketball 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 2021 cycle.

Some of the topics below include a discussion on a pair of coveted prospects who recently committed to Ohio State, where the Buckeyes' basketball program should go from here and the possibility of Ryan Day's staff expanding their big board.

1. Hancock makes it official with Ohio State

Prior to last Sunday, and still to this day, the Buckeyes' football team had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, and by a significant margin, too.

They were in possession of commitments from 14 members of the Rivals250, and still hold pledges from a trio of five-star prospects. Kerry Coombs and the rest of the staff also had nearly a handful of defensive backs committed in this cycle.

Even with all of this being said, former Clemson commit Jordan Hancock has always been one of the top targets on Ohio State's board, regardless of position.

During his time as a member of the Tigers' 2021 class, Hancock continued to speak with Ryan Day and his assistants on a consistent basis. He also maintained a tight relationship with the commits in Ohio State's class, all of whom welcomed Hancock with open arms when he teamed up with the Buckeyes this past weekend.

Hancock spoke with Rivals recruiting analyst Chad Simmons about what led to this decision. The 12th-ranked cornerback in the country admitted that he got caught up with his visit to Clemson back in early March, and that it was difficult to inform them of his decommitment.

He also referred to this commitment as "way different," and listed the factors about Ohio State that are the most appealing to him.

"With Ohio State, it is just different," Hancock told Simmons. "Since they offered me, they have truly been my No. 1 school. I love the school, the fans, the vision the staff has for me, the chance I have to play early and just the program Ohio State is.

"Making this decision is something I feel great about."

In case there was any doubt or concern from Buckeye Nation, Hancock cleared the air when discussing his recruitment. He mentioned that he is locked in with Ohio State and that he'll be signing with the program in December.

The Buckeyes have 19 total pledges right now, and sit atop the Rivals Team Rankings with 2,885 total points. For comparison, Tennessee has 23 commits, and the school is in second place with 2,304 total points.

2. Malaki Branham is now an Ohio State Buckeye

Chris Holtmann and his staff also recently scored a major victory on the recruiting trail as in-state prospect Malaki Branham announced his commitment to Ohio State on Wednesday.

Although he is from Columbus and the Buckeyes have been making him a priority in this class since Branham was a freshman, he was by no means a guarantee for the program.

Branham possessed offers from Alabama, Louisville, Wake Forest and fellow home state team Xavier. Ohio State had been perceived as the front-runner leading up to his decision, but Branham was also giving a strong look at the Crimson Tide.

Either way, Branham opted to stay close to home at the next level, and broke down his decision with Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Corey Evans. The No. 35 overall prospect in the nation said the combination of the staff's recruiting efforts and his potential in their system sold him on the Buckeyes.

“They didn’t recruit me like an in-state kid. They were slightly annoying in a good way. They never stopped calling and never got too comfortable,” Branham told Rivals.com. “They’ve shown me how I can flourish in their system with my versatility at the guard position. They also believe in my abilities at the highest level.”

Looking at Ohio State's group of 2021 commits, they now hold pledges from Branham, as well as fellow Rivals150 recruits Kalen Etzler and Meechie Johnson. If Branham's ranking holds and he follows through with his commitment, he'll be the highest-rated player that the Buckeyes have signed since D.J. Carton in the 2019 cycle.

To find out who Holtmann and company are getting in Branham, I reached out to Danyelle Love and Trey Woodyard, both of whom have known him since the seventh grade. Love is the program director and coach for Tru Game, which is Branham's AAU team up in Akron, while Woodyard is one of his teammates.

You can read my whole conversation with them HERE, but what really stood out was Love's assessment of Branham. She believes he is already prepared for the collegiate level, and says he's the perfect type of player for any head coach.

"Malaki is the peacemaker," Love said. "He just wants to make his basketball environment as positive as possible. He's definitely a coach's dream on and off the court. He's going to do what it takes to make his situation positive so he can play in a positive surrounding."

Branham is listed as the 7th-ranked small forward on Rivals, but is expected to be a guard when he gets down to Columbus.

3. There is no turning back for Etzler

Sticking with Buckeye basketball, the team's longest-tenured commit in the 2021 class is Convoy, Ohio, product Kalen Etzler. Etzler joined forces with Ohio State last year on May 12, which was only a few days after the program delivered an offer to him.

With a player who has been committed to an in-state college for so long, it is almost essentially a guarantee that they will end up signing with their respective school. Even so, I caught up with Etzler earlier this week to discuss how things have been going with the Buckeyes.

Etzler told me in our conversation that he never had any intentions of decommitting or exploring his options after verbally pledging to Ohio State over a year ago. That continues to be the case, but the Buckeyes are still communicating with him as if he was an uncommitted target.

The top-20 power forward on Rivals says he is consistently in touch with assistant coach Ryan Pedon. During his junior season, Pedon would hit up Eztler before his games and give him encouragement/goals to achieve while on the court.

On top of staying in touch with Pedon and the staff, Etzler is also looking ahead to his future in the scarlet and gray. Etzler, who lists himself currently at 6-foot-8, 180 pounds, thinks the future is bright for the Buckeyes despite the rough patch they went through a season ago.

I'm also hoping to catch up with fellow 2021 commit Meechie Johnson in the near future, so stay tuned for a "Catching up with the commits" edition with him.

1. Is Alabama a legitimate threat to usurp Ohio State in the Rivals Team Rankings?

There is no doubting the fact that Nick Saban and company have been on a roll in recent weeks.

After only having one commitment in the 2021 class entering the spring, the Crimson Tide have added 14 prospects to the fold since mid-April. More specifically, the month of July has been especially impressive for Alabama.

They have hauled in pledges from a half-dozen recruits in July, with five of those being members of the Rivals250. The most noteworthy of these commitments have been top-50 overall rising senior Terrence Ferguson and five-star OL Tommy Brockermeyer.

As things currently stand, Alabama is seventh in the Rivals Team Rankings with 2,001 total points and a 3.87 average star rating. Given the momentum they have on the trail, I view them as the program that has the likeliest chance to take over Ohio State for the top spot in the rankings.

But, how realistic is this possibility for the Crimson Tide?

In my opinion, it's slim to none.

We know that Amarius Mims is the highest-rated prospect they are in legitimate contention for. He's the top-ranked offensive lineman in the country, and is the second-ranked overall player on our network.

Let's say Alabama goes on an absolute tear over the next week and get Mims, as well as fellow five-star targets Maason Smith and Camar Wheaton. Heck, for the purpose of this exercise, I'll say they pull off a highly unlikely flip and get Oklahoma pledge Mario Williams to join up with them, too.

That's four of the top 12 players in the nation that I'm giving to Alabama just to see how the rankings would play out in this scenario.

If this miraculously happens, the Crimson Tide will be sitting at 2,903 points, just 18 points ahead of Ohio State. We also know the Buckeyes figure to be the favorites for Emeka Egbuka, and are also in play for sought after defensive linemen J.T. Tuimoloau and Tyreak Sapp.

So, even in a very, very unlikely situation, Alabama would barely be ahead of Ohio State in the rankings with the same number of pledges. Unless any major decommitments occur, I feel very confident in Ryan Day's program holding off other schools to finish with the top class when it's all said and done.

2. Where does Buckeye Basketball go from here?

With Branham now on board, the question now for Ohio State fans is this: Where to go from here?

Their backcourt is set with Branham and Johnson, and they are done at power forward with Etzler. Now, it appears as if the next step for them will be to wrap up this class with a bonafide big man who can establish a presence in the paint.

To answer the question above, I reached out to Jake Spegal, who will be joining BuckeyeGrove as a basketball analyst in just over a week. Here is what Spegal said when asked if it is a dire need for the Buckeyes to sign a true big man in this class.

"I wouldn't consider it a need, but it's the smart move in my opinion," Spegal said. "With [Ibrahima] Diallo still being a project and losing Kaleb [Wesson] to the draft, I think it would be in their best interest to pursue a 2021 big."

This definitely makes a lot of sense. We knew that Ohio State was going to prioritize the backcourt in this class given the transfers of D.J. Carton and Luther Muhammad, but adding a low-post presence would also be beneficial for the program.

Considering what he mentioned above, Spegal rattled off a few names that the Buckeyes can continue to go after at the center position.

"Some guys I expect them to pursue harder are Chet Holmgren, Efton Reid, Charles Bediako and Frank Kepnang," Spegal said. "They all currently hold offers and I would expect them to get a lot more attention and be more of a priority now that Malaki is a done deal."

I wanted to focus in on Holmgren before wrapping this section up as he's the most notable name out of the centers Spegal listed. Holmgren, the No. 3 overall prospect regardless of position on Rivals, dropped a top seven on June 26 that featured the Buckeyes.

Also making the cut were Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota and North Carolina. National analyst Eric Bossi released an edition of "Ranking the Contenders" on Holmgren a couple of weeks ago, and listed Ohio State at number two on his list behind Gonzaga.

"The Buckeyes are the only other program that Holmgren has officially visited," Bossi wrote. "He and head coach Chris Holtmann appear to have developed a pretty strong relationship and Holmgren has mentioned to Rivals.com in the past that he likes how everything in Columbus revolves around Ohio State. There is great need for a big man on the roster, and Holmgren would have several minutes available if he chooses the Buckeyes."

This would be a massive win if the Buckeyes can pull it off, so we'll certainly be following Holmgren closely, as well as the other centers mentioned above.

Ohio State's football staff offers at least one more 2021 prospect

Last week, Dave and I released two pieces - one on offense and one on defense - that focused on which recruits we believe should be considered as potential offer options for Ohio State.

While I do think they will eventually land Egbuka, and they are sitting in a good spot with Tuimoloau, there are still a lot of uncertainties in this class. As a result, I expect Day and his staff to offer another player in this class before the cycle comes to a finish.

I would lean toward them offering an offensive lineman, and Rivals250 OL Laurence Seymore told me he would have legitimate interest in the Buckeyes if they gave him the green light.

I'm not sure if they would offer any of the prospects we mentioned in the two articles above, but it would make sense for Ohio State to expand their board in case they strike out on some of their top targets.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.