BuckeyeGrove Official Visitor Preview (June 18-20)
Last night, all eyes were on John Glenn Columbus International Airport.
On Thursday night, five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau arrived at the airport to begin his official visit to Ohio State, and was greeted by Ryan Day and several other staff members.
Tuimoloau won’t be the only official visitor in town, however, as four other prospects will take officials to the school this weekend.
Check out BuckeyeGrove’s official visitor preview, and join the conversation at The Horseshoe Lounge.
After Tuimoloau, Dallan Hayden would arguably be viewed by Ohio State’s staff as their second-most important official visitor of the weekend.
The reason for this is that most assume this is a neck-and-neck battle between the Buckeyes and Notre Dame, so it’s imperative for the staff to top Hayden’s most recent official to South Bend. Hayden is also an important visitor as he is likely to commit soon after he makes his way up to Columbus.
Gavin Sawchuk is also a big target for the program, but Hayden is the one they have the best shot at landing at this time. Tony Alford and him stay in touch on a regular basis (Alford actually texted him at the Five-Star Challenge yesterday), Hayden sees a good fit for himself in their offense, and the Buckeyes will get the last visit, which is key.
Hayden will be joined by his father — former Tennessee Volunteers running back Aaron Hayden — on this official, and we’ll be catching up with both of them once it’s concluded.
Venturing up to Columbus as well today are a pair of prospects out of Georgia: Jake Pope and Kojo Antwi.
Starting off with Antwi, the Rivals100 wideout currently has the Buckeyes in his top five. The other programs in the mix are Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and USC.
With Ohio State now having a trio of pass catchers committed in Caleb Burton, Kaleb Brown and Kyion Grayes, however, one has to wonder if this hampers their chances with Antwi. After all, the other finalists in his recruitment have a total of three 2022 wideouts committed combined, so that could absolutely give them a leg up on the Buckeyes.
Anything can happen in the world of recruiting, but this would be a tough pull for Brian Hartline and company.
As for Pope, the Buckeyes continue to have a good shot at landing him despite Kye Stokes’ commitment last month. Pope told us the following shortly after Stokes committed to Ohio State.
“No, it doesn’t,” Pope said when asked if that would affect his interest in the program. “I know what I can do on the field. I’m still planning on visiting as well, so everything is staying the same.”
We’ll be paying close attention to how the dominos fall here as Ohio State is also sitting in a good position with top-60 overall rising seniors Xavier Nwankpa and Zion Branch. Worth noting here is that the Buckeyes are eyeing Pope and Branch to suit up at free safety, while Nwankpa is being eyed for their outside linebacker/safety hybrid role; so, in all likelihood, Nwankpa committing likely wouldn’t impact their pursuit of Branch and Pope.
CJ Hicks, also known as “Captain Buckeye,” is slated to be back in town starting today.
This will mark Hicks’ third time back on Ohio State’s campus in June as he visited the first day of the month, and returned that same weekend.
Even though Hicks is a 2022 commit and Tuimoloau is in the previous class, we know that he will be in the five-star pass rusher’s ear today and tomorrow. Hicks told me on Wednesday that he’s reached out to Tuimoloau and that they have spoken before, but said he’s a reserved person and that Hicks couldn’t get a read on where he’s leaning.
Hicks will also be assisting in the staff’s pursuit of Dallan Hayden. The longtime Ohio State pledge was talking with him during their time at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta this week, and they even jokingly trash talked a little with one another in one-on-one reps.
There is no question that Hicks is one of the Buckeyes’ top ambassadors, and it will be important to have him on his official with several key targets on campus.
Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.