The new Rivals100 is hot off the press and the Buckeyes fared pretty well in this latest update of the recruiting rankings with five commits in the top-100 and a slew of targets among the top players in the class of 2020 according to the list.
As of today, the Buckeyes stand No. 7 in the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings, but points are fluid as this week will see the entire list of recruits get updated and Wednesday promises more movement as the Rivals250 is updated and more tweaks could happen as the week goes on.
That bodes well as the Buckeyes only have nine commits in their class so far, every team above the Buckeyes has at least 11, if not more commits in their class. Ohio State is tied for second in the nation in average star ranking at a 4.0. Clemson leads the nation with a 4.12 ranking and then Ohio State, UGA and LSU all come in at 4.0 (along with Illinois and Kentucky, both schools well off the pace in terms of committed players).
No fanbase is ever going to be 100-percent happy with a recruiting rankings list, even if their entire class was ranked from No. 1 through No. 25 in the nation, there would be someone unhappy with the order that the players were in. But overall, this was a positive update for the Buckeyes as we go through and look at the movement of Ohio State’s commits and some key targets still on the board as Ohio State moves into a heavy month of official visits with the class of 2020.
Yes, Johnson did move down three spots from No. 5 to No. 8, but we are really splitting hairs when we are talking about the top-10 players in the nation. Thomas is still the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation and the Buckeyes are really hoping that the flirtations beyond the program will come to an end over the next handful of weeks.
Ohio State’s newest commit saw a move up by one spot to the No. 11 position, just outside of the top-10. He is still the nation’s top wide receiver and at a high-value position like wide receiver, certainly could end the year well inside of the top-10. Regardless, he is a five-star and a key part of Ohio State’s team ranking.
Scott was a major mover, up 49 spots to No. 50. Ohio State’s commit out of the Pacific Northwest might not get as much attention from some fans as he should. He has had a fantastic offseason and should continue to trend up as the year goes on. It just goes to show how great of a receiver class the coaching staff has put together so far this year and there still seems to be room for more as Ohio State lost three receivers last season and is set to lose several more after this year.
Another receiver and another member of the Rivals100 as Smith-Njigba surpasses his high-water mark of being 195 in the nation last season by climbing up to No. 72 in the nation. We had a chance to check out some summer work of the talented receiver during our Southern Swing and we saw a receiver who just goes out and makes plays and appears to do it all with ease.
Miller fell a few spots in the rankings but still has had a good offseason of work. Despite coming back 24 spots in the Rivals.com rankings, the Buckeyes are still all-in with Miller and see him as a five-star in their own books. Miller is another player that we had a chance to check out during Southern Swing and left impressed with how Miller was able to sling the ball around during a windy day of work.
RELATED: Miller sees Ohio State recruiting starting to heat up
Of course, the Buckeyes are in on many of the nation’s top players and there might be too many to list by only throwing out names of players who are still mentioning Ohio State as a potential school at this point. We will focus on a few of the top players who either have visits planned or are maybe a little further down the path with the Buckeyes than some others.
Ringo has moved up three spots in the rankings and remains in the top-10 nationally. He plans on taking an official visit to Ohio State at some point and while it might be tough to get him out of the south, the Buckeyes have every reason to keep pushing as Ohio State has had a lock on the DBU designation as of late with its success of putting first round corners into the league.
RELATED: Ringo lining up visits
He is really a man of mystery when it comes to his recruitment. He really does not do interviews, but he also is not a big talker when it comes to talking to coaching staffs. Ohio State made a recent list of top schools, but it seems as if the Buckeyes really are in on a list of other top backs at this time. Still worth mentioning as a top-10 player nationally.
Speaking of other running backs, Milton is right there at No. 20, after falling half-a-dozen spots. He just came off of an Ohio State official visit and everything is trending up with this one but there are still some legitimate threats out there in terms of visits and the Buckeyes will have to wait this one out.
The other top-30 back that the Buckeyes are after is Robinson, who moved up 29 spots. He is set to visit Ohio State this month and the Buckeyes will have to hit a home run as it will be Robinson’s first visit on campus while he has seen other places much more.
Henry maintains his spot at No. 45 in the rankings. Henry will be part of Ohio State’s mega-weekend of visits on the 21st of this month and the Buckeyes are hopeful to put that one to bed once and for all after that visit with the talented Ohioan.
The Buckeyes are not done at receiver but with three top-100 receivers already in the fold, especially guys that are already built like Rosemy, is the interest still there? The Buckeyes are going to have to get Rosemy on campus and see where things stand on this one.
RELATED: Could Rosemy be next in line at STA?
Cooper has moved up several spots in the rankings to come in at No. 55. He is a player that the Buckeyes got really hot on as of late and Cooper really is feeling Ohio State too, but he is feeling other schools as well. A fall visit looks like something that could happen, but the Buckeyes are going to have to keep on this one if they want to have any chance.
RELATED: Cooper emerging at a top target
Phillips has slid a couple of spots down to No. 59, but it is really of small consequence when we are talking about a top-75 player nationally. Ohio State will have its opportunity here very soon with an official visit coming and things are trending up for Ohio State to land this talented Californian.
A lot of people don't expect Broughton to leave the state of Texas with the Longhorns appearing to be a favorite, but the Buckeyes have an official visit lined up with the talented defensive end out of Houston. Could a great weekend visit with Larry Johnson and being around the Ohio State program for an extended period of time be enough to put the Buckeyes really in the mix? Time will tell.
Another top player out of the state of Arizona who is set to visit Ohio State in the coming weeks. All of the same issues are there in terms of being able to pull a top kid out of a region where the Buckeyes don’t really recruit all that much in traditional years. Ohio State certainly has a shot here but again, needs to have a great weekend to stay in the game on this one.
Stop us if you have heard this before, another player visiting on the weekend of the 21st. Ohio State has had success at his high school before and things look good for the Buckeyes to add to some thin numbers on the defensive side of the ball in this recruiting class.
There are other players within the top-100 that Ohio State is in touch with and the way that things remain fluid, visits and more could push some of these players up the Ohio State list as time goes on but all-in-all, it shows that the power of Ohio State recruiting has not taken a backseat after the transition from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day.
