Ohio State’s coaching and personnel staff does as good or better of a job as any in the country at talent evaluation and zeroing in on those high school players early in their careers before they blow up on the national scene.
That is the case again in the Class of 2024, as the first release of the Rivals Top 250 for the cycle is loaded with Ohio State targets – those who have offers and those who are candidates to earn offers in the near future.
Buckeyes Offers In Top 250
The following is a list of every high school prospect with an Ohio State offer who is ranked in the first Rivals Top 250 of the 2024 class in addition to a brief update on a few top targets.
No. 4 overall: Pro-style QB Jadyn Davis
Note: This is “the guy” in this class for Ohio State. I wouldn’t put it in the same “Jadyn Davis or bust” category in the same vein of the 2022 class when it was “Xavier Nwankpa and Zion Branch or bust” at safety. But Davis is the guy the Buckeyes have made clear is their priority No. 1 target at the position. He is planning on a return visit this spring or summer – which will be his fifth overall visit to Columbus. Ohio State is not running away with his recruitment, though. The heat is on for the five-star with Alabama, Georgia and others squarely in the mix.
No. 6: OT Daniel Calhoun
No. 9: S Peyton Woodyard
No. 11: WR Joshisha Trader
No. 13: RB Stacy Gage
No. 14: WR Jeremiah Smith
No. 17: SDE Eddrick Houston
No. 23: OLB Sammy Brown
No. 24: S Myles Graham
No. 28: Pro-style QB Dylan Raiola
No. 30: ATH KJ Bolden
No. 31: RB Jerrick Gibson
Note: Gibson is a four-star running back out of IMG (Fla.) Academy. He is the latest 2024 prospect to receive an Ohio State offer as running backs coach Tony Alford extended it to him on Monday night. The Buckeyes have had a devil of a time trying to crack open the IMG doors but will hope to continue that effort with running backs like Gibson and teammate Stacy Gage (No. 13 in the rankings).
No. 33 RB Anthony Carrie
No. 36: WR Micah Hudson
No. 38: ATH Ryan Pellum
No. 41: OLB Adarius Hayes
No. 44: Pro-style QB Adrian Posse
No. 50: SDE Nigel Smith
No. 52: CB Ellis Robinson
No. 58: TE Brady Prieskorn
No. 59: CB Bryce West
Note: West visited Ohio State for its first spring ball practice and spent a lot of time talking with and walking around with Buckeyes General Manager Mark Pantoni on the field. West is as high of a priority as they come. That much is clear by the fact that Ohio State offered him in the middle of his sophomore year at Cleveland Glenville – a rarity for an-instate prospect. The Buckeyes are hoping to reopen what was once a booming Glenville pipeline, and West is a good bet to be the guy to rekindle it. As difficult as it is to explain – even for a guy who gets paid to explain these sorts of things – he just looks like an Ohio State player.
No. 62: ATH Tavoy Feagin
No. 68: TE Landen Thomas
No. 74: OLB Edwin Spillman
No. 107: OLB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
No. 126: WR Tyseer Denmark
No. 148: CB Marcelles Williams
No. 166: CB Braydon Lee
Note: Not a long update in this space, but you can read about Lee’s first visit to Ohio State over the weekend that we detailed on Monday.
No. 203: WDE Dylan Stewart
On The Radar
Below is a short list of players in the initial Rivals Top 250 who are on the Buckeyes’ radar and who may earn offers down the road.
No. 15 overall: OT Kam Pringle
No. 42: CB Kaleb Beasley
No. 152: SDE Jacob Smith
No. 210: SDE Jerod Smith
No. 248: TE Tayvion Galloway
Notes
Beasley’s stock has skyrocketed over the last year, as the long, 6-foot and 175-pound cornerback has added about 20 pounds over the summer ahead of his sophomore season and during the fall/winter. He did not have a good performance at the Ohio State camp he competed in last summer, but he may return this summer for another shot. He has offers from Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State.
The Smith brothers visited Ohio State for the first time on Tuesday, rolling into Columbus on Monday night before checking out the Buckeyes’ first spring football practice and heading out of town in the afternoon. Both looked physically impressive.
Jacob Smith, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder, is leaner and looks like he has the body of either a pass-rushing defensive end or a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker that would be a good fit in Jim Knowles’ system. Jerod Smith is thicker and looks more like a defensive line prospect at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds – perhaps a defensive tackle more than a defensive end, although he has the capability of playing both spots. Neither of them earned an offer from Ohio State on the visit but could down the road.
Galloway is from nearby Chillicothe, Ohio, and he is rising as one of the country’s most athletic tight end prospects at 6-foot-6, 215 pounds. He has already visited Ohio State and will return this month after earning recent offers from LSU and Michigan. He has a high ceiling and I won’t be surprised to see the Buckeyes offer at some point sooner than later in order to keep the out-of-state programs at bay.
