Jacoby is one of Ohio's best

Ohio's class of 2019 looks like it could be a pretty deep one along the offensive line. Mentor product Ryan Jacoby is one of the state's best at the position, with the 6-foot-5, 265-pound prospect already sitting on eight scholarship offers.

"I have Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and then the rest of my offers are from MAC schools," said Jacoby. "I've been in communication with a lot of Big Ten schools."

Jacoby's list of offers should continue to grow with some of the nation's top programs showing interest, including three Big Ten powers.

"I went to games at Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State," he explained. "For Ohio State I went to the Oklahoma game. For Michigan State I went to the Notre Dame game, and for Penn State I went to the Georgia State game."

Ohio State has already offered Jacoby's class of 2019 teammate, defensive end Noah Potter.

"I'm in contact with Ohio State pretty frequently actually," Jacoby said. "I talk to them on the phone every once in a while and text with them almost every day. I love everybody there. They have really good coaches and I'm building good relationships with them."

Penn State is another program keeping a close eye on Jacoby, who could project at numerous spots along the offensive line but starts at left tackle for Mentor.

"I went to a Penn State camp this summer," he recalled. "They told me that they loved my game and that they loved the way I move. When I camped there I only weighed about 240-pounds and so they wanted to see me this season and see how I moved with more weight. Now that I'm at a bigger weight, I'm hoping more offers will start coming in."

With Michigan State, it is a former Buckeye assistant who has been Jacoby's main point of contact.

"I've been in the most contact with coach (Jim) Bollman," he continued. "We text back and forth and wish each other good luck in our games and everything."

Once the recruiting process starts, most prospects hit the reset button and give each program a clean slate. That is true with Jacoby, but he has always had an affinity for the in-state power.

"Of course Ohio State," he said, when asked if he had a childhood favorite. "I just grew up watching them. I guess it's just the winning tradition."

Jacoby's tremendous junior season helped Mentor each the state championship game in Ohio's loaded Division I. Mentor fell to Pickerington Central in the final, but notched a few upsets along the way in making it to Canton.

"As a team we had a tremendous season," he explained. "Everyone stepped up and played up big. We proved a lot of doubters wrong. Nobody expected us to make it as far as we made it. Personally I still have a lot of things that I can fix in my game. I can get bigger and stronger and get better in the run game. My pass protection is pretty solid but I can still keep improving on that too."

Jacoby was a first-team All-Ohio selection this season.