OSU commits and targets who are five-stars in the latest rankings update

For the first time since August, Rivals is gearing up to unveil a full list of updated rankings for prospects in the 2021 and 2022 cycles. This was definitely a difficult evaluation process as some recruits played this year while others did not have a chance to because they either opted out or their states ruled against the sport being played in the fall.

On Monday, we started to roll out Rivals Rankings Week with a new group of 26 five-star recruits.

Kyle McCord was close to elevating himself to five-star status, but a pair of Ohio State commits were able to stay close to their previous ranking. BuckeyeGrove also takes a look at where a trio of targets check in, and what's the latest with their recruitments.

During a time when it was unclear whether or not there would be high school football in Ohio, Jack Sawyer chose to opt out of his senior season.

Sawyer has been focused on training behind the scenes to be prepared for when he eventually enrolls at Ohio State in January, but that decision did not cost him too many spots in his Rivals ranking. The elite pass rusher dropped just four spots to No. 12 overall in our latest update.

For a program that is known for developing defensive ends and getting them to the NFL as high first-round draft picks, Sawyer is another prospect who has superstar potential at the collegiate level. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder is an excellent edge rusher, and he is incredibly athletic for the position he plays.

Sawyer has been compared to the Bosa Brothers, but will likely finish with a higher ranking than each of them. Nick Bosa was No. 47 overall in the final rankings, while Joey ended up at No. 21.

It is a shame that Sawyer was not able to showcase his talents this fall as I believe he could have been a candidate for the No. 1 spot on Rivals.

Sawyer opted not to play this year, but Jackson had a chance to put together a highlight reel that was nearly six minutes long.

As a result, Jackson elevated himself from No. 16 to No. 13 on our rankings service, which is a three-spot rise.

Jackson, who cannot enroll in January because the school he attends won't let him graduate early, looked very impressive in his senior campaign. Our own Andy Anders had this to share when doing a comprehensive breakdown of Jackson's film.

"Jackson stands at an imposing 6-foot-4, 295 pounds, a weight I had trouble believing when I looked up because he has incredible feet at offensive guard," Anders wrote. "On blocks, his legs revolve faster than a cold car engine, constantly chopping at considerable speed. This is a great sign of an elite line prospect. Such footspeed helps for blocks that aren’t head on, pass blocking and blocks in space."

Combined with the high ceilings of Ben Christman and Zen Michalski, Ohio State has recruited a solid trio of offensive linemen in the 2021 cycle.

J.T. Tuimoloau is admittedly one of the hardest players to evaluate in general. The Washington-based prospect works out a lot and is always training, but he does not attend too many national camps and plays 7-on-7 as a tight end, not a defensive end.

Throw in the fact that Tuimoloau did not get to play this year as there is no high school football in Washington in 2020, and it makes that evaluation process even more difficult.

Even so, Tuimoloau only fell two spots from his previous ranking of No. 4 overall.

Tuimoloau is an all-around athlete who also possesses Division 1 offers from multiple basketball programs, and can play both offense and defense. I've said in the past that he could easily be a top-10, if not a top-5, tight end in this class if that's where he focused all of his attention.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder is a high jumper and can knock down passes at the line of scrimmage, is too quick for opposing offensive linemen, makes his way into the backfield with ease and does not allow any players to evade him in the open field. Watching his film, he certainly could have been in contention for the top spot in the latest rankings update had he been able to play this year.

As for his recruitment, Tuimoloau has a top seven of Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC and Washington. No visits have currently been scheduled by Tuimoloau, who is slated to sign in February.

No change for Egbuka in the new rankings as he continues to stay at No. 11 overall.

Unlike Tuimoloau, however, Egbuka was evaluated in person, even though he did not get to play high school football this year. The top-ranked wide receiver in the country is definitely the most well-rounded pass catcher in his class.

Egbuka is one of, if not, the top wide receivers in the nation when it comes to his route-running ability. Egbuka makes shifty moves and cuts in his routes, but never loses his balance because of his body control. The product out of Steilacoom, Washington, also has stellar hands and can snag low passes or high-point the ball as well.

In Egbuka, you are getting a player who probably fits better in the slot, but is more than capable of doing damage when lined up on the outside. He's not going to burn you with his speed, though his crisp route running allows him to create separation wherever you line him up.

Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington are the final schools in the mix for Egbuka, as we reported earlier this week. The goal is for him to announce his final decision on Dec. 16, which is the beginning of Early Signing Period.

Leigh also did not get to play in his senior season due to concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak. He's still in the top-20 on Rivals, however, as he checks in at No. 17 overall in our latest update.

It's easy to see why Leigh, who gave up no sacks in his junior season, only slipped a couple of spots. The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder was in a primarily run-based offense, but he got out of his stance quickly, initiated contact with his opponent and did not get driven back in the passing situations I saw from him on his 2019 highlight reel.

When his team ran the ball, Leigh showed off impressive speed for a person his size and got to the next level fast enough to block defenders to create an open lane for his running back. From what I saw, it's clear to me that Leigh could easily slide into the inside and play guard if he's required to in college.

As for where Leigh will end up at the collegiate level, that's not quite clear yet. He recently made it official on Twitter that Jan. 2 will be the date that he announces his commitment, but LSU and Oklahoma are still fighting hard for his services.

Leigh did say a couple of weeks ago that Ohio State is a "serious contender" for him, though it's more likely than not that he will end up in Baton Rouge or Norman over the other schools in his top six when it's all said and done.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.