Although the past few weeks have featured a trio of departures from the 2022 class (a pair of decommitments and a reclassification), Ohio State is hoping to receive some good news in the near future.

We say that as Rivals100 tight end Ty Lockwood, arguably their top junior target at the position, is slated to commit on Thursday.

In this edition of BuckeyeGrove’s Recruiting Roundtable, Carson MacRae and Joseph Hastings share their predictions for where they think Lockwood will land. They also dish out their thoughts on the new Rivals.com rankings and which 2022 defensive lineman target they think is the likeliest to commit to Ohio State.

MacRae: If you have been tracking the FutureCasts, you will know I have Ty Lockwood joining the Buckeyes tomorrow at (Kevin) noon. I actually put in my FutureCast last week for him to join the Buckeyes after being tipped off by a very good source close to the family.

The source has been someone who has been involved with his recruitment and said that Lockwood is all Buckeyes and if he was to pick anyone else it would be Florida State. However, the source also explained the decommitment of Benji Gosnell helped Ohio State’s staff press for a commitment from Lockwood.

With there only being one TE in the class ahead of Lockwood (Bennett Christian), the staff was able to show him a pathway where he can get on the field early. They also explained they do not feel at this point in time that they are even exploring adding another TE to this class.

Ultimately, with Lockwood having an amazing visit to Columbus and stating his best relationship has been with Kevin Wilson, I just do not see any way he does not pick the Buckeyes tomorrow.

Hastings: In my opinion, it is imperative that the Buckeyes land a commitment from Lockwood on Thursday for multiple reasons.

One of them is that the program needs to get things going in the Class of 2023. Ohio State had five 2022 commits by this time last year, so having none thus far in their 2023 class is a little bit surprising, but the extended dead period as a result of COVID-19 definitely has played a role here.

Lockwood would give the Buckeyes an incoming junior to represent their program and push for his peers to follow him to Columbus at the next level.

Another reason why Ohio State needs to get Lockwood on board is that recent changes with their tight end situation increases the need to add a pair of players at the position in next year’s recruiting cycle.

Benji Gosnell decommitting has left questions as to whether they’ll pursue another TE to go alongside Bennett Christian, recruit two for the 2023 class, or both. Either way, the Buckeyes getting Lockwood on board would be a key victory as they’ll now be able to focus more of their attention on guys like Mathias Barnwell, Preston Zinter and others.

With all this being said, I envision Ohio State receiving a commitment from Lockwood tomorrow. The ninth-ranked tight end in the nation was beyond impressed with both visits to Columbus this summer, sees opportunity for himself under Kevin Wilson’s tutelage, and likes the direction that the program is heading in.

I’ll also note that when comparing the Buckeyes to his other finalists – Florida State, Penn State and South Carolina – there’s no question that they are the team in the best position to win a championship in the foreseeable future.

Getting an Ohio-based prospect in the class first seems to be the norm for the Buckeyes, but they’ll more than welcome a top-100 overall player in the country who they’re hoping will jumpstart recruiting in the 2023 class.

MacRae: Personally, I believe the rankings are much more accurate. The biggest name I had an eye on was Xavier Nwankpa. Nwankpa rose from the No. 35 player nationally to No. 14. I think this is a much more accurate ranking for the coveted safety out of Iowa.

That is not the only Ohio State target we saw rise up the ranks as DE target Kenyatta Jackson got a nice little bump from No. 86 to No. 79 nationally. This is one I have been keeping an eye on as I submitted my FutureCast roughly two months ago for Jackson to end up in this Ohio State class. I’m sticking with my prediction here and like the boost he got in the rankings.

As well, a current Buckeye commit got some respect that he definitely deserved. Terrance Brooks saw his rankings rise from No. 48 to the No. 34 player in the country. Well deserved, too, and I happen to think this senior season we could see Brooks rise even higher as his high school team is set to have a major year. Often when schools perform well, it means the top players are showing out, and Brooks is one of the major focal points of their defense.

Overall, I thought the rankings had a few Buckeyes commits falling and I may disagree with a couple but, for the most part, the rankings did not mix up too much.

Hastings: The first big takeaway that I have from the updated rankings is that Ohio State still has a solid 2022 class despite all of their recent losses. Even with the No. 1 and No. 5 overall players in the country no longer in the class, as well as a decommitment from four-star Benji Gosnell, their current commits are still highly regarded.

11 of the Buckeyes’ 14 commits are members of the Rivals250, with five of them being in the Rivals100. Kyion Grayes (plus 17), Terrance Brooks (plus 14) and Tegra Tshabola (plus 7) each received nice bumps in the new update.

I definitely was a little bit surprised that running back pledge Dallan Hayden dropped 68 spots as I thought he had a solid performance at the Five-Star Challenge in June. The good news, however, is that with a good senior season (he rushed for 2,000 yards last year), Hayden could quickly rise in the rankings.

Overall, Ohio State remains just four four-star commits away from overtaking Notre Dame for the top spot in the Rivals Team Rankings, so this class could absolutely still finish No. 1 even with all of the recent departures.

As for where the Buckeyes’ targets stand, I am not surprised that Xavier Nwankpa rose all the way up to five-star status. Nwankpa combines powerful hitting with great ball skills that makes him a dynamic prospect, with Adam Gorney writing the following about his rankings bump.

“Xavier Nwankpa has moved to the No. 1 safety in the country after seeing him perform at The Opening, but also after having incredible junior film where the new five-star shows off excellent ball skills and a physical nature that is really special,” Gorney wrote. “The Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk standout, who has Ohio State, Notre Dame and Iowa highest on his list, covers like a cornerback and hits like a linebacker. That’s rare.”

Nwankpa’s move was the one that stood out the most when it comes to targets, but we also took notice of Kiyaunta Goodwin (plus seven), Omari Abor (plus 18) and Kenyatta Jackson (plus seven) rising up the rankings as well.

In my opinion, Abor and Goodwin are a couple of players I can see potentially knocking on the door of five-star status before it’s all said and done. Goodwin’s continued body transformation and training in the offseason could lead to a dominant senior season, and Abor’s unique combination of speed and strength may result in him filling up the stat sheet in the fall.

You can see where all of Ohio State’s commits and targets stand in the updated Rivals250 HERE.

MacRae: Personally, as strong as I feel about Kenyatta Jackson joining the 2022 class, I feel even more confident in the Buckeyes chances to close out on Caden Curry. I constantly am checking in with other insiders on a variety of prospects to see how they feel about certain players and how staff of other programs feel.

The biggest takeaway I have from checking in on all of Ohio State’s targets in the 2022 class is that no staff recruiting against the program feels confident in their chances to beat out the Buckeyes.

The one who I think the Buckeyes should be most worried about is Alabama here and even my source there feels that they are essentially too far off in this one to make a late push. Even if Curry were to delay this as long as J.T. Tuimoloau’s recruitment was, there is not one staff out there who believes they could convince him to head another direction.

It almost seems as destined as the Tuimoloau recruitment was for him to end a Buckeye. If I could give a confidence level in the Buckeyes chances to land Curry, I would have it at a 9/10. I can definitely say I do not give out that rating lightly either as I’d give a guy like Kenyatta Jackson a 6/10 to become a Buckeye who I feel strongly about.

I think when this one is all said and done, this class could be one of Larry Johnson’s best defensive line hauls. However, it will not be at the level of 2021 class but still a fabulous DL class to say the least.

Hastings: I was torn between Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson for this response.

On one hand, everything Jackson’s father told me a couple of weeks ago indicates that Ohio State may have a step up in his son’s recruitment. The presence of Larry Johnson, a second great visit to the school in as many months, and the overall culture in Columbus is appealing to Jackson.

Not only that, but his dad wants his son to learn from not only Johnson the coach, but Johnson the man. He feels very comfortable with sending Kenyatta out of state for the next three-to-five years and trusting that he’ll be in good hands during his college career.

Also, when evaluating the two prospects’ recruitments, the indication to me has been that Jackson is likely closer to wrapping everything up than Curry is. A commitment from Jackson could be around the corner, while Curry is likely going to wait to take all five of his officials before deciding.

In the end, however, I’m going with Curry as I don’t think there’s a number two school in his recruitment that’s as close to Ohio State as Oklahoma is with the program in the Jackson Sweepstakes.

The Buckeyes program presents an opportunity for Curry to be on a national championship contending team that is just a few hours from his home. Johnson’s development of defensive linemen is high on Curry’s radar, and the d-line coach’s willingness to rotate young players in and out is an appealing option.

It may take a while for Curry to decide, but Ohio State has everything going in their favor here. He’s the one 2022 defensive lineman, out of the five or six that the Buckeyes are looking to sign in this class, that I feel the most confident about at this time.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.