Since publishing last week's Recruiting Roundtable, the Buckeyes have landed yet another prospect in their 2022 class. On Friday, Ohio State added Colorado-based offensive lineman George Fitzpatrick as their 17th commitment.

With Fitzpatrick in the fold, it brings up a lot of questions about how the rest of this class will play out.

In this week's Recruiting Roundtable, Carson MacRae and Joseph Hastings discuss which other offensive linemen will commit to the Buckeyes before it's all said and done. They also talk about which 2023 prospects they believe the program is in the best position to land, as well as their thoughts on recent Notre Dame commit Brenan Vernon.

MacRae: I see the o-line board taking a bit of a different direction than what was prior expected following the George Fitzpatrick commitment. My thinking all along has been that the Buckeyes would aim for three tackles and most likely one guard.

I still believe this to be true, but I had never included Fitzpatrick in those predictions. The way I see it now is the Buckeyes are going to end up with those four spots filled by Tegra Tshabola, Fitzpatrick, and Kam Dewberry filling the offensive tackle spots and Earnest Greene taking the guard spot.

The one nice thing about Dewberry is he is pretty versatile and the true definition of having an athlete at the offensive line position. The Rivals.com five-star tackle really allows for this class to possibly have a jack knife of a lineman where you could say you landed three tackles and one guard or two of each.

Dewberry is expected to play OT at the next level but, as we’ve seen with Nick Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford, locking down the tackle positions, guys like Paris Johnson Jr. have to be able to do both.

You’ll also notice I did not include Aamil Wagner in these predictions. I do not think he is going to be a take after the Buckeyes took Fitzpatrick. Both guys are similar players and Fitzpatrick seemed to be more ready to commit than Wagner. Ultimately, I do not think this will be a huge loss as Wagner is a bit of a project in terms of putting on weight and getting him up to the college “game ready” player.

I think this will end up a fairly solid class and be considered one of the deeper o-line hauls than in years past.

Hastings: A couple of months ago, some in Buckeye Nation may not have ever heard about Fitzpatrick as he was not a household name and kept to himself throughout his recruitment.

Now, the four-star offensive lineman out of Colorado is committed to the Buckeyes. Fitzpatrick’s commitment on Friday has led to a lot of questions being asked about how Greg Studrawa and company will finish off this 2022 class.

Probably the biggest question most have is what this means for in-state offensive lineman Aamil Wagner. The Rivals250 prospect was offered by the Buckeyes back in March, and took an official visit the first weekend of last month.

We have not heard that Ohio State has backed off of him, with Wagner recently telling me that he “absolutely” still has interest in the program. He also said that he could never count them out of his recruitment as tOSU was the school he grew up watching.

With Notre Dame putting on the full-court press and the Buckeyes having other options high on their board, however, I feel less confident about my FutureCast for Wagner than I did in March. I don’t think Ryan Day’s program should be ruled out completely, but he’s not as much of a lock for Ohio State as initially suspected.

Another question some have had pertains to what other o-line prospects will be joining Fitzpatrick and Tshabola in Columbus next year. With 17 total commitments in this class – none of them being defensive linemen – and a desire to add two more safeties, I think it’s likely that the Buckeyes add two more offensive linemen.

The likeliest options here are Addison Nichols, Earnest Greene, Kam Dewberry, Kiyaunta Goodwin, Tyler Booker and Wagner.

I believe there’s a good chance Ohio State lands in Nichols’ top three tomorrow, both Dewberry and Greene were impressed with last month’s visits to the school, and Booker remains high on the Buckeyes. Goodwin is committed to Kentucky, but recently visited Michigan State and could take a trip to Columbus.

My best guess is that Dewberry and Greene join the fold, but I would not rule out the other three, especially Wagner.

MacRae: The way I see it, as of right now, the Buckeyes are in the best position to land Joshua Padilla out of all 2023 prospects in the country. Padilla being a Wayne product and growing up a Buckeyes fan has played a major part, of course.

Last time I spoke to Padilla, he said he planned on trying to get up to Columbus more than once this upcoming season. Any time a player intends on making a few game visits, it’s a good sign that they’re indicating their interest in the program.

Furthermore, I have heard that Padilla would be open to help build this class if he were to be among one of the first to commit. Seeing Ohio products like Jack Sawyer and CJ Hicks help build the past classes is always a great spot to start and I think we could see the same from Padilla.

The highly sought-after OL is getting attention from almost every major Power Five program, but I tend to believe he is closer to being a Buckeye than we expect.

The next player I think is close to possibly becoming a Buckeye is Carnell Tate. After all the FutureCasts came in favor of the Buckeyes to land Tate, he cooled on social media about his love for Ohio State.

Similar to last weekend's Skull Session where I broke down Omari Abor possibly putting up a front and denying the Ohio State rumors he was involved in, I think Tate is doing the same.

I tried to catch up with Tate last week to get some updates, but he informed me that he is taking a little break at the moment. This is an indicator to me that he may be getting ready to make a decision and he wants a lot of the hype to quiet down before announcing a commitment.

He is the type of guy who has been all about the Ohio State program since day one and I expect it to end that way. If you have happened to see him promoting Notre Dame as of late also, I tend to believe that’s him trying to throw off the scent of where his recruitment is heading. Personally, I think he will be among one of the first to get the green light and I assume he will jump on it quickly.

Finally, this one is really tough because I really do like Luke Montgomery’s chances of committing to the Buckeyes as well as AJ Harris and Sonny Styles, but I just have a gut feeling those recruitments will get extended.

So, if I had to pick a third player, it’s a very cold pick because I do not think anyone is that close outside the guys above.

However, I’ll take Braylon James as the last time I spoke to him, he just stressed to me that there were no offers that brought him to tears other than the Ohio State offer and call he had with Brian Hartline.

With James being a former teammate of Caleb Burton and James seeming to be a major fan of what is being built in the “Zone 6,” I just do not see anyone beating out the Buckeyes in this recruitment.

Like I said, it is a cold take because I believe he’s still got a long way to go, but I do think he is a player who ends up in the 2023 class in the end.

Hastings: This is an interesting question that is posed as the Buckeyes have yet to land a single commitment in their 2023 class. Also, unless a surprise commitment date is announced, no rising junior trending toward the program is set to make their decision soon.

The first prospect that comes to my mind is Braylon James. The four-star wide receiver out of Del Valle (Texas) recently told BuckeyeGrove that the program is the leader in his recruitment, and it’s easy to see why. Along with his former high school teammate, Caleb Burton, being committed to the school, James has established a good relationship early on with wide receivers coach Brian Hartline.

The success they have had recruiting and developing pass catchers is something James has taken notice of as well.

James was also very impressed with his time in Columbus on Jun 23, which included him working out in front of Hartline and the staff.

A decision is not expected soon, but I like where things stand with James and Ohio State at this juncture.

Sticking with 2023 wide receivers, I also believe the Buckeyes should feel confident about their standing with Carnell Tate.

The Midwest native visited Ohio State not once, but twice in June, the first of which being a two-day stop. Following the first visit, seven FutureCast predictions have poured in for Tate to wind up with the Buckeyes.

Tate currently has a top 10 and I know that Notre Dame feels confident about their chances with him, so there may be some time to go until he announces a commitment. As things stand right now, however, I believe Ohio State is in the best position to land him when it’s all said and done.

Finally, the third prospect I’ll mention in this response is in-state offensive lineman target Luke Mongtomery. The Rivals100 prospect out of Findlay (Ohio) also stopped by Columbus twice in June, with the first one resulting in a FutureCast that I submitted in favor of the Buckeyes on his profile.

I’m hearing a decision could be made either shortly before or after his junior season. If that is the case, then I was told that Ohio State would likely be the school that would come out on top.

Montgomery also checked out the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan and others last month, but the Buckeyes did an excellent job on his two trips of showing him he’s a priority and demonstrating the type of development he would receive at the school.

After losing Brenan Vernon to Notre Dame, it will be of utmost important for Day and his staff to keep Montgomery and Sonny Styles in Ohio at the next level.

MacRae: I personally do not believe the Buckeyes flip Brenan Vernon. I found out the major tactic that Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman used to land Brenan Vernon’s services was playing time.

Vernon has a goal to get to the league as quickly as possible and he believes the best route for that is to get on the field early as a freshman and be “THE guy” at the position.

Well, that is pretty tough to do at Ohio State with guys in the class ahead of you like J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.

Now, in terms of having a chance to flip Vernon, yes I always believe until the National Letter of Intent is signed, no recruitment is completely over.

Being an Ohio product, if Larry Johnson and the staff presses hard enough for his services down to National Signing Day, then it may be possible. However, I give that about a 1 percent chance of happening with Vernon clearly looking for lots of early playing time.

I am sure the Ohio State staff would have given him the same message to Vernon that you will not be a starter out of the gate, every player has to shed their stripes. Meaning nothing comes as a given even if you’re a Tuimoloau or a Sawyer.

The moral of this story is the Buckeyes lose out on a highly regarded in-state blue chip edge rusher.

Hastings: I’m going to start off by answering with an emphatic “yes” to the second part of this question.

Vernon, according to Rivals.com, is the top-ranked player in Ohio in the 2023 cycle. He is also one of the top pass rushers in the country and, after dealing with some injuries in his career, he may be due for a monstrous junior season in the fall.

As such, Larry Johnson will not let up here until he officially puts pen to paper on his signing day. You just don’t give up on these types of prospects.

With the first part of the question, it is tough to say. Vernon made it very clear following his commitment that one of the reasons Notre Dame won out for him was due to the actual university itself.

Ohio State has roughly seven or eight times the student population that Notre Dame has; Vernon admitted that he is a low-key individual, and that he is drawn to a school that isn’t too large in terms of the number of kids on campus.

Johnson and the staff cannot control this, but maybe Vernon has a change of heart in the future. It’s possible that over this next year or so, Vernon puts this on the back burner and sees that the Buckeyes would likely provide him the best opportunity for development at his position and the best chance to win a national championship.

Since I can’t read Vernon’s mind or predict the future, however, this is just a guess, and nobody knows what his recruitment may look like one year from now. All we know is that Ohio State will not let up here, and that a change in what he prioritizes the most would likely benefit the Buckeyes the most.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.