Ohio State is still patiently waiting for their first commitment in the 2023 class, but they recently took a key step with a pair of rising juniors.

On Thursday, the Buckeyes cracked the top five for Cormani McClain, and also landed in the top 10 for fellow Rivals100 cornerback Tony Mitchell. Some other noteworthy schools that Mitchell included on his list were Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and the Big Three in Florida.

BuckeyeGrove caught up with the product of Alabaster (Alabama) to discuss why Ohio State made it past his second round of cuts, the message from the staff, and much more.

“I’ve got a good relationship with Coach Coombs,” Mitchell said. “He put a lot of guys in the league – Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker – a lot of guys. He knows what he’s talking about. Ohio State is just a great program. A winning program. And I like Coach Day and his staff.”