Trio of Buckeyes keep their status as five-stars

On Monday, Rivals began to roll out our first rankings update to the 2022 class of the year.

Our network started off the week by unveiling the overall rankings for 22 five-star prospects, and Ohio State's commits dominated the day. The Buckeyes are tied with Georgia for having the most five-star commits, with all three of their pledges being ranked inside the top 10.

Check out where each Ohio State verbal commit stands in our new update, and what makes them some of the top junior football players in the nation.

There is no question that Ewers is deserving of keeping his spot atop the 2022 Rivals Rankings.

Even after missing a couple of months due to an injury in the fall, Ewers had a dominant junior campaign. The product out of Southlake, Texas, guided his team to the Class 6A state championship game, and threw for nearly 2,500 yards. Along with amassing an impressing passing yards total on the season, Ewers wound up with 28 touchdown passes compared to just five interceptions.

Everyone who watches Ewers, whether that be on film or in person, can see not only the talent he has now, but his upside as well. In my opinion, Ewers can make every single throw in the book — fitting the ball into tight windows near the sidelines, launching a perfectly placed deep ball, throwing against his body, etc...

With that said, however, I can see Ewers making some improvements in his game. There are some instances where he is a little off balance and he tries to make a simple throw more difficult; just cleaning up those small things would make an elite talent even more great.

Ohio State's football program and its fan base should be thrilled about the potential of the program with Ewers at signal caller in the coming years.

Another future Buckeye with no movement in his ranking was Jaheim Singletary.

Singletary remains at No. 8 in the latest update, and for good reason. At 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, Singletary is a rangy cornerback capable of running step-for-step with any wideout he is matched up against.

Using his 74-inch wingspan, Singletary will almost assuredly deflect any pass if he's in the vicinity of the intended target. He's demonstrated that he could high-point the football and come down with interceptions as well.

One thing about Singletary, which benefits him when it comes to rankings, is that he shows out in the camp circuit. Assuming there are Rivals camps and other similar events this offseason, that should allow Singletary to show out in front of our analysts and keep his spot in the top 10.

Landing Singletary back in early January still goes down as the second-most impressive get for Ohio State in this class, behind Ewers, in my opinion. The need for an exceptional defensive back to add to their secondary, along with beating out quality competition in Clemson, Florida and Georgia, makes Singletary one of their most prized commits.

CJ Hicks debuted in our first five-star rankings reveal at No. 4, and has only slipped six spots since then.

Hicks has received high praise from Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt, who referred to him as probably the most athletic linebacker he's covered since Jaylon Smith. For reference, Smith finished the 2013 rankings as the No. 3 overall player in the country.

As one of the many examples of his athleticism, Hicks is capable of returning kicks and playing running back. There are not many 6-foot-4, 220-pound linebackers who can handle those duties, and play with the incredible speed and athleticism that Hicks possesses.

What impresses me the most about Hicks' skill set is how fast he diagnoses where a play is going, and bursts quickly downhill to deliver a bruising hit. Ohio State's coaching staff will also be very excited about the versatility Hicks has as he can rush off the edge as well and get to the quarterback in the blink of an eye.

On top of being the top-ranked outside linebacker in the country, Hicks continues to prove he's very valuable to the Buckeyes on the trail. Hicks, alongside future teammates Bennett Christian and Dasan McCullough, are consistently in touch with some of the program's top targets, and have assisted in them being the No. 1 class in this cycle.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.