For the fourth time in the past five recruiting cycles, The Ohio State University has signed at least a trio of five-star football prospects.
On Monday, Rivals unveiled our final rankings for the 2021 class, with three future Buckeyes checking in at the No. 10, No. 11 and No. 12 spots. Emeka Egbuka is the highest-rated pledge to sign with Ohio State in this cycle, followed by Jack Sawyer and then Donovan Jackson.
This is just the fifth time in the Rivals.com era that OSU finished with at least three five-stars in a class, and they could potentially add to that number in the future. J.T. Tuimoloau, who stayed at No. 6 in the updated rankings, is considered an Ohio State lean, though it still remains to be seen when he will sign.
Let's take a closer look at each of the five-stars Ohio State signed in the 2021 cycle.
On top of being the Ohio State signee with the highest ranking in this class, Egbuka is one of the highest-rated prospects the football team has ever signed.
Going back to the 2002 cycle, which marks the beginning of the Rivals.com era, only eight players were ranked higher than Egbuka was in the final rankings. Those prospects were Baron Browning, Chase Young, Chris Wells, Curtis Grant, Mike Adams, Noah Spence, Ted Ginn Jr. and Terrelle Pryor.
This is a really impressive feat by Egbuka, who is also the highest-rated wide receiver the Buckeyes have ever signed. Some may be wondering why that honor didn't belong to Ginn Jr., but that was because he was signed as a cornerback.
Egbuka was admittedly a hard prospect to rank for multiple reasons, and could have been placed higher had it not been for those reasons. Rivals had limited evaluation opportunities of the Washington-based pass catcher, and him not playing his senior season due to the COVID-19 pandemic hurt his chances of earning a bigger bump.
In fact, Mike Farrell said in a recent article that he believes Egbuka could have been the No. 1 overall prospect in another cycle.
Either way, Egbuka arrived on Ohio State's campus last week, and will be adding to a stacked wide receiver room that is arguably the best in the country. The wide receiver options for C.J. Stroud or Kyle McCord next season will feature Egbuka to go along with Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming.
Ohio State continued their tradition of signing coveted pass rushers when in-state target Jack Sawyer faxed in his LOI to the program last month.
There was never any question that Sawyer was going to end up signing with the Buckeyes throughout the course of his commitment. The Pickerington, Ohio, product rewarded the coaching staff with a commitment in his sophomore year of high school, and never wavered on that pledge.
In terms of where Sawyer ranks amongst previous Ohio State DE signees, he joins an exclusive group. With today's final rankings, Sawyer becomes the seventh five-star defensive end to have ever signed with the Buckeyes.
The other six were Zach Harrison, Chase Young, Nick Bosa, Noah Spence, Adolphus Washington and Robert Rose.
Out of this group, however, Sawyer is the third-highest ranked, with Spence and Young being slightly ahead of him. Like Spence, Sawyer finished as the No. 1 overall weakside DE in his class.
Sawyer is also one of the more highly ranked recruits out of Ohio to have ever signed with the Buckeyes. The only other former OSU signees ranked higher than him were Ted Ginn Jr. (No. 2 overall in 2004), Chris Wells (No. 3 overall in 2006) and Mike Adams (No. 3 overall in 2008).
The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder joins an elite group of players, and it will be exciting to see how he develops under Larry Johnson's tutelage.
Coming in at No. 12 overall in the final Rivals rankings is Lone Star State offensive lineman Donovan Jackson.
A versatile player who can assist anywhere along the o-line, Jackson is capable of filling in at either the guard or tackle spot. With his positional flexibility, his frame coming into college and his athleticism, Jackson could be a contender to see early playing time during his tenure in Columbus.
As for how he compares to other offensive linemen Ohio State has signed in the past, according to Rivals' rankings, Jackson is certainly up there. Adams and Nick Petit-Frere are the only other o-linemen ranked higher than him, and Michael Brewster is tied with him at No. 12 overall.
Jackson also is a part of a list of coveted prospects from Texas to have ever signed with the Buckeyes. Baron Browning, Jeff Okudah, Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson are a few of the noteworthy five-stars the program has signed from the Lone Star State. They also hold commitments from the No. 1 overall player in the 2022 class, Quinn Ewers, and five-star WR candidate Caleb Burton, both of whom hail from Texas.
Jackson is a mauler in the trenches, and should have an opportunity to get on the field early.
Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.
