With the early signing period on the horizon and set for December 15th, I figured it would be the perfect way to kick off our first ever Bullet Points Recruiting segment with a run down of a couple of the top 2022 targets left on the Buckeye big board.
Xavier Nwankpa
Arguably, the most talked about name among all 2022 Buckeyes targets has been Xavier Nwankpa. The top ranked Safety in the country has drawn the likes of just about every power five team in the country. For those who have followed this recruitment know that Nwankpa is down to Ohio State, Notre Dame and his home state Iowa Hawkeyes.
In this recruitment, the smoke is very real with the Hawkeyes. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has out done himself in recruiting Nwankpa. Iowa has never been too threatening to Ohio State on the recruiting trail but I can not stress enough there is real smoke here.
On the Notre Dame front, many like to read Tom Loy’s information as a Fighting Irish insider. However, Loy has a reputation of being considered a big homer. The best example was him submitting a Crystal ball for Sonny Styles just last month. As we all know, Styles pledged his services to the Buckeyes just a few days ago.
This one is absolutely a two team race and at this point I can not confidently say Nwankpa will be a Buckeye. I do give Ryan Day and staff the edge but this one could go either way.
Hero Kanu
The next name I think is of major concern is Hero Kanu. The Buckeyes have some serious concerns at the DT position with Haskell Garrett on his way out as well as Antwuan Jackson Jr. The Buckeyes are going to miss on Christen Miller as the last time I touched base with him he hinted that he was likely headed to Athens, Georgia.
Ohio State is missing a depth piece in the middle that they truly need as right now you’re probably only looking at Jerron Cage, Tyliek Williams, and Mike Hall next year. Adding at least two pieces that can play inside will be major for next years depth chart.
What are the chances of the Buckeyes landing Kanu? Well currently, Kanu holds one crystal ball in favor of Oklahoma. Luckily for the Buckeyes, much like the Nwankpa recruitment I do not put much stock in that crystal ball as it comes from OU insider Brandon Drumm. Drumm again has a bad history of jumping the gun on recruitments and although I see Oklahoma leading right now, Kanu continuously is in touch with Larry Johnson.
The impact Larry Johnson is going to have in this recruitment is enormous. Kanu as an international athlete from Germany, started playing football much later than every player you see in the Top 300 rankings.
So for Kanu, he has put a major emphasis on his future development. Where else in the nation is better than The Ohio State University and the Larry Johnson NFL factory for Outstanding Defensive Linemen? All bold predictions aside I just find it too hard not to believe for Kanu’s situation, that he ultimately does not wind up with the Buckeyes.
Stay tuned for our next Bullet Points.
Featured image via: 247Sports
Carson MacRae comes to The Silver Bulletin with a vast football background. As a former player himself, Carson brought his expertise of the game to the recruitng analysis side, where he worked as a Recruitng Writer and Analyst at Rivals.com apart of Ohio State’s “BuckeyeGrove” network. After leaving Rivals, Carson joined forces with The Silver Bulletin as the Chief Recruiting Writer for the quickly growing Ohio State network. Carson is also proud member of Prep Redzone where he is as a National High School Football Scout providing in depth analysis on the top players around the country.