The Ohio State defensive coaching staff has seen some major changes in the past couple weeks with new hires at each position. One of the main areas of focus for Ohio State this off-season has been in the secondary, with the additions of Perry Eliano and Tim Walton.
Eliano has already began to pick up where Kerry Coombs left off with some major targets. Ethan Nation, who is one of Ohio State’s main focuses in the 2023 class at the corner position, says the Buckeyes are very much still in play.
“Ohio State has been in touch with me lots and I still think of them very highly,” said Nation.
The new defensive staff has a lot of ground to make up on the recruiting trail if they’re going to land some priority targets. Nation opened up to The Silver Bulletin about how his first conversation went with the new cornerbacks coach.
“He just was excited to speak to me and we talked a bit about me getting up to campus soon but it was all great,” said Nation.
Obviously, Coombs was known for being an excellent recruiter and it would be unfair to say that certain recruits were not sad to see him leave. Nation explained that it definitely was a shock to him to se him leave but it’s all positive for Ohio State moving forward.
“It shocked me, it was surprising but it really didn’t set them too far back with me in the recruiting process,” Nation explained. “They are still a great program and I have a solid relationship with Coach Day.”
During the recruiting process, it is not uncommon to hear players talk about linking up at the next level as teammates. Nation tells The Silver Bulletin that he has been in constant contact with Ohio State safety signee Sonny Styles. Nation mentioned the two have been talking on a regular basis and explained that Styles is fighting hard for them to play together.
“Sonny just wants me to come up there and be a Buckeye,” said Nation. “He’s really pushing my commitment for them and he is doing everything in his power for me to try and commit. We actually have never met but we definitely have got a good relationship and he makes me want to be a Buckeye.”
The Buckeyes have a long way to go in earning a commitment from a high level product like Nation, but the Ohio State staff is definitely getting some help from some of their own commits as the new staff adjusts.
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.