Ohio State played host to roughly 60 recruits  during last Saturday’s tilt against the Fighting Irish. The Buckeyes had a majority of their 2023 class at the game including players like Brandon Inniss, Mark Fletcher, Bryson Rodgers, Luke Montgomery, and many others.

The Buckeyes also played host to some of their top prospects still on the board for the 2023 cycle including Keon Keeley who just recently decommited from the Irish and showed up weeks later sporting a Buckeye shirt in the shoe. The Buckeyes also had a variety of players from the 2024 class all the way into the 2026 group with early Wide Receiver stand out Malachi Toney.

Being such a big weekend, we will look to focus on a few of the bigger names from this past weekend of visitors. First off, we touched a bit on Keeley attending the game but what has come from that so far for the No.1 edge rusher in the country? The visit certainly boosted the Ohio State stock in Keeley’s recruitment in fact I’d say it even levelled the playing field between the Buckeyes and the Crimson Tide who were thought to be his two top schools following his decommitment.

I’ve personally been under the impression that it’s going to be a pretty tough task to overcome Nick Saban in this recruitment once again, however I know the Ohio State staff really opened Keeley’s eyes on the visit. At this point in time I still have the Buckeyes sitting in the passenger seat of this recruitment but I like where it’s heading.

Two of the top receivers in the country for 2024 were also in attendance in Chaminade-Madonna’s Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader. The two had the chance to hang around and with current Ohio State five-star WR commit Brandon Inniss and it certainly made an impact.

I had the chance to speak to a couple sources close to both Smith and Trader and they believe the Buckeyes do not have much else to show Smith. In fact, it would appear Hartline may have even sealed the deal this past weekend in this recruitment which would be another massive win for him on the trail.

On the Trader side of it, the Buckeyes certainly look to be the leader right now and the visit could not have gone any better from the sounds of it. They’re seems to be more of a family component involved in this recruitment that may play a factor in him staying closer to home. It’s tough to gauge at the moment but I still do believe the Buckeyes are ahead of Miami.

I’m also not naive in the understanding that Trader is still being aggressively recruited my Alabama and it is almost comedic to think you can ever count Saban out for a top WR recruitment. Although, I do still remain firm on my position that Ohio State is leading for Trader at the moment.

Another massive storyline from the weekend comes from 2023 Five-Star Defensive End Damon Wilson. The Buckeyes have been in this recruitment for a long time. The Venice, Florida edge rusher had the chance to speak with Chase Young and meet a ton of the other alumni Ohio State had on campus for the event.

The atmosphere of the game, as well as the chance for Wilson to talk to a variety of current top defensive players like Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, gave Wilson maybe the push he needed to wrap this recruitment up as a Buckeye. A few of the current 2023 commits feel very confident in Wilson picking the Buckeyes with a commitment soon on the horizon.