BOOM! 2023 Four-Star Defensive Tackle Kayden McDonald Commits to Ohio State

#BOOM: The Buckeyes have officially landed a big Halloween treat today when top-300 defensive tackle Kayden McDonald announced he would be committing to the Buckeyes.


The 6-foot-3, 310-pound four star lineman comes to the Buckeyes as a bit of a surprise. Clemson was thought to be the leader throughout most of his recruitment. In fact, at one time the Suwanee, Georgia athlete was expected to commit to them early last summer before then-defensive coordinator Brent Venables left to take the head coaching vacancy at Oklahoma. Regardless, the Buckeyes will not say no to landing another big time defensive tackle and especially landing their first defensive tackle in the 2023 class. McDonald becomes Ohio State’s 21st commitment in the class and joins Ohio native Will Smith Jr. and Maryland edge rusher Jason Moore on the defensive line.

Ohio State has had a long-standing “tradition” of failing to land defensive tackle prospects who come from SEC territory. McDonald, a Georgia native, is Ohio State’s first defensive tackle from a state with an SEC school since Malik Barrow back in 2015. The Buckeyes also landed Georgia native Antwuan Jackson from Auburn in 2018, but have missed on big-time prospects in the interim such as Marvin Wilson, Rashard Lawrence, and Tyler Davis.

The Buckeyes are still waiting on a few more pieces to add to this defensive line group in any of the “big three” edge prospects. Matayo Uiagalelei, Keon Keeley, and Damon Wilson are all thought to have the Buckeyes in their top two. All seem to be in the home stretch of their recruitments but only time will tell who take those last spots. However, the Buckeyes staff is going to spend the time today enjoying the win of McDonald’s recruitment. The Buckeyes coming on strong late, saw them beat out Clemson, Michigan, Florida, and Oklahoma. With the commitment the Buckeyes now move into the No.3 class in the country jumping Notre Dame who holds 23 commitments and behind just Alabama and Georgia. McDonald’s recruitment officially ended today but as we see from the Buckeyes recruits so often on social media, it’s always “Who’s next?”

Featured image via: 247Sports.com


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