The talk of this week surrounding Ohio State football has been the versatility of Jim Knowles new defense. With returning Heisman finalist quarterback CJ Stroud praising the unique looks they’ve been receiving from the defense in practice, the new defense is certainly bringing the hype early on. 

Ohio State’s past struggles on the defensive side of the ball means that Knowles has lots of work to do not only on the scheming side of things, but also in the recruiting field. It may be a little too late for Ohio State to get back into certain recruitments in the 2023 class but there is still plenty of time to change the course of direction for 2024 recruits. 

One player who earned his offer early last summer but has remained in contact with the Ohio State staff (despite being offered by Al Washington) is 2024 linebacker Edwin Spillman. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker out of Tennessee is considered to be a top-10 linebacker nationally and opened up to The Silver Bulletin about how he earned his offer so early from the Ohio State staff. 

https://twitter.com/ESpillman13/status/1408895780828635137

“I first got offered by Coach Al Washington and the old defensive staff last summer,” said Spillman. “I went there to camp for a day and an offer came roughly two to three days after the camp session.”

Obviously, any time a staff changes over it is going to be a tough transition period for both the new staff and recruits who already hold an offer from the respective school. However, Spillman explained that it has been a smooth process with Ohio State’s new defensive staff.

“As of right now I’ve just been talking to all the new coaches and building relationships,” said Spillman. “I’m feeling good about our relationship, I’ve been talking to the staff about when would be a good time for me to come up and visit so I can actually spend some time in person with the new coaching staff. I’m actually supposed to head up there next weekend for the spring game so I’m hoping that’s the first chance I get to meet them all. I’m really looking forward to it.”

 Spillman currently holds 12 offers and is likely to see that number tallying up in the coming months. The Silver Bulletin was curious to know where Ohio State fits into Spillman’s current list of offers as well as if any future offers are going to have an effect on that. 

“Ohio State is definitely really high on my list,” said Spillman. “They have always shown love to me and I’m just so thankful that god blessed me with their offer. I don’t think there would be too many offers that would change the way I feel.”

It can sometimes be very tough for Big Ten schools to land recruits out of the south, but Ohio State has definitely been putting their stamp on landing recruits out of SEC country in the past few cycles. Does Ohio State have a chance to grab another out of SEC country in Spillman?

“The location of wherever I decide to go does not matter about the conference, I know a lot of guys are interested in that but it’s not like that for me,” Spillman explained. “Whatever campus feels like home and whoever is going to make me feel wanted, is where I want to be in the end. If that’s Ohio State then it’s Ohio State.” 

Ohio State has landed a player from Tennessee in both the 2022 and 2023 cycles in Dallan Hayden and Ty Lockwood. Spillman mentioned he’s been keeping in touch with both commits about his Ohio State offer and admitted they’ve been working on getting him to join next.

“I’ve been speaking to Dallan Hayden and Ty Lockwood a lot,” said Spillman. “Both have been recruiting me pretty hard and just telling me that I need to get up to Ohio State again soon. They said it’s a great place to be and where I need to be. It’s just been a great experience so far and I’m excited for what’s next.”