The Ohio State football team will take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday in the Horseshoe with a list of top recruits in attendance.
The Buckeyes are just one day away from taking on the Badgers in a black out night game, which will be the perfect atmosphere for Ohio State to play host to another star studded recruiting weekend.
Obviously, it is no secret one of Ryan Day’s and Larry Johnson’s top targets left on the board in 2023 will be there in Keon Keeley. Keeley comes as the No.8 player in the country and is ranked by the 247 composite as the top edge rusher. Keeley is set to take a visit in two weeks to Alabama when they take on Texas A&M in a revenge game after last years shocking upset to the Aggies. The Buckeyes’ staff is hoping this weekend can reaffirm Keeley’s latest feelings about Ohio State’s program and possibly move him away from the idea of taking an Alabama visit.
Now, it’s time to take a dive into who else be attending this great fall football weekend atmosphere. With the 2023 class almost wrapped up with likely only five to six spots left, the Buckeyes staff have their sights set on the 2024 and 2025 classes now. One of the biggest names who will be attending the game from the 2024 class is five-star Riverview Florida Cornerback Charles Lester III.
Lester is ranked as the No.22 player in the class of 2024 and is ranked as the No.3 CB in the country. The 6’1, 171 pound CB has drawn a ton of comparison to former Ohio State five-star cornerback Jeff Okudah. Obviously, the Buckeyes staff would love to land another top end CB with early struggles this season at the position. Impressing Lester this weekend will be crucial in landing his services down the line.
When looking at Ohio State’s biggest successes in the past three to five recruiting cycles it has all come along the defensive line. Larry Johnson is looking to add to the star studded room with 2024 five-star DT Justin Scott. Luckily, in this recruitment Johnson is not having to fight for a top recruit out of SEC country as Scott resides in Chicago, Illinois. The Buckeyes feel very confident right now and could be seen as the leader here. If all goes as planned this weekend I would expect the Buckeyes to take the lead for this top target.
It would almost be unfair to not note another big time CB who will be in attendance and that’s Glenville, Ohio product Bryce West. West is currently the No.7 CB in the country by the 247 composite however I would not be surprised to see him end up as the No.1 CB in the country by the time he finishes his senior year. He’s only 5’11 at the moment but there is a ton of time left for him to build into his frame.
It’s no secret either that West is the most athletic CB in the country and his only minor setback is him not being at that 6-foot, threshold yet. The Buckeyes staff is looking to put a bow on this recruitment as soon as possible which is why this weekend matters a ton in landing the highly touted ballhawk.
Some other big names to note that will also be on campus Saturday are four-star Interior Offensive Lineman Donovan Harbour, who is ranked No.2 at his position in the class. As well as, big time WR target Mylan Graham who is a heavy Buckeye lean right now and the No.9 WR on the board in 2024. It’s also important to note that some big in state targets will be attending as well in four-star Tight End Tayvion Galloway (Chillicothe Ohio-currently committed to LSU), four-star edge Elias Rudolph (Taft, Ohio) four-star athlete Garrett Stover (Big Walnut, Ohio) and four-star TE Damarion Witten (Glenville, Ohio).
The weekend is also going to see many of the current commits on campus so the Buckeyes are sure to have a packed line up and eventful weekend on the recruiting end of it. All that’s left now is for the Buckeyes to take the field and turn in a 2014 Big Ten Championship performance against the Badgers once again.
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.