With today being National Signing Day, Ohio State has been set up for a very slow day. With likely there only being a few additions to the 2022 class, we look ahead to the 2023 class to talk about some rising names.
The first one who has really blown up as of late is Georgia DE A.J. Hoffler. Hoffler has been in contact with Ohio State constantly and has even told The Silver Bulletin that Ohio State is the only school he’s thinking about at this time. For the Buckeyes staff, it’s nice to know that you have the chance to land a four-star product out of the defending National Champions state and there is essentially nothing they can do about it at this time as Hoffler seems to be all Buckeye.
Four-star defensive end AJ Hoffler (@yungajh) has Ohio State on top in his recruitment and will visit Columbus next weekend: https://t.co/qorfoW9Eoy
— The Silver Bulletin (@tSilverBulletin) January 12, 2022
In future five-star news, one of the biggest names in the country who has Ohio State likely leading his recruitment is Jesuit, Florida linebacker Troy Bowles. Bowles has some times to Ohio but was also fairly close with former Ohio State LB coach Al Washington. A lot of people outside of Ohio State were concerned about what that would do for the Buckeyes and where they stand with him after the departure of Washington. I can confirm that the Buckeyes staff feels about as good as they could with their current position on earning Bowles commitment in this cycle.
Ohio State has had the luxury of bringing in the top wide receiver class in each of the past four cycles. As many are aware that is largely due to the recruiting efforts and excellence shown on the field by WR coach Brian Hartline. Hartline is set to land another big haul. The Buckeyes are firmly the leader for the top WR in the country in Carnell Tate, but could the Buckeyes also land another top three wideout? The Silver Bulletin can confirm yes. Florida wideout Brandon Innis who was a Oklahoma commit at one time, now has Ohio State moving up his leader board. The Silver Bulletin had a brief moment to speak to Innis and asked him if Ohio State is officially back in the mix.
“They’ve always been in the mix, but everything has changed with coaching staff’s so now all my options are open,” said Innis. “The Buckeyes are a program that I really can see myself playing for and I have them near the top.”
The Silver Bulletin first reported that Brian Hartline is only set to take three WR’s in the 2023 class. What a haul would it be if the Buckeyes were to land the top two guys at the position.
Finally, it’s time to end with probably the biggest target on the board for the Buckeyes, the No.1 running back in the country Richard Young. The Silver Bulletin can confirm that Young has a firm top two right now in his recruitment. As per usual Ohio State and Alabama are in a dog fight for a top 20 prospect nationally. I spoke to Young briefly and asked him what it’s going to take for either program to get an edge in his recruitment.
“Right now it’s all about feeling out the programs and who’s going to develop me the best,” said Young. “I have such a good relationship with Coach Alford and I can see what he can do for me by looking at TreVeyon. But I can also see what Coach Saban has done for all of his running backs. They’re both just great programs.”
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.