Scarlet and Game
Fansided

Ohio State 2018 Class: Flood of In-State Recruits Committing Soon?

By Charlie Lockhart

Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer celebrates following the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer celebrates following the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Is the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class ready to take off?

There are only three players committed to the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class at the moment and none of them are home-grown. Will the influx of Ohio recruits joining the class begin March 1st?

Westerville South’s Jaelen Gill is set to announce where he will play college football on Wednesday. Gill is the No. 3 ranked all-purpose back in the 2018 class and most have him staying home to play for Ohio State.

Could this be what convinces other Ohio recruits to join the 2018 class? Once a highly coveted player commits, other players often follow soon thereafter.

Gill and Jackson Carman, the No. 1 ranked offensive tackle in the nation, are two very talented Ohio recruits who Urban Meyer certainly wants to keep in-state, but there are many others as well.

In fact, it appears to be a very deep and talented pool of Ohio high school players in the 2018 class. Urban has said he would like to have about half of his recruiting class made up of players from Ohio, and that definitely seems to be a possibility with this class.

Here is a look at the top 10 Ohio recruits as ranked by 247 Sports, and the rankings are according to the 247Sports Composite. Nearly all of these players have been offered a scholarship to play for the Buckeyes, and all but one is an Ohio State lean according to the Crystal Ball predictions.

  • Jackson Carman  (Fairfield)  6’6 290  No. 1 OT
  • Dallas Gant  (St. John’s Jesuit)  6’3 225  No. 4 OLB
  • Jaelen Gill  (Westerville South)  6’1 182  No. 3 APB
  • Leonard Taylor  (Springfield)  6’4  250  No. 8 TE
  • Xavier Peters  (Lakota West)  6’4  220  No. 15 OLB
  • L’Christian Smith (Wayne)  6’6 205  No. 4 Ath
  • Tyreke Smith  (Cleveland Heights)  6’3 160  No. 7 WDE
  • Christopher Oats  (Winston Woods)  6’4 215  No. 14 OLB
  • Brenden Bates  (Archbishop Moeller)  6’5 230  No. 14 TE
  • Aeneas Hawkins  (Archbishop Moeller)  6’3 265  No. 30 DT

The average recruiting score of these 10 players was .9350. Only two teams had a higher average score in the 2017 recruiting cycle, Alabama and Ohio State. I don’t think all 10 players will end up playing for the Buckeyes, but the recruiting scores show how much high school talent there is in Ohio this year.

More from Scarlet and Game

There are many other very good prospects among in-state players who aren’t mentioned here. Several of those players may shoot up in the recruiting rankings once the football camps get rolling this year. In fact, 6’2, 225 pound RB Trevion Thomas‘ stock is already beginning to soar.

Thomas is ranked No. 30 among running backs in the country and the 16th best recruit in the state at the moment. That will change now that he has 22 scholarship offers including recent ones from Alabama and Ohio State.

Urban Meyer’s 2018 recruiting has started out much slower this year than last but things could be about to pick up as we move into March. If Gill commits to play for the Buckeyes, he will join three other highly touted recruits QB Emory Jones, S Jaiden Woodbey and RB Brian Snead in the class.

Must Read: Will Curtis Samuel Be Drafted on NFL Profile or Performance?

Who knows, maybe a few other Ohio boys will be committing not long after that. It could be that things are about to get really interesting in the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class.

Home/Ohio State Buckeyes