Ohio State Football: Ryan Day proving in-state recruiting is a priority
After last weekend, there is an excellent chance coach Ryan Day could land two in-state players which would make a terrific trio in his 2020 Ohio State recruiting class.
Things always get interesting for Ohio State recruiting this time of year. There is plenty of traffic with prospects coming to watch spring practice or to just get familiar with coaches, and of course many are Ohio high school players.
Visits by three prized recruits from Cincinnati last weekend may have been especially important for Ryan Day’s recruiting class, especially since he has said in-state recruiting will be a priority. One has already committed to play for the Buckeyes and now there is a good chance the other two may join their buddy.
It has been widely reported that offensive tackle Parris Johnson Jr., defensive end Darrion Henry and linebacker Jaheim Thomas have discussed playing their college ball together. Johnson has been committed to the 2020 class since last summer, Henry already had an offer and Thomas was extended one during the visit.
Take a look at the recruiting rankings in the 247Sports Composite of each and you will see it would be quite a coup if coach Day lands all three.
- Parris Johnson Jr. 6 ft. 7.5, 295 : No. 1 OT, overall ranking 7
- Darrion Henry 6 ft. 6, 260 : No. 3 SDE, overall ranking 41
- Jaheim Thomas 6 ft. 5, 218 : No. 21 OLB, overall ranking 275
The Crystal Ball predictions are 100 percent Ohio State for both Henry and Thomas.
In addition to the weekend visits, performances by Ohio State targets and a commit at “The Opening” regional held in Massillon were interesting as well. Taylor Lehman of Eleven Warriors shared his takeaways from the event and what he had to say about 2020 in-state recruits caught my eye.
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DeaMonte Trayanum won the MVP for running backs and Mr. Lehman reported Trey Leroux and Mike Drennen also performed well.
Leroux is a 6 ft. 8, 330 pound offensive tackle from Norwalk already committed to the class. Trayanum is a 6 ft., 215 pound running back from Akron, Drennon a 5 ft. 11 all-purpose back from Dublin and both are rated as four star recruits.
Both backs are considered to be strong Ohio State leans. I wouldn’t be surprised if coach Day made a strong push to bring them into the fold soon.
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The Buckeye head coach is in the process of building a strong 2020 class that currently is ranked the fifth best in the country with only seven commits. The way things are beginning to pick up, especially with in-state recruiting, I have a feeling the class is about to get even stronger with more commits on the way soon.