Ohio State Football: 2021 early Signing Day primer

The Ohio State football team is set to sign an all-time great recruiting class when the early signing period begins on Wednesday and runs through Friday.

Head coach Ryan Day and the Ohio State football team is ready to sign possibly the best recruiting class in its storied history. Recruiting guru Mark Pantoni deserves a ton of credit for what is set to transpire come Wednesday.

Assistant coaches such as Kerry Coombs, Brian Hartline, Larry Johnson, Al Washington, and Tony Alford all performed extremely well in recruiting this 2021 class.

Currently, the class sits as the No. 2 class in the country behind Alabama. But five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau is currently crystal ball favored to become a Buckeye, according to 247Sports. He would probably tip the scale in Ohio State’s favor as the No. 1 overall class although he may not make his final decision until February.

The class is headlined by Pickerington native Jack Sawyer, a five-star defensive end who also happens to be a top-five national player according to 247Sports. He set the tone for this class as he was the first commitment and helped recruit his fellow future Buckeyes. Look for Sawyer to crack the defensive end rotation next season as he could be next in line on a list of great Buckeyes defensive ends coached under Larry Johnson.

Wide receiver coach Brian Hartline continues to be the best recruiter in the nation. After landing the best receiver in 2020, Julian Fleming, he went out and did it again in 2021 with the verbal commitment of the No. 9 overall player in this class, Emeka Egbuka. He also stacked up two other top 100 national recruits in four-star Massillon native Jayden Ballard and fellow four-star Marvin Harrison Jr. of St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia.

Not to be out-done, Ryan Day and quarterback coach Corey Dennis went out and got five-star quarterback Kyle McCord who happens to be Harrison Jr.’s teammate at St. Joe’s. McCord has been steadfast in his commitment since he gave his verbal on April 30, 2019. Since that date, he has seen CJ Stroud sign in the 2019 class and Quinn Ewers, the top player in the 2022 class both commit to Ohio State.

Other five-star recruits include offensive lineman Donovan Jackson and running back TreVeyon Henderson, who could see a J.K. Dobbins type role in 2021 when Dobbins was a freshman in 2017.

Streetsboro native, Mike Hall is a top 50 national recruit at defensive tackle and could see time in the rotation next season if Tommy Togiai or Haskell Garret decides to enter the NFL.

Kerry Coombs went out and got a haul for the defensive secondary. Corners Jakailin Johnson and Jordan Hancock are both top 70 national recruits and have a chance at seeing playing time next season. Coombs also landed four-star defensive backs Denzel Burke, Jantzen Dunn, and Andre Turrentine to add some much-needed depth to the room.

Other recruits of note include four-star running back Evan Pryor who is an excellent all-purpose back prospect, four-star linebacker Reid Carrico of Ironton, Ohio, and Revere, Ohio native Ben Christman who is an offensive lineman that also helped to recruit other players to Ohio State.

The talent is here for this to be an all-time great class. The sort of class that can help lead Ohio State to a national title.  All the stars and accolades are one thing, but the hard work will begin when this class gets on campus and proves that they earned them.

Early signing day begins this Wednesday, keep it locked into Scarlet and Game for updates throughout the day.