Ohio State football recruiting: Three best prospects left in 2022
By Ryan Stano
Five-star linebacker Shawn Murphy is the 17th best prospect in the country and is the second guy on our list. Murphy is the top-rated linebacker in the country and is from Virginia. He is the second-highest prospect left that hasn’t committed to Ohio State yet.
Murphy is someone who has a lot of potential and can reach that full potential with the right coaching. Al Washington is the primary recruiter in this scenario, so it’s great for the Buckeyes that he didn’t bolt to Tennessee and possibly take Murphy there too.
Murphy has dwindled his school list to 8. The schools are Ohio State, Penn State, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Just like with Nolen, Ohio State has one other Big Ten school to beat out in recruiting. The Buckeyes usually do well in that scenario.
As far as his talent, Murphy is someone who can run downhill and tackle ballcarriers in space. He is listed at 6’2 and 215 pounds, which is good size for a linebacker. He plays inside so he doesn’t drop back into coverage too often. That’s something that he’s going to need to work on that the next level.
Murphy cut his list to 8 about a month ago, so it doesn’t look like he’s in a position to make a decision soon. The entire Ohio State football program will have plenty of time to continue Murhpy’s recruitment.
The final prospect on this list is the one who will probably commit the soonest and who the Buckeyes have been on for a while.