Ohio State football: Aamil Wagner set to make commitment in early January

The Ohio State football has a chance to land a top offensive line prospect in the state of Ohio and will learn their fate on January 8th.

Aamil Wagner has only been playing left tackle for two years but is an athletic and talented prospect with really good size and quick feet. The 6’6 senior was introduced to the position prior to his sophomore season when his high school coaches pulled him aside during minicamp and asked him to move to the offensive line.

“I was planning to go from wide receiver to defensive end so that summer I was working out with the linebackers. They said they needed a tackle and without hesitation, I was going to do that because it would help the team the most,” Wagner said. “I played left tackle my sophomore and junior year and now I’m here.”

The 4-star prospect according to 247 Sports, is the third-ranked player in the state of Ohio. He had an extremely busy month of June, taking five official visits to Ohio State, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Maryland, and Penn State. Wagner recently told me he made a slight change to his top five, as well as when he plans on making a commitment.

“I’m leaning more towards Maryland instead of Stanford and Auburn after making connections with the coaching staff and getting a chance to go on an official visit,” Wagner explained. “The other four schools remain Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Kentucky. I’ll be announcing my commitment on January 8 at the All-American Bowl.”

The 265-pound tackle is a highly sought-after recruit, earning 30 scholarship offers from the aforementioned programs, in addition to Auburn, Louisville, Michigan, Oregon, West Virginia, and more. According to Bill Kurelic’s crystal ball predictions, Wagner is likely heading to Ohio State but a lot could change before January.

He touched on if there’s pressure to pick the Buckeyes: “There’s a little pressure. My mom’s side of the family is actually from Columbus so they’re maybe 15-20 minutes from campus and the stadium. I think I’m just making the decision based off what I feel is best for me and not what other people think.”

Wagner went on to discuss why he’s also strongly considering Notre Dame as a destination: “I was raised in a church so having that spiritual impact on campus as a centerpiece is a big thing. It’s one of the top schools in America to go to. They play great football and have great offensive linemen.”

The Dayton product has learned a lot from his family during the recruiting process, especially from his older brother Ahmad, who was a dynamic receiver at Kentucky in 2019 after playing basketball at Iowa for three years. Their older brother Ameer and father Lee played football at Texas Southern and Jackson State, respectively.

“I think it’s helped a lot especially my older brother Ahmad, who’s been through kind of high-level recruiting. Just giving me tips and things that he would have done if he was in this position again,” Wagner told me. “He’s given me things to look at from every school and obviously speaks from experience going to Kentucky so he has a little more insight.”

Wagner could be added to a long list of Wayne High School athletes to pick the Buckeyes including Braxton Miller, Marcus Freeman, Robert Landers, and Will Allen. If Wagner picks the Ohio State football program in early January, he’d join the 2022 class alongside CJ Hicks, Caleb Burton, and Bennett Christian, plus fellow linemen George Fitzpatrick and Tegra Tshabola.

When asked if he could envision himself being a part of Ohio State’s o-line room, Wagner responded: “Definitely. I think they’re all good guys, especially being around Harry Miller and Paris Johnson. I’ve known Tegra for a little while longer. We get a chance to see each other, whether it’s football or basketball season. Overall it was a good time being around them.”