Ohio State football: Buckeyes predicted to land elite TE
By Del Barris
The Ohio State football team already has one elite tight end committed to their 2023 recruiting class. Now, it looks like they are going to be adding another very soon, according to a couple of well-respected recruiting experts.
Longtime Ohio recruiting guru Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts and 247Sports’ national expert Steve Wiltfong have given their predictions for Jelani Thurman to choose the Buckeyes when he announces his decision on July 17th. As late as yesterday, Kurelic felt it was too close to call between Ohio State and Michigan State. He said he made his prediction today based on new information he received this morning.
What does this mean for Ohio State? It will give them two of the top-ten tight end prospects in the country. Thurman is ranked number nine in 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. Ty Lockwood, who was the first player to commit to OSU’s 2023 class last August, is ranked eighth.
If he does choose OSU, the 6’5”, 230-pound Thurman will be the fourth player and the second tight end the Buckeyes have recruited out of the state of Georgia in the last two recruiting cycles. Top-twenty tight end Bennett Christian was part of the 2022 class.
The scouting report on Thurman says he has good hands and is very athletic, but is still raw and will need to become a better route runner. Lockwood is probably more advanced overall right now, but Thurman has a very high ceiling and shows the potential to become an impact player. Both are considered very good fits for Ryan Day’s offense.
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If everything goes as expected, Ohio State’s 2023 class that currently has eighteen members could swell to as many as twenty-one by the end of the month. Defensive lineman John Hall and linebacker Tackett Curtis (read my article on him here) are both expected to choose the Buckeyes when they announce their decisions in the next few weeks.