Ohio State Football: Will there be any signing day surprises for OSU?

The Ohio State football team is one day away from early signing day. Will there be any last-second surprises for the 2023 recruiting class?

What a busy week it’s been for the Ohio State football team and head coach Ryan Day. And it’s only going to get busier as tomorrow is early signing day for the recruiting class of 2023. The Buckeyes currently have the seventh-best class in the nation, but that’s because they only have 20 verbal commits. By average star rating, the Buckeyes come in as No. 3.

Ryan Day and recruiting director Mark Pantoni have a chance to add to that class tomorrow with three defensive end prospects. Damon Wilson headlines that group as the five-star No. 13 player in the class is going to choose between Ohio State and Georgia.

Seen as a Buckeye lean for most of the fall, Georgia has made up ground lately as he’s expected to sign with the Bulldogs. Some believe that the NIL deal that Georgia has is too good to pass up.

Second on that list is another five-star recruit, Matayo Uiagalelei of St. John Bosco High School in California. The Buckeyes have landed a few recent players from that school but the race for Matayo is too close to call according to experts. He’s choosing between staying on the west coast at Oregon or USC or coming to the Midwest to play for Larry Johnson at Ohio State.

Lastly, and the most likely to become a Buckeye, is Joshua Mickens of Indianapolis. The four-star end was committed to LSU before a November visit to Columbus. He reopened his recruiting at that point and has been seen as a heavy Buckeye lean ever since.

So, it looks like Ohio State will add at least one defensive lineman to its commitment list and they hope for two. Among to current 20 verbal commits, it appears unlikely that any of them will flip late, but we have seen surprises before. If any of the current Ohio State commits is to flip, look at cornerback Kayin Lee as it’s been reported that Auburn and Georgia are still recruiting him hard.

The Buckeyes are without a running back in this class following the de-commitment of four-star back Mark Fletcher. If Ohio State adds any last-minute surprises, look at this position. The Buckeyes might be trying to land a player like three-star back Jamarion Wilcox, who’s been crystal ball picked to Kentucky, according to 247Sports.

The last player to keep an eye on is Alabama commit, Caleb Downs, who is a five-star top 10 player in the class. The Buckeyes have been trying to flip the safety for months but the likelihood of that happening is officially slim.

Keep it locked into Scarlet and Game for all the recruiting news on signing day.