Ohio State Football: Buckeyes lose out on top two recruiting targets

The Ohio State football program did not have a good day when it came to Signing Day in the early signing period. While they were able to get a four-star defensive end, not much good came of the day. In fact, it was pretty much a disaster if I do say so myself.

Not only did the Buckeyes not get any other prospects to join the 2023 recruiting class, but they also lost out on their top two recruiting targets. Ohio State had a shot at getting two top-five defensive ends in this class and missed out on them both and had to circle back to Joshua Mickens.

The Ohio State football program misses out on Damon Wilson and Matayo Uiagalelei.

It started out in the morning when the Buckeyes missed out on five-star defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei. After long being linked to the Buckeyes, and visiting campus multiple times, he spurned Ohio State in favor of Oregon. That was the first blow to the class.

The second blow was even worse. Ohio State also missed out on five-star defensive end Damon Wilson. After being the favorite for several weeks to land Wilson, he decided to sign with Georgia, whom the Buckeyes will see at the end of the month in the Peach Bowl.

Losing out on one of these recruits hurts. To lose out on both is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. The highest-rated prospect for the Buckeyes on the defensive side of the ball is ranked 65th. That’s not good enough if you want to be an elite program year after year.

Ohio State started the day having the seventh-best class in the country. As of right now, they have moved up to fifth. That’s mainly because of the fact that 247Sports is only ranking the teams based on who has signed their LOI right now, not who is still committed but hasn’t yet signed.

This was the fear heading into today. Now that fear has become a reality.