Ohio State Football: Names to watch during Signing Day
By Ryan Stano
Today is the day! It used to be in February. But now that the early signing period is here, today is actually the day when most recruits sign their letters of intent. The Ohio State football program will be welcoming a lot of new Buckeyes today because of it.
The 2023 recruiting class hasn’t quite gone as planned for the Buckeyes. They have 20 commits right now and are only ranked seventh in the country right now. It’s a bit disappointing to see a class that started out so promising end up not quite being as great as everyone thought.
There’s still a chance that the 2023 class ends up finishing strong today. There are some players who could end up committing to the Buckeyes that would make the class finish a lot better than they are ranked right now. Ohio State may not have a lot of momentum going into today, but things can still change.
There are three names that I’m looking at for today’s class that would be huge to get for the Buckeyes. If they can land all three of these prospects today, this class will end up being a top-four or maybe even a top-three class in the country.
The first name is the most important for Ohio State.
1. Damon Wilson
Damon Wilson is the most important target for Ohio State today. He is the best player left on the board for them to grab. He’s a five-star defensive end from Florida that had been linked to the Buckeyes for a really long time, even visiting Columbus twice.
Things have changed in recent weeks though. It seems that he is now leaning towards choosing Georgia, Ohio State’s opponent in the Peach Bowl. He is now projected to end up committing there tomorrow when he appears on ESPN at noon. Ohio State still has a shot though.
I think there’s about a 40% chance that Ohio State can get him. It’s tough to have been in the lead for him for the last three months to then lose him really close to Signing Day. Adding him to the class would be a huge addition to a class that doesn’t have a stud defensive lineman in it.
The next name on this list is someone that the Buckeyes have been trying to flip for a while.