Ohio State football: Buckeyes could still add a player to 2023 class

The Ohio State football team might not be done with its 2023 recruiting class just yet as they offered a four-star safety on Monday.

The Ohio State football team and head coach Ryan Day might have one more surprise left up its sleeve for the 2023 recruiting class. Brandyn Hillman, a four-star top 150 national player from Portsmouth, Virginia was offered a scholarship on Monday. Hillman is ranked as the No. 7 athlete in the class although he’s expected to play safety.

Hillman signed with Notre Dame back in December but recently was let go of his National Letter of Intent by Marcus Freeman for ‘personal reasons.’ While it’s not clear what those reasons are, a slew of schools jumped at the chance to offer Hillman a scholarship including Michigan, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, LSU, Virginia Tech, and Virginia.

Hillman committed to the Fighting Irish just weeks before signing day so maybe his heart wasn’t always in South Bend. And while it’s unknown where Hillman is leaning at the moment, he has to look at this Buckeye three-safety defense and see an opportunity.  After next season, with Lathan Ransom and Josh Proctor likely gone, Hillman will have a chance at early playing time if he chooses to come to Ohio State.

The next step for Ryan Day and Perry Eliano is to lock in a visit to Columbus for Hillman. With spring practices and the annual spring game right around the corner, now would be a great time for Hillman to see what the Buckeye program is all about.

If Hillman does choose Ohio State, that would bring this 2023 class up to 21 players. They also should see a little jump in recruiting rankings as they currently sit No. 5 according to 247 Sports. He would also join Malik Hartford, Jayden Bonsu, and Cedrick Hawkins as safeties in the class.