The Ohio State football program has been trying to land some recruits over the last month. It has been a while since they have actually been able to land one, but they have received tons of predictions for some elite recruits. Even so, they haven't been able to get commitments yet.
Ohio State has been on the cusp of some recruiting momentum for the last few weeks. Of course, momentum doesn't actually happen until they actually get some commitments. On Sunday, the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to actually get a commitment at a position of need.
Ryan Day and his staff were able to land a four-star cornerback in the state. Deontay Malone, a cornerback from Massillon, has committed to the Buckeyes. He has been someone on Tim Walton's radar for a while, and now he has decided to play for Ohio State.
Ohio State football lands four-star recruit Deontay Malone
Malone is the 14th commit for the Buckeyes in the 2027 recruiting class. He is also the first cornerback in the class, which is a position of need for Ohio State. The Buckeyes have not been able to get a cornerback up to this point. Now, they have one.
It's unlikely that Malone will be the only CB recruit that Walton will bring in for this class. The Buckeyes will likely add Jaden Carey soon, as well. Adding multiple cornerbacks in the same class is something that Day likes to do every single year. In fact, he sometimes brings in three or four corners, depending on the class.
Malone is someone who is solid, but he's not an elite recruit. He visited Columbus on the last weekend of May, and clearly, he liked what he saw. Walton believes that he can coach him up to be a solid player. He has decent size, standing six feet tall and weighing 182 pounds.
Ohio State needs to pick it up on the recruiting trail
Scoring a commitment from Malone is a good start, but Ohio State needs to start picking it up on the recruiting trail. Their class is starting to lag behind other programs, including ones that are not on the level of prestige that the Buckeyes possess. Even with this commitment, Ohio State still sits just 13th in the country.
If they are able to land some pledges from the five-star recruits they are predicted to land, then they have a shot to slowly increase their spot in the recruiting rankings. That is what Day and his staff are hoping for. He is not panicked about the number of recruits they have right now.
Perhaps this is the commitment that kind of breaks the seal. Now, the Buckeyes have a shot to get a flood of commitments. They still have official visits lined up for the remaining weekends in June. That should help them get some commitments, as well.
By the end of the month, Ohio State should be north of 15 commits. There's a shot they end up closer to 20, as well.
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