The Ohio State football program has had a strong month of June when it comes to the recruiting trail. After a slow start to the class, the Buckeyes were up to 17 commits in the class as of Sunday night. Adding some players to the secondary and the offensive line has been nice for them to do.
Over the last few weeks, the Ohio State Buckeyes have been getting some predictions to land some really strong recruits. Of course, predictions don't mean much if they are not able to actually get the commitments from the recruits. That is something that had been true for Marcus Fakatou.
Fakatou announced he was going to commit on Monday. The Buckeyes had received several predictions to land him, and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they were going to land him. On Monday afternoon, Fakatou made it official, committing to Ohio State.
Five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou commits to Ohio State
Fakatou made it official by announcing on YouTube that he will be playing in Columbus next season. Fakatou is listed as the second-best defensive tackle in the country. He stands at 6'6 and 275 pounds, so he is a big player to be on the inside. Fakatou will make a very good defensive tackle.
This is the second five-star defensive lineman that the Buckeyes have brought in this class. DJ Jacobs has been committed for a while. He will rush on the edge while Fakatou will plug up the middle. It's a pretty solid combination for Ohio State to have in one class.
With Fakatou committing, the Buckeyes now have 18 commitments for the class. They have plenty of time to add more to fill out the class, and that's exactly what fans should expect them to do. Ohio State could end up having 25-27 prospects in this class by the time all is said and done.
Ryan Day's patient approach is paying off on the recruiting trail
Fans who panicked earlier in the spring never should have had those thoughts. Last year, the Buckeyes got several recruits early, only to see some prominent ones flip closer to Signing Day. In order to keep the same thing from happening, Day has been more patient this cycle.
An increased focus on NIL has also helped the Buckeyes on the recruiting trail. They have not been shy about offering NIL money to the recruits that they are very interested in. Last year, they lost several highly-touted recruits because of a lack of NIL offerings.
Day and Ross Bjork have changed their approach to recruiting on that front. It seems to be working out, and the Buckeyes are now adding more recruits at the perfect time. Of course, they have to keep these commitments until December, which has become harder than ever.
Fakatou seems very locked in. It doesn't seem likely that another program will swoop in and take him. Ryan Day has done a good job of recruiting him, as has Larry Johnson. That's why fans should feel very good about what has happened.
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