Ohio State football stays hot on the recruiting trail with another 2024 addition

The Ohio State football team received a recruiting boom over the weekend when northeast Ohio native and former Washington commit Dominic Kirks announced he was going to stay home and become the third, and more than likely, final defensive line commit for the Buckeyes in the 2024 class.

Kirks, who is ranked 251 nationally by the 247Sports composite rankings is the 12th-highest recruit in the state for this cycle and the third-highest-ranked defensive lineman in the country. The 6-4, 255 lb. two-sport athlete finished his senior season at Riverside High School in Painesville, Ohio with 43 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks in only seven games.

Kirks, who has a basketball background, also lined up at tight end on offense, but will undoubtedly be focusing on his defensive line skills when he arrives in Columbus later this year. Kirks had previously committed to the Washington Huskies in June of last summer after taking official visits to Washington, Pitt, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. After being offered by USC on October 31, 2023, Kirks took one final official visit to the West Coast on December 8 to visit the Trojans.

One month later on December 20, during the early National Signing Day, rumors started floating around that Ohio State had contacted Kirks one last time to gauge his interest in possibly being a Buckeye. Those rumors escalated throughout the day as it became apparent that Kirks wasn’t going to sign with Washington, who at the time was preparing for their College Football Playoff semifinal game against Texas.

On January 12, Kirks officially de-committed from Washington and then that weekend took an official visit to Ohio State. One week later, he flipped his commitment to the Buckeyes. Kirks will make it official on the traditional National Signing Day, February 7, joining 5-star Eddrick Houston and 3-star Eric Mensah as the only defensive linemen in the class.

The Ohio State football team lost two previously committed defensive linemen in 5-star Justin Scott and 4-star Marquise Lightfoot, both to Miami, which is why the coaching staff didn’t show as much interest in Kirks earlier in the cycle.

With the addition of Kirks, Ohio State has jumped from fifth to second in the 247Composite Rankings for the 2024 recruiting cycle, which also takes into account transfers as well. The Buckeyes might not be done adding to this roster for 2024. Several crystal balls have come in for 5-star quarterback Julian Sayin, who was committed to Alabama, and decided to transfer out before he even got going after hearing the news that Nick Saban was going to retire as the Crimson Tide head coach.

If Sayin were to commit to the Buckeyes, that would give Ryan Day and new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien two 5-star quarterbacks in the 2024 class.