Alabama Crimson Tide

All You Need To Know About Ohio State Recruiting 2017

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:37 a.m. ET

Fansided, Billy George/FanSided via Scarlet and Game

Tate Martell visiting Ohio State

Members of the 2017 Ohio State Recruiting class and prospects..

Let’s be honest, even the biggest Ohio State fans don’t follow recruiting. For instance, I have a friend who has been to every Ohio State home game in the last decade, and he asks me what’s going in with recruiting. “So, anything new with Buckeye recruiting, Billy?” For his sake, and the sake of all others out there, I will tell you everything you need to know about Ohio State’s 2017 recruiting class.

As it stands now, the Buckeyes have six 5-star prospects in the class (more than anyone in the country), eleven 4-star prospects, and the lone 3-star recruit that they have (Blake Haubeil) just happens to be the No. 1 kicker in the country. The class is currently ranked No. 2 in the country, one behind Alabama.

Of all of the 5-star commits in the 2017 class, Ohio State has landed the country’s No. 3 offensive tackle in Josh Myers, the No. 1 offensive guard in Wyatt Davis, the No. 5 wide receiver in Trevon Grimes, the No. 4 cornerback in Shaun Wade, the No. 3 weak-side defensive end in Chase Young, and the No. 2 outside linebacker in Baron Browning.

Two of the 4-star commits in the class were formerly 5-stars, and are teammates at Bishop Gorman High School. One of them is Tate Martell, the country’s No. 2 dual-threat quarterback, and the other is Tyjon Linsey, the country’s No. 6 wide receiver.

Other 4-star commits on the offensive side of the ball include J.K. Dobbins, the No. 1 all-purpose running back in the country and Brendon White who can play multiple positions on both sides of the ball. Ohio State did have a verbal commitment from 4-star running back Todd Sibley but he de-committed a few months ago.

The Bucks picked up five 4-star commits on the defensive side of the ball, including cornerbacks Amir Riep and Marcus Williamson, defensive tackles Jerron Cage and Haskell Garrett, and linebacker Anjuan Simmons. However, like Sibley, Simmons de-committed from Ohio State. Coincidentally, the Buckeyes picked up 4-star linebacker Pete Werner to replace him, and Werner looks really good on film.

As far as other players the Buckeyes will land, that remains to be seen. However, it’s not so much of a mystery who they have the upper hand on. 4-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris out of Cleveland, Ohio is one of them.

At 6’5″ 210 lbs. Harris is one of a hand full of receivers the Bucks are pursuing. One reason why Ohio State has depth at wide receiver in such a multi-receiver demanding spread offense is because of how they have recruited.

Jaylen Harris would be an excellent pick up and Ohio State has been his leader for quite some time now.

Another person that’s high on the Buckeyes’ radar is 5-Star running back Cam Akers out of Clinton, Mississippi. The former Alabama commitment is the No. 2 back in the nation. He was expected to come to Columbus for Friday Night Lights back in July, but only recent made a visit for “The Game”.

The Buckeyes were high on his radar since his decommitment from the Crimson Tide. However, at this moment, it appears as if Florida State has the upper hand on him. We’ll see what happens. Akers will announce his college choice December 27.

Shifting the focus to the defensive side of the ball, many top-tier recruits are really high on Ohio State. One of them is 5-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson out of Episcopal high school in Bellaire, Texas. A heavy LSU lean, it hasn’t been apparent that Wilson had are interested in Ohio State until the last couple of weeks or so.

From what it seems, however, the Buckeyes may have a chance at landing him. Sure it may be a long shot, but Urban Meyer is the Steph Curry of recruiting. Long shots aren’t hard for him to make.

Another target is 4-Star Defensive Tackle Jay Tufele out of South Jordan, Utah. Tufele named Ohio State his favorite this May, but it seems as if Utah, his home state school, is making a very strong push to land him. It appears as if Tufele will choose between Ohio State, Utah and Oregon.

Lastly, Ohio State is in a really good position to land two more 5-star players in the defensive backfield; Grand Prairie, Texas cornerback Jeffrey Okudah and Calabasas, California cornerback Darnay Holmes. Holmes is the nation’s No. 2 ranked cornerback, and Okudah, a two-way player whose skill-set mirrors that of Michigan all-American safety Jabrill Peppers’, is the nation’s top-ranked cornerback.

Ohio State is seemingly in the driver’s seat to land Jeffrey Okudah, and many (including me) assume that it’s not a matter of if he will choose to take his talents to Columbus, it’s a matter of when. When it comes to Darnay Holmes, he will make his college selection on January 7, 2017 and the teams that have the best shot at landing him are Ohio State, UCLA, Stanford and Arizona, with Ohio State and UCLA leading the pack.

So, let’s recap, shall we? Here’s how Ohio State’s class looks as of now, ranking the commits from top to bottom:

5-star linebacker Baron Browning

5-star offensive tackle Josh Myers

5-star offensive guard Wyatt Davis

5-star cornerback Shaun Wade

5-star defensive end Chase Young

4-star wide receiver Trevon Grimes

4-star wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey

4-star all-purpose back J.K. Dobbins

4-star safety Isaiah Pryor

4-star dual-threat quarterback Tate Martell

4-star defensive tackle Haskell Garrett