Five-star DL looks to visit Ohio State

Jan 24, 2023 - 10:01 AM

Ohio State and the college football world are within just the first few weeks of the offseason. A lot of talk surrounding the Buckeyes is focused on what the team needs to do to continue to elevate the level of play on the field. Ohio State made the College Football Playoffs this year, but once again fell short of its goal, losing to Georgia in the first round.

While we will learn a lot about next year’s roster in the coming months, Ohio State will also be heavily involved in the recruiting headlines. This held true on Monday, as the Buckeyes saw plenty of updates on prospects, including potentially soon hosting a five-star defensive lineman. The Buckeyes will also learn later today if a 2024 four-star tight end will commit to the program.

The men’s basketball Buckeyes also were included in Monday’s headlines.

Five-star DL target planning visit to Ohio State

Ohio State has made defensive line a major priority early in the 2024 recruiting cycle. While the Buckeyes have plenty of depth at the position at first glance, with the explosion of the transfer portal, there is no such thing as too much depth at any position.

The Buckeyes have extended offers to several prospects at the position already, and on Monday we learned their chances with one of the best targets in the 2024 class are better than most. Ohio State 2024 five-star DL target David Stone (Bradenton, FL / IMG Academy) announced a trio of scheduled visits on Monday, but the Buckeyes were more interested in the unplanned visits. Stone mentioned in a second Tweet that he is working on scheduling more visits, including one to Ohio State.

Ohio State has not been recruiting Stone long, just extending a scholarship offer to him on Jan. 11. It appears that offer meant a lot to Stone though, as he is already hoping to visit Columbus.

The Buckeyes obviously have plenty of competition for Stone, as he is scheduling a handful of upcoming visits. Of the competition, Michigan State and Oklahoma appear to be the strongest. Stone made it known he will be making a return visit to Michigan State this weekend, which will make it two visits in just as many weekends to East Lansing. Oklahoma was missing from the above update on his visits, but he has already visited with the Sooners.

Ohio State will need Stone to make at least one visit to the University if it intends to remain a contender in his recruitment. Stone is the No. 2 DL target in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and is the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2024 class. He is also the No. 3 prospect out of Florida.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State is hoping to earn a tight end commitment later today when 2024 four-star TE Michael Smith (Savannah, GA / Calvary Day) is scheduled to make his announcement just after noon. Smith recently listed Ohio State as one of his top schools, and the Buckeyes certainly have a chance at landing him today. They do have some stiff competition for Smith though, as South Carolina is viewed as the heavy favorites to land him.

Tight end is another priority position for the Buckeyes in this class, and getting one this early in the class would be big.

• Ryan Day and the Ohio State football staff are not the only team recruiting for the Buckeyes, as men’s basketball head coach Chris Holtmann is also busy hitting the trail. Holtmann and the Buckeyes will soon be playing host to one of the nation’s top centers in the 2025 recruiting class in Alier Maluk (Pittsburgh, PA / Imani Christian Academy).

This would be an immense victory for Holtmann, as one of the biggest critiques of his teams at Ohio State has been the lack of a true center. Current Buckeyes Zed Key and Felix Okpara have been productive this season, but the possibility of having a true blue-chip center should be more than enticing for Buckeye Nation.

• Ohio State’s coaching staff hit the recruiting tail Monday, taking advantage of the offseason and traveling to Texas. The trip down south was not to avoid the cold Columbus weather, at least not the only reason, as the Buckeyes visited with rising 2024 four-star offensive lineman Daniel Cruz (North Richland Hills, TX / Richland).