The haul of the last day of subscription is again strong from top to bottom.
The state of Ohio signed the nation’s second best recruiting class earlier this month, trailing only the Crimson Tide record. We spent some time looking at the star-studded group – including the first 15 subscribers – and speculating on who could make an instant impact in 2021.
Ryan Day has signed 21 new players and he hopes to raise that number to 22 while the Buckeyes continue to pursue the defensive side of five star JT Tuimoloau. The latest crop of talent includes five five-star candidates, 13 four-star candidates and a three-star trio. At least a couple of these five stars will be among the top off-season stories. TreVeyon Henderson must push the running back room and Kyle McCord will be in the mix to start under the center.
But each year, we also like to see some of the less acclaimed signatories and what they can bring to the table. Dawand Jones was just that in the class of 2019 and the same can be said of Chris Olave in 2018. It is not always potential customers who do great things in Columbus.
| Player | Hometown | Pos. | Measurable |
Assessment |
Pos. Classification | Nat. Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Hart | Aurora, Colo. | YOU | 6 ft-5, 225 pounds |
★★★ |
No. 16 | No. 392 |
| Jaylen Johnson | Cincinnati, Ohio | SAF | 6 ft-1, 200 pounds |
★★★ |
No. 29 | No. 412 |
| Jthis Mirco | Fremantle, Australia | FOR | 6 ft-3, 200 pounds |
★★★ |
Number 6 | N / D |
When it comes to scary position groups and the Buckeyes potentially looking at the portal, we mainly talk about cornerback as the most needy of the spots. I think the tight end silently isn’t that far behind. Jeremy Ruckert will be one of the best in the country, but there is a lot of uncertainty behind him thanks to the departures of Luke Farrell and Jake Hausmann.
Sam Hart is the only tight end signer in the 2021 class. He shouldn’t have to make an immediate impact assuming Cade Stover and Joe Royer acted as Ruckert’s primary backups. Still, the three-star Colorado is already on campus and will add some depth to the sold-out room. I’m always a fan of accepting offers from teams like Notre Dame and Iowa.
Hart will have a lot of competition beyond just 2021. The state of Ohio currently has two tight ends committed to the 2022 class at Bennett Christian of Georgia and Benji Gosnell of North Carolina. The biggest question in the future may be how the position is used by the next player as a defender. No one expects a repeat performance against Clemson, but Hart is a capable pass catcher who threw 31 balls for seven touchdowns as a junior in 2019.
Home is where Hart is! Welcome to colombo @ sam_hart82 #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/eTcQiPfTiE
– Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 24, 2021
Jaylen Johnson of Cincinnati was one of the leaders of the 2021 class. After his commitment in January 2020, Johnson was one of the most active recruiters helping to build the country’s second best acquisition. At 1.80 meters and 90 kilos, he is starting out in safety, but some think he may become a linebacker in the future.
If he stays in high school, Johnson appears to be more of the strong security type, as opposed to the tall look the Buckeyes have been using lately. Your best long-term trajectory can really be as a racing and coverage linebacker. As for the initial expectations, it will be difficult for him to get a role besides special teams.
In terms of the initial impact of the real freshmen, you probably don’t need to look far beyond the special teams. Australian Cameron Johnston spent four seasons competing for the Buckeyes – while winning a national championship – before moving on to the NFL. Now it’s Jesse Mirco’s turn to do almost the same thing in 2021.
Drue Chrisman is gone, which means that the door is open for Mirco to enter the role of starting gambler. Our initial projection of the depth chart set him up to do just that as a real freshman. The ProKick Australia star was a name we hadn’t heard before when he committed in May 2020. Now he is on his way to being an important part of the efforts of the Ohio State special teams in 2021.
Great things are expected from Jack Sawyer, Emeka Egbuka and the other well-rated Buckeye signers. Let us not forget the rest of the group, as a more typical off-season will help a lot in preparing them for what is to come.
