Buckeye Bits: Ohio State gearing up for another pivotal recruiting weekend

COLUMBUS — Ohio State held a very sneaky recruiting weekend last week and the Buckeyes are at it again.

You’ll remember that last weekend, David Sanders, Malik Autry, Zion Grady and Trey McNutt all visited Ohio State, and the Buckeyes aced that test. They’ve given themselves another one this weekend.

Lettermen Row can confirm that four-star Carmel (Calif) offensive tackle Jackson Lloyd, four-star Fort Worth (Texas) North Crowley interior offensive lineman Henry Fenuku, three-star Roswell (Ga) interior offensive lineman Andrew Stargel, three-star Philadelphia (Pa) St. Joesph’s running back and Kentucky commit Isaiah West and four-star Bradenton (Fla) IMG Academy linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng will all visit Ohio State this weekend.

As it stands, the Buckeyes have one offensive lineman committed (Carter Lowe), no running backs, and two linebackers (TJ Alford and Eli Lee).

Offensive Line Push

Offensive line coach Justin Frye has hit the recruiting trail harder than just about any position coach on the Buckeyes’ staff. And it’s because he has to.

Ohio State has an in-state gem in the fold already with Carter Lowe out of Toledo Whitmer. But Lowe can’t be the only guy in the class. This might be jumping the gun a bit, but I’m putting Andrew Stargel on commitment watch. He told our Alex Gleitman that once Ohio State offered, it immediately moved into his top five of North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and UCF. Ohio State hopefully can beat out those programs despite being new to the race. Stargell originally was thinking about committing on July 4, but if this weekend goes well enough — like super out of this world well — I get the sense he wouldn’t wait.

To me, of this offensive line group, the most important is Jackson Lloyd. The four-star offensive tackle is a heavy Alabama lean and he will be in Tuscaloosa for his official visit in June. That’s the only OV he has scheduled as of now. He has familiarity with Frye and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who when he was at UCLA, extended Lloyd his first Power Conference offer.

Henry Fenuku is an interesting prospect. Scouted as an interior offensive lineman, he’s 6-foot-4, 295 pounds in the database. Good size for either a center or guard. If he’s taller, maybe a swing tackle? Guard is the fit, however.

A New Running Back Target

Ohio State running backs coach Carlos Locklyn visited Kentucky running back commit Isaiah West last weekend. West is the No. 495 overall prospect and the No. 36 running back in the On3 Industry Rankings. He committed to the Wildcats on March 1, but when Ohio State comes knocking, anyone and everyone should listen.

Ohio State is trending for four-star Santa Ana (Calif) Mater Dei running back Jordon Davison. Things are great there and I like where the Buckeyes stand.

Four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Villa Angela-St. Joesph running back Bo Jackson reportedly is a Georgia lean per On3’s Steve Wiltfong. Just wait until he gets to Ohio State for his official visit at the end of the month and then we’ll see what happens.

The Third Linebacker?

Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis has been pushing for a three linebacker class. He’s two-thirds of the way there.

Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng will make his second trip to Columbus this weekend and if it goes well, I would expect him to lock in an official visit. As thought, four-star McKinney (Texas) linebacker Riley Pettijohn is now a heavy Texas lean and I’d expect him to make a commitment to the Longhorns once his official visits are done at the end of June.

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