Predicting Ohio State to land another in-state target

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has pieced together one of the best offensive recruiting classes in the country.

Head coach Ryan Day and the entire offensive staff — Brian Hartline, Justin Frye, Tony Alford, Corey Dennis and Keenan Bailey — have 11 commits on that side of the ball and they aren’t done yet.

Ohio State has long tried to land two tight ends in a recruiting class. It has one with four-star Chattanooga (Tenn) Baylor School commit Max LeBlanc.

And I’m predicting four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville tight end Damarion Witten to be the second. I have set my pick into the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with a 75-percent confidence level.

Lettermen Row offers up the reason below.

Relationships, Production and Proximity

The easy thing to point toward is the historic Glenville-Ohio State pipeline.

It is well-documented how many former Tarblooders turned into Buckeyes. 2023 linebacker signee Arvell Reese is the most recent.

OK, now that point has been made. Let’s get a little deeper.

Witten has strong relationships with a number of coaches throughout his top five schools — Ohio State, Kentucky, Texas, Oregon and Wisconsin. But those relationships inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center feel the strongest.

Specifically, his relationship with tight ends coach Keenan Bailey.

“Me and Coach Bailey have gotten real close, we’ve been talking more each week,” Witten said. “I like how he’s real all the time and will never lie to you about anything.

“He also can relate to me because he is young.”

Witten’s relationship with Bailey has blossomed, and that is carrying over to other coaches on staff. The in-state prospect has seen an uptick in conversations with head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.

“We are close, I talk to coach Day and coach Hartline every time I go,” he said. “We all enjoy being around each other.”

Witten hears routinely from a number of Ohio State commits including in-state guys Deontae and Devontae Armstrong, and Garrett Stover.

LeBlanc also is working on Witten to join the class.

Along with relationships, the production from Ohio State tight ends in recent years has stood out to Witten.

The Buckeyes carved up a big role for returning starter Cade Stover last fall. Now that he is back for his final season of eligibility, expect his role in the offense to expand. Ohio State brought in 2023 tight end Jelani Thurman for the same reason and his time is coming. LeBlanc committed because of that vision.

That vision of what Witten can be is resonating with him.

Even though Damarion Witten expects to make a decision in December, and he most likely will, I’m expecting his decision to keep him close to home.

And that’s with a commitment to Ohio State.

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