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Ohio State expecting double-digit early-enrollees in 2021 class

Birm-New-Profile-Aviby: Birm12/09/20Birm

Have a question about Ohio State recruiting? This is the place for you, five days a week. Submit your questions on Twitter or on the Lettermen Row forums. Check-in daily to see what’s on the mind of Buckeyes fans all over the country. Today we’re breaking down the expected early enrollees from the 2021 Ohio State recruiting class.

Ohio State Recruiting Question of the Day

The era of the early-enrollee is officially upon college football, and Ohio State is more than happy to reap the benefits of it.

The Buckeyes had a record 14 signees enroll last January from the Class of 2020. And it seems that Ohio State is going to be making a similar push as the hellscape that has been 2020 ends, because the 2021 recruiting class is heading to Columbus en masse following the Christmas holiday. A number of those players, including 5-star defensive end Jack Sawyer and 5-star tailback TreVeyon Henderson, are champing at the bit to get back to the football field as early as possible after missing the entirety of their senior seasons because of Covid-19-related opt-outs and postponements.

This next wave of early-enrollees actually had some belief that they’d be able to suit up and play for Ohio State in the spring if the Big Ten hadn’t reversed course and decided to play this fall, something that Ryan Day and the Buckeyes administration was fighting for and using as a potential lure for the Ohio State commitments. That was something Day discussed in August.

I think there’s some excitement about the possibility of playing two seasons in one year. I think that’s a really exciting thing for them to consider, and I’m gonna fight really, really hard so that if I’m a mid-year guy coming in, if we have the opportunity to play in January and then also in the fall, that it will only count for one year of eligibility because it’s only in one calendar year.

I think that’s really exciting for them and is a possibility that really interests them.

Ultimately, that avenue fell through for the Buckeyes and for their commitments. But the excitement about getting to Ohio State as soon as possible hasn’t waned at all. That’s why so many of the young Ohio State verbals are in the middle of packing up and preparing to move on to the next phase of their football careers.

TreVeyon Henderson-Ohio State-Buckeyes-Ohio State football

TreVeyon Henderson hasn’t played football this year, but he’s ready to get enrolled at Ohio State. (TreVeyon Henderson/Twitter)

Who is going to enroll early for Ohio State?

As of right now, there are 14 future Buckeyes getting set to head to Columbus. But any potential additions to the Ohio State 2021 class during the early signing period — namely 5-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka — could still decide to do similarly. These are the young men expected to be starting their college careers when January hits.

  • QB Kyle McCord, 5-star, Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joe’s Prep
  • RB TreVeyon Henderson, 5-star, Hopewell (Va.)
  • RB Evan Pryor, 4-star, Cornelius (N.C.) William A. Hough
  • WR Jayden Ballard, 4-star, Massillon (Ohio) Washington
  • WR Marvin Harrison, 4-star, Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joe’s Prep
  • TE Sam Hart, 3-star, Aurora (Colo.) Cherokee Trail
  • OL Ben Christman, 4-star, Richfield (Ohio) Revere
  • OL Zen Michalski, 4-star, Floyd’s Knob (Ind.) Floyd Central
  • DL Jack Sawyer, 5-star, Pickerington (Ohio) North
  • DL Tyleik Williams, 4-star, Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed
  • LB Reid Carrico, 4-star, Ironton (Ohio)
  • DB Jantzen Dunn, 4-star, Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren
  • DB Denzel Burke, 4-star, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro
  • P Jesse Mirco, 3-star, Australia

The Class of 2021 has been challenged from start to finish, with Covid-19 restrictions eliminating college visits, All-American games and entire seasons of football. But at least some things haven’t been impacted, and these 14 prospects aren’t going to miss the opportunity to compete at Ohio State as soon as possible.

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