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Carter Smith impresses Ohio State, earns official visit invite

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COLUMBUS — As soon as the long recruiting dead period ended, Carter Smith knew he wanted to get to Ohio State.

So he wasted no time, scheduling a private workout with the Buckeyes on June 1. The goal was simple: Earn an offer from Greg Studrawa and the home-town powerhouse.

To this point, that hasn’t happened, but the 6-foot-6, 275-pound standout from Olentangy Liberty (Powell) took one big step on Tuesday. He worked out, and according to sources, impressed the Buckeyes. The workout led to another, more important invitation for Smith.

“They asked me to come back for an official visit,” Smith told Lettermen Row. “I’m still trying to get the dates sorted out. June is kind of crazy for my family.”

No offer has come yet for Smith.

“We didn’t talk about an offer coming, so that’s still up in the air,” he said. “But I think they saw what they wanted to see.”

The opportunity to come back to Ohio State on an official visit could be telling. The Buckeyes have just one offensive lineman committed in the Class of 2022, and now Smith becomes a much more viable option. With more than 25 offers, the No. 12-ranked Ohio prospect was going into the Ohio State workout confident.

“I’ve been lifting, doing offensive drills,” Smith told Lettermen Row.”It’s been really fun. I’m ready to show them what I’ve got.”

According to those familiar with the performance at Ohio State, Smith did just that. He was bigger than the Buckeyes expected him to be and more athletic as well. The worry over his weight, specifically, was something the Buckeyes communicated to him months ago.

“They want to see me at 280 or 285 pounds,” Carter said in February. “So that’s my goal for the next few months.”

Consider that worry, at least for now, mitigated. The former tight end has been working hard to turn his frame into an offensive lineman’s frame — and he’ll continue working toward that. He was just about 240 pounds last season.

That goal has been reached. With a key workout done, a new goal comes: Earn an Ohio State offer.

Carter Smith is closer to that than ever before. Now he’ll need to sort out when he can get back to the Buckeyes campus with official visits coming to Tennessee, Virginia and Northwestern already scheduled.

There’s a tentative plan for Smith to announce a college commitment in early July, so a Buckeyes offer — and a return visit — needs to happen in relatively short order.