Lettermen Row National Signing Day HQ
Welcome to National Signing Day at Lettermen Row and the start of the 2022 early signing period for Ohio State.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day welcomes in his third full recruiting class at the helm of the Buckeyes beginning Wednesday. Day and Co. boast the fourth-highest ranked class in the country heading into the December early signing period. If Ohio State is able to cap the influx of talent on a high note, this will be Day’s third top-five recruiting class, joining the No. 5-ranked group in 2020 and the No. 2-ranked haul of 2021. The Buckeyes are also on their way to earning another Big Ten recruiting crown, their 11th in the past 12 cycles.
We will keep you updated right here as each National Letter of Intent arrives at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The Buckeyes have 18 commitments in the class with an average player rating of 92.39 – the second best in the country – as they await a few more potential additions.
Uncommitted targets still on board
Zion Branch: The Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) four-star safety is down to a final three of USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and will announce his decision live on ESPN at 3:15 ET on Wednesday. Branch appears to be trending toward USC, especially after a successful official visit over the weekend to see the Trojans.
Hero Kanu: A four-star out of Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic, the defensive lineman’s recruitment is trending toward Ohio State. But he plans to silently commit to a program and wait to announce his decision until the Jan. 8 All-American Bowl in Texas. The expectation is that Kanu will sign his Letter of Intent during the early signing period.
Omari Abor: This recruitment has had some question marks surrounding it over the last week as far as a decision timeline. The four-star EDGE out of Duncanville (Texas) plans to announce a decision – which appears to be coming down to Ohio State, Texas A&M, Alabama and possibly Texas – at the Jan. 2 Under Armour All-America Game. However, whether or not Abor plans to silently commit and sign during the early period or wait until the Feb. 2 signing day is up in the air.
Carson Hinzman: Ohio State and Wisconsin are battling for this four-star center prospect. Hinzman, a Wisconsin native, does not have a scheduled signing time and may sign anytime between Wednesday and Friday. If he’s not ready to choose between the Buckeyes and Badgers by then he could still choose to take his recruitment to February.
Christen Miller: At one time Ohio State was the favorite to land this four-star defensive tackle from Georgia. As the early signing period arrives it seems the home-state Bulldogs are the expected destination. Like Kanu and Abor, Christen Miller is expected to sign this week but will not make any announcement about his decision until Jan. 8.
Terrance Brooks flips to Texas
Terrance Brooks: Texas made a serious late push amid rumors of coaching changes in Columbus. The Longhorns capitalized, as Brooks announced that he flipped from Ohio State to Texas, and he signed with the Longhorns on Wednesday. The decision from Brooks is likely tied to the future of Buckeyes assistant coach Kerry Coombs and whether or not he returns to the Ohio State staff.
Commits who have signed with Ohio State
Below are links to each player’s On3 recruiting profiles – plus links to scouting reports and the stories of how they ended up in the Ohio State class.
Sonny Styles: Styles originally committed in the 2023 class but recently reclassified to give the Buckeyes one of their most important signees.
C.J. Hicks: Hicks is a five-star linebacker out of Ohio who was at the core of helping build the class as a peer recruiter.
Devin Brown: Ohio State added the four-star quarterback’s commitment late in the cycle to add to an already loaded room.
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: Larry Johnson added a long, high-upside pass rusher as the Buckeyes first defensive line commit in the class.
Tegra Tshabola: Committed as an offensive tackle, the Cincinnati senior may kick inside to be a guard at the next level.
Kyion Grayes: Arguably the most underrated receiver in the 2022 class, Grayes has a chance to be an early contributor for the Buckeyes.
Caleb Burton: Originally the top-ranked receiver in his class, Burton has bounced back from injury and comes to Ohio State with massive upside.
Kaleb Brown: One of the most electric players in this class, the Chicago receiver will be used in multiple ways by Brian Hartline.
Caden Curry: The Buckeyes patience paid off as their highest-priority defensive line recruit waited until Tuesday to commit.
Jyaire Brown: The first commitment in the cycle, Brown kicked things off and will bring physicality and versatility to the cornerbacks room.
Kojo Antwi: Another highly touted receiver, Antwi adds another elite skillset to the most loaded room in the nation.
George Fitzpatrick: Fitzpatrick comes to Columbus by way of Colorado, where he showed his value as an athletic, bruising offensive tackle.
Dallan Hayden: Tony Alford and Ohio State targeted Hayden as their top running back early in the cycle.
Kye Stokes: He has the potential to be the 2022 season’s version of Denzel Burke as a low-ranked, surprise early contributor at defensive back.
Bennett Christian: He is one of the best blocking tight ends in the country and will add to a Buckeyes unit that needs depth.
Ryan Turner: Kerry Coombs believes he has found a diamond in the rough and beat out Clemson for the Florida cornerback.
Avery Henry: Henry completely retooled his body, losing 85 pounds to earn an offer from the Buckeyes that he took advantage of.
Gabe Powers still to sign
Gabe Powers: This has been a truly drama-free recruitment as the in-state linebacker has been solid to the Buckeyes throughout the past 18 months. And there remains no drama on the first day of the early signing period despite Powers not having signed yet. Powers will sign with Ohio State during a ceremony on Friday in Marysville.
Buckeyes add kicker late in class
Jayden Fielding: A kicker out of IMG (Fla.) Academy, Fielding will start his Ohio State career as a preferred walk-on.
Ryan Day breaks down recruiting class
Day took the podium on Wednesday afternoon to answer questions on how this Ohio State class came together, his “concerns” about how NIL is affecting the recruiting world and give his thoughts on members of the Buckeyes class.
Grading the Buckeyes class
Lettermen Row’s Jeremy Birmingham and Zack Carpenter took a dive into the Ohio State class to dish out position grades and evaluate the Buckeyes finish. Birm analyzed the offensive class, and Zack broke down the defensive haul.
Ohio State class rankings
The loss of Brooks to Texas dropped the Buckeyes slightly in the class’ team score and average player rating but did not move them out of their national and Big Ten rankings.
On3 Consensus Team Ranking: No. 4 National; No. 1 Big Ten
Class Ratings: 93.58 team score; 92.39 average player rating
Total commitments: 18 (two 5-stars; 14 four-stars; two 3-stars)
Follow along on the Lettermen Lounge message boards to join the discussion about the Ohio State 2022 recruiting class and follow Lettermen Row director of recruiting Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) and Lettermen Row recruiting reporter Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) on Twitter for additional insight and Buckeyes recruiting news.
And for a look at the top programs around the country Ohio State is competing against, head to On3’s one-stop shop for National Signing Day updates throughout the day.
