Ohio State visits with a pair of 4-star defensive ends

Every since the decommitment of five-star defensive end Brenton Cox, the Ohio State coaching staff has been on the recruiting trail trying secure pledges from outside pass rushers.

Hitting the road to watch a pair of big time targets play basketball, Urban Meyer and crew kicked off the weekend by watching four-star end Tyreke Smith and Cleveland Heights take the hardwood on Friday night.

24 hours after visiting with Smith, Urban Meyer, Larry Johnson, and Greg Schiano made the trek up to New Jersey to preach the Buckeye gospel to another four-star talent, Jayson Oweh.

Smith was once thought of as a Penn State lean, but has many around the scene starting to believe that the Buckeyes are now in front for his services.

While Smith’s recruitment might be starting to lean in favor of OSU, Oweh still has scouts and reporters thinking there is a very good shot that he’ll end up in Happy Valley when it's all said and done.

Both Smith and Oweh will wait until after the early signing period to announce their college plans. Following in the footsteps of a long list of standout recruits, the pair will shut down their recruitment at the Under Armour All-American game on January 4, 2018.

Needing help on the edge, will the Buckeyes keep these talented defensive ends away from Penn State and others? We only have a few weeks left until we find out. Stick with Land-Grant Holy Land for the latest.

Underclassmen check out OSU

While Urban Meyer, Larry Johnson, and others are still working their tail off to make sure the Ohio State class of 2018 finishes off strong, the Buckeyes are still keeping an eye out for top tier underclassmen.

Having the opportunity to show recruits around the Ohio State campus before the quiet period went into effect, the Buckeye staff played host to numerous prospects from the 2019 and 2020 classes.

Want to know who visited? Land-Grant Holy Land has your back. Here are just a few of the recruits who made it to Columbus over the weekend.

4-star DE Noah Potter

Class: 2019

Town: Mentor, OH/Mentor

Offers: Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Duke, etc.

3-star CB MJ Devonshire

Class: 2019

Town: Aliquippa, PA/Aliquippa

Offers: Ohio State, Oregon State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Toledo

ATH Zach Hummel

Class: 2019

Town: Hilliard, OH/Bradley

Offers: Louisville, Cincinnati, Toledo

WR Chris Scott

Class: 2020

Town: Pickerington, OH/Pickerington North

Offers: None at the moment

Baldwin, Lake Travis to play for title

Recent Ohio State quarterback pledge Matthew Baldwin and his Lake Travis teammates will have a chance to win a Texas state championship after running away to a 28-14 win over previously-unbeaten Katy High on Saturday.

In the big win, Baldwin, a three-star prospect, connected on 22 of his 30 passing attempts for 225 yards through the air.

It wasn’t all smiles for Baldwin. Leading his squad down the field, the signal caller went down awkwardly after a quarterback keeper and left the ball game in the fourth quarter with a reported meniscus injury.

While it was definitely a scary situation, all signs point towards Baldwin suiting up for the Cavaliers and playing next week.

Trying to win the state championship for the second straight season, Lake Travis will take on class of 2019 Ohio State quarterback target Grant Tisdale and Allen High next Saturday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Quick Hits

• Four-star 2019 strong side defensive end Marcus Stripling dropped his top eight on Friday. Ohio State, LSU, Texas A&M, Florida, Alabama, UCLA, Texas, and Oklahoma are still in the mix for the Houston, Texas native.
• 2019 Scott County (KY) three-star power forward Michael Moreno visited the Ohio State basketball program for their game against Appalachian State on Saturday evening. Yet to lock in an offer from Chris Holtmann and crew, the 6’6 Moreno holds opportunities to suit up at the likes of Iowa, Bradley, and Eastern Kentucky University.