Ryan Day and the Ohio State football coaching staff are taking advantage of the time between spring football and summer football by hitting the recruiting trail head-on. Coach Day and the staff have been out on the road most of the last couple weeks visiting with some of the nation’s top high school football prospects in hopes of identifying future Buckeyes.
This hard work is paying dividends as Ohio State seems to be dishing out scholarships to members of the 2027 recruiting cycle and beyond on what seems to be a daily occurrence. The Buckeyes’ 2027 class currently has verbal commitments from 11 of the nation’s top prospects, good enough for the No. 10 class by 247Sports.
Advertisement
With this quick start, the Buckeyes have been able to shift more focus on future class than some other top college football programs.
This advantage held true this past weekend as Ohio State played host to a pair of 2029 cornerbacks that both project to be blue-chip prospects when their recruiting cycle comes around. Probably the bigger name as of today, James Allen (Tampa, FL / Carrollwood Day) visited Ohio State with his high school teammate DeMarcus Van Dyke Jr.
Obviously early in their respective recruitments, both Allen and Van Dyke Jr. are already regarded as some of the top two players at cornerback. While they may not yet hold official scholarship offers from Ohio State, the pair already hold offers from some of the top college football programs in the country.
Advertisement
Allen currently holds an impressive 36 scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas A&M, USC and others.
Van Dyke Jr. also holds an impressive 25 offers from the likes of Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, LSU, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and others.
While Allen and Van Dyke Jr. visited Ohio State together and have similar offer sheets, neither has mentioned being a package deal. However, they would also likely not be opposed to teaming up again at the next level either. It also seems like both blue-chip prospects enjoyed their time on Ohio State’s campus and it would be far from surprising to see them both earn the coveted Ohio State offer in the coming weeks.
Neither are ranked by 247Sports either but when they release their rankings for the 2029 class, expect both to be ranked highly.
Advertisement
Ohio State 2027 five-star WR commit shuts down recruitment
Switching back to the 2027 class, Ohio State received important and positive news this weekend during the Under Armor Ohio Regional camp.
Five-star wide receive commit Jamier Brown (Sunbury, OH / Big Walnut) has long been committed to Ohio State, committing in November of 2024, and he was the first member to join the Buckeyes’ 2027 class.
Despite his early commitment and being an in-state target, there was some concern his commitment wasn’t fully locked in, with schools like Notre Dame, Oregon and others continuing to recruit him heavily. However, during last weekends UA Next camp in Ohio, Brown confirmed with Eleven Warriors that his recruitment is now closed and he is locked in with Ohio State.
By shutting down his recruitment, Brown will now no longer visit with any other schools, outside of Ohio State. He also has an official visit with Ohio State scheduled for May 29-31.
Advertisement
Brown is the No. 4 WR in the 247Sports Composite and he is the No. 21 national recruit. He is also the No. 1 recruit from Ohio.
Quick Hits
It wasn’t all positive recruiting headlines for the Buckeyes Monday, as Ohio State saw 2027 four-star offensive lineman Ian Walker (Pennington, NJ / The Pennington School) commit to Kentucky over Ohio State and Florida.
Walker had made multiple visits with Ohio State during his recruitment, and at one point the Buckeyes were viewed as the favorites to land him. However, in the end it was Kentucky that won him over and earned his commitment.
Walker is the No. 22 IOL in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 410 national recruit. He is also the No. 8 recruit out of New Jersey.
