Projecting Ohio State football’s 2022 OT recruits following Kiyaunta Goodwin’s commitment

On Apr 20, 2021

COLUMBUS, Ohio –One of Ohio State football needs elite offensive tackles in 2022, and one of its top remaining targets has come off the board.

Kiyaunta Goodwin of Charlestown High School in Indiana — the No. 54 player and No. 7 offensive tackle — has committed to Kentucky. The four-star recruits join the likes of cornerback Domani Jackson and wide receiver Amani Winfield as 2022 recruits long favorited to OSU instead of staying closer to home. This decision stings more than those other two, given the dire need the Buckeyes have at offensive tackle in this class.

The bad news is that Ohio State lost out on an option that it seemed destined to land. The good news is the Buckeyes already have one tackle in Ohio native Tegra Tshabola, and there’s still plenty of high-quality options on the board with plenty of time to get another. Here’s a look at them and the chances for each to join Tshabola in the class:

Zach Rice, Liberty Christian Academy (Virginia)

OSU — Five-star offensive lineman Zach Rice of Liberty Christian Academy in Virginia247Sports

There are four players rated as five-star offensive tackles in the 2022 recruiting class, and Rice is rated higher than any of them and fifth overall. Behind him is Josh Conerly Jr. (favored to Washington), Kelvin Banks (favored to Texas A&M or Oklahoma State) and LSU commit Will Campbell.

As of right now, Rice is the only one with an Ohio State offer, making him its best chance at continuing that line of five-stars. He put the Buckeyes in his top five in March, and the expectation is that he will take an official visit to Columbus this summer. If it were up to commits, that visit would probably be on June 4, so he could attend the Buckeye Bash 2.0, where a bevy of commits could shortly follow.

Since 2017 the nation’s top offensive tackle has gone to either Alabama or Ohio State. Alex Leatherwood (2017), Evan Neal (2019) and J.C. Latham (2021) chose the Crimson Tide, while Nicholas Petite Frere (2018) and Paris Johnson Jr. (2020) chose the Buckeyes. By that logic, it’s OSU turn to continue the cycle, and Rice allows that to happen. He’d also join running back TreVeyon Henderson as five-star talents out of Virginia to head to Columbus.

Tyler Booker, IMG Academy (Florida)

Bergen Catholic DL Tyler Booker is headed to IMG Academy. — Four-stat offensive lineman Tyler Booker of IMG Academy.

The nation’s No. 41 player and No. 5 tackle put the Buckeyes in his top five last week alongside Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Oregon. He’s also set to spend his weekends in June taking official visits to the schools heading to Columbus on the 21st.

Players like Booker are why it was so significant that OSU flipped quarterback Quinn Ewers from Texas. Everybody wants to play with a quarterback with a perfect star rating, and Booker is no different.

“It does appeal to me,” Booker told cleveland.com in January. “It appeals to me a lot because I love playing with people at that level. I don’t have that great of a personal relationship with Quinn yet, but I feel like we’ll get there.”

OSU’s had plenty of success with players that have spent time at IMG, and Booker is one of a few targets at the school this season. He’s originally from New Jersey where he attended Bergen Catholic High School his first three seasons.

Joe Brunner, Whitefish Bay (Wisconsin)

OSU — Four-star offensive lineman Joe Brunner of Whitefish Bay High School in Wisconsin.247Sports

Brunner is the first player on this list that’s favored to another school already. The No. 52 player and No. 6 offensive tackle had multiple crystal balls to Wisconsin for over two years and will be on the Badgers’ campus on June 4. He’ll come to OSU the following week, then head to Notre Dame.

Those Wisconsin crystal balls make sense. His hometown of Milwaukee is 90 minutes from the campus. He plays a position the program has always had a reputation for developing given how much they run the ball.

Paul Chryst has been in Madison for six seasons and his first recruiting class — 2016 — is the only year he didn’t keep Wisconsin’s top player home. Offensive tackle Ben Bredeson ended up at Michigan season as one of the three top 100 players the state’s had in that span.

Addison Nichols, Greater Atlanta Christian School (Georgia)

OSU — Four-star offensive lineman Addison Nichols of Greater Atlanta Christian School in Georgia247Sports

The No. 100 player and No. 10 offensive tackle will be in town June 25 as the lone offensive linemen in a group already up to five. He’ll also visit Florida, the hometown Bulldogs and USC, leaving one official visit left for the eight other schools in his top 12.

Ohio State doesn’t have a ton of history succeeding in Georgia, but it’s started to pick up steam in recent years. That started with Harry Miller and Steele Chambers in 2019 then continued by flipping Jordan Hancock from Clemson in 2021. The Buckeyes have already found one player from the state in 2022 in Bennett Christian, and the vocal tight end is more than doing his part to bring others with him.

Aamil Wagner, Wayne High School (Ohio)

OSU — Four-star offensive lineman Aamil Wagner of Wayne High School.247Sports

With the recruiting dead period ending in June, Wagner might be OSU’s safest bet. Not because he got an offer, but the Buckeyes in his top six and immediately got a crystal ball. But because he lives an hour from the campus and can get on-campus whenever and however much he wants. That’ll start with the Buckeye Bash 2.0 on June 4.

There’s also an upside with Wagner that might not exist in the same way with the others on this list. He hasn’t been playing tackle very long and is still ways off from being the size needed to play the position in the Big Ten. Despite that, he’s still worked his way up to No. 117 overall and No. 13 among offensive tackles with plenty of time to move up in the rankings.

The Buckeyes have had no problem keep Ohio’s players home in the Ryan Day era. Adding Wagner would give them four of the top six with the two others — wide receiver Kaden Saunders and quarterback Drew Allar — headed to Penn State.

Jaylen Early, Duncanville (Texas) High School

OSU — Four-star offensive lineman Jaylen Early, Duncanville High School in Texas.247Sports

Duncanville High School is well-represented among the 2022 Ohio State football targets. Early is one of six players from the Texas school with an OSU offer and among the 20 players in the state — most in 2022 — with one. He also won’t be alone in making the trip up to Columbus for the Buckeye Bash 2.0 as his teammate and five-star defensive end Omari Abor will join him.

Early put the Buckeyes in his 10 top in February along with Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M and USC. The Seminoles are the only other schools he’s already scheduled an official visit with.

Kiyaunta Goodwin of Charlestown (Indiana) High School

Yes, Kiyaunta Goodwin is on a list of targets still left on the board for Ohio State in a story with the headline “Projecting Ohio State football’s 2022 offensive tackle recruits following Kiyaunta Goodwin’s commitment to Kentucky.”

It would seem weird to do this, but there’s a lot of time between now and December, and as many comparisons one can make to J.C. Latham’s situation last summer, Kentucky is not Alabama. Goodwin chose home at a time when it probably didn’t make sense to do otherwise. This recruitment is far from over.

For now, Goodwin is a future Wildcat. But as he gets the chance to see other schools this summer, it won’t be surprising if a school viewed as more of a national contender tries to flip him and even has success doing so.