Ohio State football sends out numerous offers in first week of January contact period:

On Jan 21, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Now that Ohio State football’s coaching staff has been completed, all of its members have headed out on the road.

The Buckeyes are taking advantage of a contact period that runs from Jan. 14-29 establishing relationships on the recruiting trail while identifying potential recruits. The staff spent the first week adding a handful of names to its target boards over three classes and eight states.

Here’s a look at all the players Ohio State has offered over the past week:

2023

Samuel M’Pemba

The nation’s No. 15 player and top athlete is originally from St. Louis, adding OSU to a list of offers that already included 34 schools. He has a bright future regardless of what side of the ball he ends up on with a 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame. At Ohio State that might be best as a defensive end even if he has experience at wide receiver and tight end.

Jaquaize Pettaway

The last two times Ohio State went down to Texas and pulled out a highly-rated wide receiver they became the sixth and seventh players in program history to have 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Then it found a third in its 2022 class who was the nation’s top receiver until injuries derailed his final two seasons.

Now Brian Hartline has gone looking for another in Pettaway as a four-star recruit rated as the nation’s No. 42 player and No. 8 wide receiver from Langham Creek High School in Texas.

Noah Rogers

Hartline’s recruiting success as OSU’s wide receiver coach has taken him all over the country. Rogers provides the first chance for him to break ground in North Carolina as the nation’s Nop. 55 player and No. 9 wide receiver from Rolesville High School. The Buckeyes are among the 22 schools to offer him.

Tackett Curtis

New defensive coordinator Jim Knowles isn’t going to be a constant on the recruiting trail. He’s here to scheme and improve a defense that has been pedestrian the past two seasons. But he did spend some time in the southeast region this week. That resulted in the nation’s No. 64 player and No. 5 linebacker earning an offer.

The four-star recruit from Many High School in Lousiana was the first player to earn an offer directly from Knowles and was the eighth linebacker overall. The Buckeyes were the 44th school to do so.

Raul Aguirre

The nation’s No. 120 player and No. 8 linebacker from Whitewater High School in Georgia also earned a Knowles offer. OSU joins 12 other schools to offer the four-star recruit.

Jonah Wilson

Wilson was the third 2023 receiver to earn an offer as the nation’s No. 228 player and No. 28 wide receiver from Dekaney High School in Texas. The four-star recruit is up to 12 offers now with the Buckeyes being his second from a Big Ten school (Purdue).

Desmond Umeozulu

Larry Johnson spent some time in an area where he’s had plenty of success on the recruiting trail. His latest target is the nation’s No. 307 player and No. 25 edge rusher from Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Maryland. OSU is the 20th school to offer the four-star recruit who already looks the part at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds.

Will Smith Jr.

The name should be a familiar one to OSU fans. The three-star recruit is the son of former defensive lineman Will Smith, who was a vital member of Jim Tressel’s 2002 national title team and an All-American in 2003. Smith went on to be the 18th pick in the 2004 NFL Draft spending nine seasons with the New Orleans Saints recording 463 tackles, 85 tackles for loss and 67.5 sacks.

The younger Smith had to buy his time for this offer after attending multiple day camps last summer. Earning one immediately gave the Buckeyes momentum in landing him. He’s nation’s No. 540 player and No. 71 defensive lineman out of Dublin Coffman High School.

2024

Note: There are no composite rankings for the 2024 class, so we’re using the 247Sports rankings.

Landen Thomas

The way Ohio State uses its tight ends doesn’t suggest that it will consistently be in the market for top-100 talent. Jeremy Ruckert is the only player of that caliber to come to Columbus in 2018 and his production never matched his ability.

That doesn’t mean the Buckeyes won’t take a few swings. It’s why the nation’s No. 18 player and top tight end out of Colquitt County High School in Georgia was the first 2024 tight end to earn an offer. There are 17 other schools which have offered.

Micah Hudson

The nation’s No. 63 player and No. 13 wide receiver out of Lake Belton High School marked the third Texas wide receiver to get an offer from Hartline. Ohio State is the 10th school to offer the four-star and first from the Big Ten.

Daniel Calhoun

The nation’s No. 74 player and No. 2 offensive tackle out of Centennial High School in Georgia is the first offer of Justin Frye’s tenure in Columbus. Ohio State needs to improve its offensive line recruiting and targeting players like Calhoun as a potential top-100 recruit is the start of that.

Eddrick Houston

The last time Ohio State went to Buford High School in Georgia looking for top-100 talent it came back with five-star Harry Miller. Now the Buckeyes head back looking for defensive talent in the nation’s No. 82 player and No. 5 edge rusher.

Houston’s offer list isn’t long (10), but the quality of those schools more than makes up for it. Alabama, Georgia and OSU are only the beginning of what could potentially be a list filled with plenty of the nation’s top programs.

Myles Graham

Knowles’ final offer of the week went out to a 2024 linebacker starting to make a name for himself. Alabama and Georgia headline Graham’s offer list that includes 16 schools. He doesn’t have a 247Sports ranking but that will surely change by the time the summer hits.

2025

Armondo Blount

The sophomore at Dillard High School in Florida is the third player from the class to earn an OSU offer, joining quarterback Ryan Montgomery and safety Anthony Sacca.

Because it’s so early in the evaluation process there are no rankings for the 2025 class, but Blount already has offers from Iowa State, Florida State and Miami (Fla.).

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