Four-star Akron (Archbishop Hoban) running back DeaMonte Trayanum is on an official visit to Ohio State today.
Trayanum (5-11 218) is the No. 24 tailback in the 2020 class and the No. 311 player in the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 5 player in Ohio.
The visit to Ohio State is Trayanum’s third official visit this spring, having already been to Wisconsin and Arizona State. He is scheduled to be taking an official visit to Penn State this coming weekend. A decision should follow not too far behind that visit.
Trayanum was a First-Team All-State linebacker last season. He has also played safety for his Hoban team, and in last year’s state title game against Massillon, he successfully played cornerback against Third-Team All-State receiver Tre’Von Morgan and sophomore Jayden Ballard, who holds an offer from Ohio State.
Trayanum could end up on either side of the ball in college and would seem to be an ideal fit in OSU’s defense as the hybrid Bullet. His preference at the moment, however, is to play running back.
As a junior last season, he rushed for 1,313 yards and 26 touchdowns on 106 carries while splitting carries. Trayanum is a powerful runner who makes arm tackles pointless, yet routinely displays breakaway speed. His highlights show home run after home run. He is a downhill runner who has the speed to get to the edge and not get caught.
As a defender, he is an ideal spy because he can match a scrambling quarterback step for step. In his highlights, you can also see Trayanum running step for step with slot receivers on crossing routes.
Ohio State’s running back recruiting is certainly heating up as they have recently hosted 5-star prospects Kendall Milton and Bijan Robinson over the last couple of weeks. Robinson, from Arizona, finished up his OSU official visit this past weekend. Things went well for OSU, as they did when Milton visited.
More visits will continue for both prospects, so there are still many moving parts to how this will eventually shake out. Ohio State does want to take two running backs in the 2020 cycle, but room could be limited pretty quickly.
Four-star Maryland tailback Blake Corum took an official visit to Ohio State this past weekend. He will be in Ann Arbor this coming weekend. Corum is ranked the No. 17 running back in the class and the No. 201 player overall.
The Buckeyes are expected to be hosting 4-star Washington running back Sam Adams II on an official visit this coming weekend. He is the No. 16 player at his position in the nation and the No. 176 player overall. He is also the teammate of OSU wide receiver commit Gee Scott, Jr.
Dublin Coffman running back Michael Drennen is also still in the picture. Ranked the No. 5 all-purpose back in the nation, Drennen was recently offered by Stanford, which had been something that he was working hard to receive. There is still some question as to whether Drennen is a running back or slot receiver at the next level.
With so many June official visits taking place, decisions may not take too much longer, and Trayanum could be the first domino to fall.
