Ohio State has two verbal commitments so far in the 2021 recruiting class and in Rivals’ initial 2021 rankings which were just released on Tuesday, both are Top 10 prospects.
Pickerington North defensive end Jack Sawyer is the No. 3 player and the No. 1 weakside defensive end in the class, and Philadelphia (St. Joseph’s) quarterback Kyle McCord is the No. 9 player and the No. 2 pocket passer in the nation.
Three other Ohioans join Sawyer in the Rivals100. Pickerington Central receiver — and Buckeye legacy — Lorenzo Styles Jr. is the No. 25 player overall and the No. 5 receiver in the class. Solon defensive end Najee Story is the No. 4 weakside defensive end and the No. 67 player overall. Richfield offensive tackle Ben Christman is ranked the No. 91 player in the class and the No. 12 tackle in the nation.
All four Ohio prospects hold Ohio State offers. They are far from the only Buckeye targets in the initial Rivals100, however.
Kyle McCord’s wide receiver teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. is the No. 68 player and the No. 14 receiver in the class. Harrison has visited Ohio State previously and the Buckeyes are seen as a real possibility here.
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards (West Bloomfield) is one of OSU’s top tailback targets. He is ranked No. 85 overall and the No. 4 running back. North Carolina tailback Evan Pryor camped at Ohio State this past weekend. He is ranked the No. 2 back and No. 51 player overall.
Texas wide receiver Latrell Neville has offers from everywhere, but the Buckeyes are seen as one of the favorites. He is ranked the No. 96 player overall and the No. 19 receiver in the class.
Virginia cornerback Tony Grimes was on the Ohio State campus this past weekend for a visit. He is the No. 2 cornerback in the Rivals100 and the No. 22 player overall.
Strongside defensive end Tunmise Adeleye — ranked the No. 5 player at his position and the No. 71 player overall — will be visiting Ohio State this weekend. Adeleye is from Katy, Texas and has recently declared Alabama as his leader. Weakside defensive end Jahzion Harris is a Buckeye target from budding pipeline Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn. He is the No. 5 player at his position and the No. 87 player overall.
Only the top seven players in the class have 5-star status currently. In the 2020 class, there are currently 25 5-star prospects, and in the 2019 class there were 30.