Can Ohio State football land more 5-star defensive talent in recruiting? Buckeyes mailbag

There’s never a dull month in college football, and June is an especially busy time in the offseason with recruiting official visits and programs hosting camps.

Though the end of June marks a dead period in recruiting, it also means we’re closing in on media days and the start of preseason camp in just more than a month. It seems like a good time to answer questions about everything Ohio State football.

Is there a real possibility of Ohio State going into the South to land a five-star defensive player similar to Vonn Bell in the 2024 cycle — like KJ Bolden and Eddrick Houston? I feel like we always lose out on the guys in Georgia, Florida, Texas, etc., on the defensive side of the ball. — Milan P.

I do think there’s a good chance Ohio State can do just that. It’s difficult to recruit defensive players in the South because SEC programs have such a clear hold on the local talent, but Ohio State is one of the few programs that can compete.

Ohio State seems to be in excellent position with Houston, a five-star defensive lineman from Buford, Ga. He had a good visit on June 16 and has been trending toward the Buckeyes, even if he did go on his visit to Alabama last weekend.

Bolden, his teammate and a five-star safety, is hard to get a read on, though Ohio State safeties coach Perry Eliano is his cousin. He also visited Alabama this past weekend.

We understandably have talked a lot about how important Bryce West’s commitment was, given that he’s the top-ranked player in Ohio and Michigan went after him hard. The recruitment of cornerback Aaron Scott, the No. 2 player in Ohio, is vital to the class as well. But it’s also hard to understate how big of a win it would be for the Buckeyes to get Houston and Bolden out of Georgia’s backyard.

Bell changed things for Urban Meyer back in 2014, and since Day took over, the Buckeyes haven’t been able to go south and pull that type of defensive prospect. There are a few reasons that aren’t completely on Day, which I’ll get into in the next question, but this class could help Day with some defensive recruiting momentum.

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Why can’t the Buckeyes land five-star defensive talent? Is NIL killing their chances to land these guys who always have the Buckeyes listed in their top five? — Kenneth B.

I don’t think it’s a NIL issue. Ohio State has closed whatever gap there was with other programs.

I have a few thoughts, though. First, let’s remember that Ohio State signed two-five star defensive players in the 2022 class with Sonny Styles and C.J. Hicks, both of whom should make an impact this season.

Beyond them, every other five-star defensive player the Buckeyes have signed since 2019 came along the defensive line. I think there are a few reasons for that. First, Larry Johnson is one of the best position coaches in the country. Though he missed out on a few players last cycle, it’s setting up to be a good 2024 defensive line class for the Buckeyes.

Also, the coaching changes have been hard for Ohio State. Day mentioned during the season that recruits were starting to see what Jim Knowles’ defense could be and it was helping in recruiting. On-field success is crucial for new coordinators, but it takes time to have an impact. That may be paying off in the 2024 class. We’ll reevaluate that in December, but I think when you change coaches and schemes, it’s hard to recruit anywhere because the prospects want to know how much success they can have in the specific system. They prefer to see it rather than just hear about it.

Things are trending the right way for Ohio State in this class. Just give it some time.

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How do you think the season will play out? Is there a possibility that we can see the OSU-TTUN game decide just who plays in the Big Ten title game, like both teams theoretically still make the Playoff again? — Bobby B.

Ohio State has a good chance to run the table going into the Michigan game, even if there are some potential hiccups. On the road vs. Notre Dame will be a tough one with a hostile crowd, and it may be the new quarterback’s first raucous road environment, considering Indiana probably can’t match that energy.

Then there’s Penn State at home. I like Ohio State to win, but the Nittany Lions are going to be very good led by quarterback Drew Allar and standout running back Nicholas Singleton. Still, I think Ohio State should be 11-0 heading to Ann Arbor.

The Game will decide the final Big Ten East title and another conference championship game. Whether they’ll both be in the CFP, I’m not sure, because that relies on how other contenders do.

Ohio State has twice made the CFP without winning the Big Ten title. (Dale Zanine / USA Today)

Georgia’s quarterback battle doesn’t concern me much because Kirby Smart has that program moving like a well-oiled machine. The Bulldogs also don’t play Alabama or LSU during the regular season. The winner of the Alabama-LSU game has a chance if it can beat Georgia in the SEC title game.

Florida State has its best roster in years. If it takes the ACC from Clemson, it could be a threat for a Playoff spot. So could USC with Heisman winner Caleb Williams back.

It’s tough to project whether Ohio State or Michigan will make the Playoff with one loss because the Buckeyes nearly missed out last year in the same scenario.

Let’s hypothetically say Ohio State loses to Michigan, again. A one-loss season with wins against Penn State and Notre Dame should keep the Buckeyes in the hunt. Of course, the best bet for Ohio State is to turn the tables on the Wolverines instead of leaving its fate to the committee like last year. This team has more than enough talent to do that, especially if things come together for the offensive line.

Have you heard any rumblings on how the offensive play calling is going to shake out between the head coach and offensive coordinator? No doubt that Ryan Day will influence the play calling no matter what, but I’m curious if his influence will be mostly game-planning or will there be “committee” play calling on game day? — Mark E.

I don’t think we’ll figure that out until we get closer to the season, likely in preseason camp. The only person who will comment on that is Day.

The spring was a good chance for Brian Hartline to get his feet wet with play calling, but he deferred specific questions about the future to Day.

I like the addition of former Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin as an analyst because he has a good offensive mind, even though he didn’t have a lot of play-calling experience in the NFL. Part of me thinks that Day is leaning toward giving the role to Hartline, but I can’t confidently say until at least after we talk to him again, which may not be until Big Ten media days on July 26.

What is the likelihood of Kourt Williams being in the safety mix if healthy? He was very highly touted coming out of high school. — Jim M.

We haven’t seen much from Williams so far in his Ohio State career, as he’s played in 17 games and tallied 32 tackles, four tackles for a loss and one sack after signing as a four-star recruit from California in the Class of 2020.

A healthy Williams has a chance to carve out a rotational role in the secondary, but he’s also facing a crowded depth chart that includes Lathan Ransom, Cam Martinez, Sonny Styles, Ja’Had Carter, Josh Proctor and Kye Stokes.

We’d need to see more from Williams in practice to project him to have a larger role on the field, but the Buckeyes are going to play a variety of safeties this year. Eliano talked about playing more to the matchups when it comes to the safety group. With the depth and versatility Ohio State wants to play with, there’s a chance for Williams to earn increased snaps if he has a good camp.

You’re going to see more safeties and defensive backs in general. I think it’ll be good for Ohio State and help spread some snaps around. As for a consistent spot on the field, that’ll be hard for Williams to carve out unless he just kills it in camp.

In the last two years, we’ve seen TTUN and Georgia take the reigns over OSU and Alabama, who had both been the class of their conference fairly consistently over several years. Between OSU and Alabama, who has the better chance to get back into the driver’s seat and start dominating their conference for the most part again? — Derek F.

I think it’s Ohio State.

Alabama has a Kirby Smart problem. Smart is not only the best coach in college football right now, but he’s leading a program that is recruiting and developing players at an elite level.

If you compared the rosters of Ohio State and Michigan, you’d come to the conclusion that the Buckeyes have the more talented group. I’d argue that Ohio State has the most talented roster in the country, even with a couple of major question marks.

Of course, talent doesn’t always lead to wins, and last year was the perfect example. Ohio State had more talent than Michigan but couldn’t pull the game out.

I think Day figures it out this season, so I’m going with Ohio State getting back in the driver’s seat before Alabama. Keep in mind things will get more difficult for both next year, with USC and UCLA joining Ohio State in the Big Ten and Texas and Oklahoma joining Alabama in the SEC, adding another layer to the question.

With Tavien St. Clair committing, what are the odds of Ohio State signing two QBs in the 2025 class by adding someone like Ryan Montgomery? — Ryan K.

I’d never say never, but I’m not sure the Buckeyes NEED two for the 2025 class. Day likes to keep four quarterbacks in the room. If things go as planned, he’ll have Air Noland, Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and St. Clair by the time 2025 rolls around.

But taking two quarterbacks isn’t that rare, as Ohio State did it in the 2021 class when Quinn Ewers reclassified in August with Kyle McCord in the class already. And we’ve seen quarterback become an increasingly unstable position in the transfer portal era. If Montgomery really wanted to join and compete, I’m sure Ohio State could find room for him, especially with both St. Clair and Montgomery being in-state products.

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Who do you think will be awarded the coveted Block O jersey this year? — Stacey Y.

Honestly, I’d love to see wide receiver Xavier Johnson get it. He’s a great person who has worked his butt off to create a role for himself in Ohio State’s offense.

A few other options could be tight end Cade Stover and safety Lathan Ransom, who has worked his way back from a devastating injury.

(Top photo: Joe Robbins / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)