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It was a wild and emotionally tense Early Signing Day for the Ohio State Buckeyes and their fans. Multiple five star recruits considered flipping to other schools, including the number one recruit in the country. When the dust settled, though, the Buckeyes ended the day with a legitimate claim to the best recruiting class in the nation, replenished their offensive talent at the skill positions, and addressed key defensive needs.
As for the icing on the cake, one of their strongest competitors saw a five star quarterback flip to a school that is unlikely to be competitive within the next few years. Let’s break down key storylines from Ohio State’s Early Signing Day.
The Buckeyes landed their QB1 of the future
Prentiss “Air” Noland is an athletic young quarterback with a cannon for an arm, and he can make all of the throws. Noland put up elite numbers in high school while playing for one of the best high schools in the state.
Based on his high school tape, Noland excels at throwing the deep ball. This will be incredibly valuable to an Ohio State team that constantly features game changers at the receiver position and emphasizes taking shots down the field.
The Buckeyes have one of the deepest and most talented receiver rooms in the country. This was evident during this year’s Early Signing Day when four-star receiver Jeremiah McClellan flipped to Oregon, and it barely even registered on Ohio State’s radar.
The Buckeyes have built up their reputation as Wide Receiver University over the past several years, graduating numerous first round picks including Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. This year, they’ll likely be sending their best receiver yet to the NFL in Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of the former Colts legend. Harrison Jr. is considered a lock to be a top five pick, and he has the potential to be the number one overall pick in the draft.
The Buckeyes land the top player in the nation
Speaking of Ohio State's talent at receiver, the rich got richer in this year's early signing period when the Buckeyes landed the signature of Jeremiah Smith. Smith had verbally committed to the Buckeyes already, but there were rumors in recent weeks that several Florida schools were making a late push to keep the hometown kid in the state that he grew up in.
Smith is elite among the elite. Not only is he a five-star recruit and the consensus best high school receiver in the country, but he is on a short list of players with a credible claim to being the best overall player in the nation regardless of position.
Smith has all the tools to excel at the college level and the professional level beyond that. He is six-foot-three with elite leaping ability and great hands. He can make contested catches down the sideline and over the middle, and he is dangerous with the ball in his hands after the catch. He can beat you by running slants and breaking away for long gains just as easily as he can beat you running deep down the sideline.
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The Buckeyes held off Alabama for a five-star recruit
The Buckeyes are in need of defensive line recruits and this only became more urgent of a need after they lost five star defensive linemen Justin Scott. Things appeared to get worse for the Buckeyes as rumors indicated that five-star edge rusher Eddrick Houston was strongly considering flipping his commitment to Alabama. Luckily for Ohio State, a late surge in recruiting efforts was able to sway Houston to stick with his original commitment and join Ohio State.
Dylan Raiola weakens the Bulldogs
Dylan Raiola’s decision to transfer from Georgia to Nebraska also benefits the Buckeyes. While Raiola originally disappointed many Buckeyes fans by flipping to Georgia after being an early commit to Ohio State, his decision to leave the Bulldogs and join the Huskers can only benefit Ryan Day and the buckeyes.
Raiola is one of the most talented players in the nation. If he had stayed with his commitment to Georgia, he would have bolstered their draft class, provided them with an elite playmaker at quarterback, and likely secured Georgia the number one recruiting class in the nation.
As talented as Georgia has been these past few years, they have rarely had a true superstar under center. This is extremely impressive and means that Georgia could be an even scarier team if they land a star quarterback, such as Raiola.
Because Raiola flipped and went to Nebraska, he will likely make them into a bowl contender and possibly even get them into the top 15 or 20 in the nation. However, this Nebraska team is simply not quite good enough around Raiola for him to elevate them to true championship contender status.
By joining Nebraska, Raiola denied his services to one of the three greatest threats to the Buckeyes’ championship aspirations, while joining a team that is not quite good enough to become a true threat to Ohio State with Raiola under center.
Ohio State has a legitimate claim to the best recruiting class in the nation
Ohio State absolutely has a shot at securing the top overall recruiting class in the nation for this year. They’ve always been competitive, and were likely to be ranked in the top five or top 10, but their class stock would’ve taken a hit if they had lost Houston, and especially if they had lost Smith, the number one player in the country. By fending off challengers and securing the signing of both players, the Buckeyes may have catapulted themselves ahead of the pack in the chase for the top overall recruiting class.
