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LGHL Ohio State makes the cut for a pair of 2026 prospects

Ohio State makes the cut for a pair of 2026 prospects
Dan Hessler
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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2026 four-star edge Anthony Jones | via Blair Angulo, 247Sports

The Buckeyes made the top schools for a pair of blue-chippers.

It is starting to feel like football season in Ohio.

Last week, the NFL preseason kicked off in Canton for the Hall of Fame game. The matchup featured one of the best, young quarterbacks in the NFL, and former Buckeye C.J. Stroud, although he did not take a snap as was expected.

This past weekend, Ohio State started the first week of its training camp. After four-straight days of practice, Buckeye Nation got a glimpse into what this current group of Buckeyes is capable of ahead of a season with lofty expectations. On Monday, the Ohio State football team took a day off, but the program was still making headlines, especially in recruiting.

Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class sits atop the 247Sports Class Rankings with 24 verbal commitments. The Buckeyes are still pursuing a handful of prospects in this current cycle, but they are also placing a lot of focus on the junior class. This past weekend, Ohio State made the top schools for a pair of 2026 five-star recruits, and on Monday they did more of the same.

Buckeyes make the cut for four-star DL


2026 four-star edge Anthony Jones (Irvine, CA / CreanLutheran) narrowed down his list of suitors to nine, and Ohio State made the cut.


Alongside the Buckeyes, Michigan, Arizona State, Cal, Tennessee, Washington, Georgia, UCLA and Penn State. Of his contenders, Jones has been able to visit with Arizona State, Cal, Georgia, UCLA and Washington, but expect Jones to try and make it out to the remaining schools, including the Buckeyes.

Ohio State will need to get him on campus at least once during this upcoming season if it is going to remain a contender in his recruitment. However, the Ohio State coaching staff has to love it made the first cut, despite not getting him on campus yet. Of the contenders Cal and Georgia may seem to have an early leg up in his recruitment, but no team has separated themselves from the pack.

Jones is the No. 20 edge in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and is the No. 242 overall prospect. He is also the No. 26 recruit from the talent-rich state of California.

Four-star TE has Ohio State as a top school


This past weekend, Ohio State made the cut for multiple prospects, including 2026 four-star tight end Heze Kent (Brunswick, GA / Brunswick), who included the Buckeyes in his top seven schools.


I’ve narrowed down to my top 7 … Thank you to all the Coaches #llm #LLMrbrown @BrunswickFB @CoachGGrady @CoachSean_CAV @CoachBelker @RecruitGeorgia @912Recruits pic.twitter.com/TVkRj7V1LD

— Heze “superman” Kent ‍♂️7️⃣ (@HezeKent) August 3, 2024

Alongside Ohio State, Kent included Miami, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia and USC in his top schools.

Ohio State is one of Kent’s newest suitors, just offering him on May 14. Therefore, the Buckeye coaching staff has to like that in just a short amount of time, the team has been able to become a real contender.

Like the aforementioned Jones, Ohio State will need to get Kent on campus at least once this upcoming season and hopefully again next spring or summer for an official visit. No team in his top schools has separated themselves from the group, but hometown school Georgia looks to be an early favorite.

Kent is the No. 6 TE in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and he is the No. 140 overall prospect. He is also the No. 17 recruit from Georgia.

Quick Hits​

  • The Ohio State football team was not the only one making the top schools for blue-chip prospects Monday. The Ohio State men’s basketball team made the cut for a major in-state prospect when 2025 five-star power forward Niko Bundalo (Hudson, OH / Western Reserve Academy) included the Buckeyes in his top eight schools.

Ohio State has some steep competition, as Kentucky, North Carolina, Pitt, Michigan State, UCONN, Xavier and Texas all made his top schools. Bundalo is the No. 1 recruit from Ohio and Ohio State head coach will need to continue to make him feel like a priority to keep him instate.


NEWS: 2025 Top-25 recruit Niko Bundalo has cut his list to eight schools, he tells @On3Recruits.

The 6-10 Power Forward has scheduled four official visits and goes in-depth on each of his finalists (On3+): https://t.co/XdoWlzwIPE pic.twitter.com/lOxgGPaonL

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) August 5, 2024

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LGHL You’re Nuts: Overreacting to the early days of fall camp

You’re Nuts: Overreacting to the early days of fall camp
Josh Dooley
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

We’re taking what we’ve seen through the first few preseason practices and running with it...

As preseason camp begins this week, Land-Grant Holy Land is diving into its final theme every week of the off-season. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.

Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

This week’s topic: Overreacting to the early days of fall camp.


Josh’s Take


The Ohio State Buckeyes are only a few days/practices into fall camp. However, that won’t stop us (as fans, bloggers, media, etc.) from overreaching, overreacting, and/or getting overly excited about what we’ve seen and heard thus far.

Jim Knowles’ defense seems impenetrable? Of course it does! Will Howard might be the next Josh Allen? Book it! And on and on and on. In reality, we know next to nothing about this year’s Buckeyes. But it’s still fun to imagine and get the discourse going, right?

I mean, what else are we going to do after the Olympics? Plus, over-analyzing glorified walkthroughs certainly beats worrying about deleted text messages and Level 1 NCAA violations. Ya know, if one did have a reason to worry about such random yet specific things...

So Gene and I thought we’d get in on the fun by mildly wildly overreacting to at least one thing that we’ve seen or heard coming out of OSU’s first few practices. I’ll get the action started by saying that I am absolutely jacked to the t... (Big Short reference) for Damarion Witten’s move to wide receiver, Jelani Thurman’s impending breakout, and Ohio State’s ability to eventually deploy an “all freaks” lineup as a result.

Witten’s move had been rumored or in the works for some time, but because he chose to play his last season of basketball at Glenville High School and graduate (HS) on schedule, we had not really seen or heard from him in months. But now we have proof of concept. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound former Tarblooder is officially a WR — A big one. Witten joins Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith as the power forwards in Brian Hartline’s position room, giving OSU a trio of WRs comparable in size to Marvin Harrison Jr.

Then there’s Jelani Thurman, who is without a doubt one of the most physically impressive-looking players on the Buckeyes’ roster. He is currently listed at 6-foot-6, 258 and looks like he belongs on the outside. Except he’s a tight end! That being said, physical gifts only get one so far. Thurman is still learning and repping all the mental aspects of his position, which is likely why we only saw him in five games as a true freshman.

But in 2024, Ohio State needs (at least) one or two guys to step up at TE, and I firmly believe that Thurman will be one of those guys. Early reports from fall camp have done nothing to quell my not so quiet confidence. Word out of the Woody is that Thurman is shining like a 10-carat diamond, and I could not be more here for it. Thurman Stan No. 1 reporting for duty.

While I understand that Thurman and especially Witten are not likely to be big-time contributors right away this season, imagine the possibilities once both players find some level of comfort. Better yet, imagine a lineup featuring Tate, Smith, Witten, and Thurman! Four big, nasty freaks (complimentary) running past opposing defenders and then Moss-ing dudes in the endzone! I mean, I’m getting fired up just thinking about it.

If Witten and Thurman were in the new EA Sports College Football game, rest assured I would already be experimenting with said lineup. And probably putting up anywhere from 3 to 10 points playing on Heisman.

That’s what has me excited, Gene. I know it’s early – especially on the Witten front – but I can’t stop myself from imagining an “all bigs” or “all freaks” lineup. And these first few practices have only contributed or added to my excitement.

Gene’s Take


One of the biggest storylines heading into this new season is who Ohio State will have starting along the offensive line. A unit that was not up to par last year will return four of its starters, but only three of those guys are locked into their previous positions in left tackle Josh Simmons, left guard Donovan Jackson and right tackle Josh Fryar. Center, which was previously manned by Carson Hinzman, will be taken over by Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin, leaving one spot open at right guard.

During the spring, it appeared as though Luke Montgomery was one of the frontrunners to earn that final starting job, but now that the fall has arrived, things have changed. Now, the two guys seemingly in contention to top the depth chart at right guard are Tegra Tshabola and Hinzman. The pair are the only two guys to see consistent playing time with the ones during the first four days of camp, and with Tshabola getting more of the reps on Sunday, I’m going to stake my claim now that he will be Ohio State’s starting right guard against Akron.

Coming out of high school, Tshabola was a highly regarded offensive tackle. The West Chester, Ohio native was ranked as the No. 10 OT and the No. 104 player nationally on the 247Sports Composite in the 2022 class. However, since then nearly all indications for the 6-foot-6, 327-pound lineman have pointed to a future at guard rather than on the outside.

Hinzman, on the other hand, came to Ohio State has more of a guard before being thrusted into the center position last season out of necessity. Hinzman was the No. 9 IOL and No. 177 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite for the 2022 class, and has valuable — albeit not stellar — experience has a starter for the Buckeyes. Both of those factors likely give Hinzman the edge for the starting job at right guard, but since we’re overreacting to early snap counts in camp, I'm still saying Tshabola will be trotting out there with the ones to begin the season.

Tshabola is heading into year three at Ohio State. While he did not make any starts last season, he did appear in all 13 games for the Buckeyes on special teams. He has put in a ton of work this offseason to get himself and his body ready to compete for a job at guard, and it has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.

“He wants to be here. He wants to be a contributor to Ohio State,” Ryan Day said on Thursday. “It does matter. There are different places he could have gone and tried different avenues, but he stuck with it and it’s going to pay off for him if he continues to get better and show discipline and consistency. We’re excited about what he did this offseason. He’s gonna have every opportunity to become a major contributor on offense.”

Consistency seems to be the key word when it comes to Tshabola, as that seems to be what the final step would be in order for him to officially earn the starting job. But I'm willing to take Day’s words and a few practice snaps and run with it: Tegra Tshabola will be your starting right guard come Aug. 31.

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LGHL Ohio State women’s basketball to face Stanford in San Francisco doubleheader

Ohio State women’s basketball to face Stanford in San Francisco doubleheader
ThomasCostello
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Buckeyes make their first non-conference schedule announcement of the summer

On March 24, 2024, Ohio State women’s basketball saw their season end early when the Duke Blue Devils defeated the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament's second round. Monday, Ohio State announced its next game against an ACC side, when the Buckeyes travel to San Francisco, California to play Stanford on Dec. 20.

The Scarlet & Gray take on the new ACC side in a doubleheader, followed by another California team playing in a new conference with new Big Ten side UCLA taking on Creighton.

San Francisco’s Chase Center hosts both of the games of the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic, the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

Ohio State and Stanford have five previous games against each other in program histories, with the Buckeyes holding a 3-2 record. However, the official record books don’t include two of the wins, both vacated by Ohio State sanctions, both coming in November of 2017.

That means the Buckeyes haven’t officially defeated the Stanford Cardinal since a 79-47 victory on Dec 28, 1984, before any of the current team’s rosters were born. Coincidentally, the coach at the time for Ohio State was legendary Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, who left Ohio State for Stanford in 1985.

Stanford is coming off a 30-6 record, winning the final Pac-12 regular season championship, before falling to the USC Trojans in the Pac-12 tournament championship game. VanDerveer’s side made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, before falling to NC State.

Following the defeat, VanDerveer announced her retirement following 38 seasons coaching in the three-time NCAA tournament champions at Stanford. Taking her place is Kate Paye, former Stanford player from 1991-95 and assistant since 2007.

Heading into this season, Stanford is without its top three scorers, losing Cameron Brink to the WNBA and guard Hannah Jump to exhausted NCAA eligibility. Their top scorer, forward Kiki Iriafen, takes her 19.4 points per game average to USC.

However, Stanford added two transfers, and one has experience against Ohio State. Former Big Ten Freshman of the Year Mary Ashley Stevenson left the Purdue Boilermakers after averaging 9.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. In Stevenson’s lone game against the Buckeyes this season, the forward had 12 points and seven rebounds in a defeat to head coach Kevin McGuff’s side.

The battle against Stanford is the first announced game on the 24-25 Ohio State schedule. On May 7, the conference announced who the Buckeyes will face at home and away, without official dates. This game in San Francisco is the third game for Ohio State in California this season, with both UCLA and USC slated to host conference games against the defending 23-24 Big Ten regular season champions.

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