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LGHL Ohio State makes the cut for multiple 2025 targets
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Ohio State makes the cut for multiple 2025 targets
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star DE Justin Hill via USA TODAY/247Sports
The Buckeyes also saw two of the top QB transfer prospects go elsewhere.
Ohio State finished the year 11-2 after falling to Missouri 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl. With the beginning of the offseason now official, focus will be on what Ryan Day and the Buckeyes can improve on heading into next season. A major area of this will be on recruiting, both in the traditional sense and regarding to the transfer portal.
While many of the headlines surrounding Ohio State last weekend were centered on the bowl game, you may have missed the Buckeyes making the recruiting headlines. If so, Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered.
Ohio State’s 2024 recruiting class is mainly wrapped up. The Buckeyes saw 20 of the nation’s top prospects sign with the team during the early signing period, good enough for the No. 6 class in the 247Sports Class Rankings.
With the cycle being nearly complete, focus will shift towards next year’s class. Ohio State currently holds verbal commitments from four recruits, and is actively working on adding to it. One of the positions quickly turning into a priority for the Buckeyes in next year’s class is the defensive line.
The Buckeyes have yet to earn a commitment on the line in 2025, but have offered nearly 20 prospects already. Over the holiday weekend, the Buckeyes learned they moved one step closer in securing one of their top defensive end prospects, when four-star edge rusher Justin Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio / Winton Woods) included the Buckeyes in his top 10 schools.
Alongside Ohio State, Hill included Penn State, Oregon, Miami, Cincinnati, USC, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky in his top schools.
Ryan Day and Ohio State have made recruiting in-state talent a priority. Keeping Hill in Ohio would be a massive win for Ohio State. While no school has yet to separate themselves from the pack, Ohio State seems to have the early lead. The Buckeyes, if not by proximity alone, were able to get him on campus multiple times last year, but Kentucky, Alabama, Cincinnati and Michigan have also been recruiting Hill heavily.
Hill doesn’t seem to be close to committing, but he has narrowed down his list of suitors to 10. Expect him to continue to visit the above schools and further narrow down his list of schools during the coming year.
Hill is the No. 13 DE and is the No. 138 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 6 recruit out of Ohio.
The aforementioned Hill was not the only recruit to include the Buckeyes in their top schools over the holiday weekend. Ohio State also made the cut for 2025 four-star cornerback Onis Konanbanny (Columbia, SC / Heathwood Hall Episcopal School) when he included the program in his top 10 schools.
Alongside Ohio State, Konanbanny included Florida State, Tennessee, Penn State, LSU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon, North Carolina and USC in his top schools.
Konanbanny has been able to visit with Ohio State, North Carolina, Florida State, Tennessee and Michigan already, but will likely try to make trips to visit with some of the other schools in his list. He will also look to lock in some official visits in the spring and fall, and will likely wait until next summer to make a commitment at the earliest.
Konanbanny is the No. 28 CB and is the No. 253 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 2 recruit out of South Carolina.
Peterson currently plays in West Virginia, but is from Cuayahoga Falls, Ohio. Because Ohio State is the hometown school, the Buckeyes will likely be in the mix until the end, but Kansas is also making a heavy push for him.
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Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star DE Justin Hill via USA TODAY/247Sports
The Buckeyes also saw two of the top QB transfer prospects go elsewhere.
Ohio State finished the year 11-2 after falling to Missouri 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl. With the beginning of the offseason now official, focus will be on what Ryan Day and the Buckeyes can improve on heading into next season. A major area of this will be on recruiting, both in the traditional sense and regarding to the transfer portal.
While many of the headlines surrounding Ohio State last weekend were centered on the bowl game, you may have missed the Buckeyes making the recruiting headlines. If so, Land-Grant Holy Land has you covered.
2025 four-star DE has Ohio State in top schools
Ohio State’s 2024 recruiting class is mainly wrapped up. The Buckeyes saw 20 of the nation’s top prospects sign with the team during the early signing period, good enough for the No. 6 class in the 247Sports Class Rankings.
With the cycle being nearly complete, focus will shift towards next year’s class. Ohio State currently holds verbal commitments from four recruits, and is actively working on adding to it. One of the positions quickly turning into a priority for the Buckeyes in next year’s class is the defensive line.
The Buckeyes have yet to earn a commitment on the line in 2025, but have offered nearly 20 prospects already. Over the holiday weekend, the Buckeyes learned they moved one step closer in securing one of their top defensive end prospects, when four-star edge rusher Justin Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio / Winton Woods) included the Buckeyes in his top 10 schools.
Alongside Ohio State, Hill included Penn State, Oregon, Miami, Cincinnati, USC, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky in his top schools.
Ryan Day and Ohio State have made recruiting in-state talent a priority. Keeping Hill in Ohio would be a massive win for Ohio State. While no school has yet to separate themselves from the pack, Ohio State seems to have the early lead. The Buckeyes, if not by proximity alone, were able to get him on campus multiple times last year, but Kentucky, Alabama, Cincinnati and Michigan have also been recruiting Hill heavily.
Hill doesn’t seem to be close to committing, but he has narrowed down his list of suitors to 10. Expect him to continue to visit the above schools and further narrow down his list of schools during the coming year.
Hill is the No. 13 DE and is the No. 138 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 6 recruit out of Ohio.
2025 four-star CB has Ohio State in top schools
The aforementioned Hill was not the only recruit to include the Buckeyes in their top schools over the holiday weekend. Ohio State also made the cut for 2025 four-star cornerback Onis Konanbanny (Columbia, SC / Heathwood Hall Episcopal School) when he included the program in his top 10 schools.
WhereWeGoinnnnnn #AGTG #THEpic.twitter.com/2Smcd3UE8E
— ᴏɴɪs " " ᴋᴏɴᴀɴʙᴀɴɴʏ'25 (@KonanbannyOnis) January 1, 2024
Alongside Ohio State, Konanbanny included Florida State, Tennessee, Penn State, LSU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon, North Carolina and USC in his top schools.
Konanbanny has been able to visit with Ohio State, North Carolina, Florida State, Tennessee and Michigan already, but will likely try to make trips to visit with some of the other schools in his list. He will also look to lock in some official visits in the spring and fall, and will likely wait until next summer to make a commitment at the earliest.
Konanbanny is the No. 28 CB and is the No. 253 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is also the No. 2 recruit out of South Carolina.
Quick Hits
- The Ohio State football team is not the only program making recruiting headlines in Columbus. The men’s basketball team, led by Chris Holtmann, also made some noise over the holiday weekend, making the cut for one of the nation’s top prospects. 2025 five-star point guard Darryn Peterson (Huntington, West Virginia / Huntington Prep) included the Buckeyes in his top eight schools alongside North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Arkansas, Kansas and Baylor.
Peterson currently plays in West Virginia, but is from Cuayahoga Falls, Ohio. Because Ohio State is the hometown school, the Buckeyes will likely be in the mix until the end, but Kansas is also making a heavy push for him.
- On Monday, two of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal announced their decisions. Former Washington State QB Cam Ward announced he will be foregoing his senior season and instead will enter for the NFL Draft. Additionally, former Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei announced that he will be transferring to Florida State.
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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl dud and a eulogy for the 2023 football season
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Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl dud and a eulogy for the 2023 football season
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Hangout Boys react to an embarrassing OSU loss and plead for changes to be made within the Buckeyes’ program.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
On this episode of “Hangout in the Holy Land,” Josh and Chuck do their best to react to a confusing, disappointing, and frankly embarrassing Cotton Bowl loss for Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
With Michigan, National Signing Day, and even the loss of their starting QB at least temporarily in the rearview, Day and his OSU football squad had an opportunity to turn the page and roll into 2024 with some momentum. Instead, the head coach looked overwhelmed and underprepared, leaving Buckeye Nation with more questions than answers.
Questions such as: What the hell happened in Arlington, TX? Where does the football program go from here? And should Day be the one leading it?
Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter: @ctholmes3
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Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Hangout Boys react to an embarrassing OSU loss and plead for changes to be made within the Buckeyes’ program.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
On this episode of “Hangout in the Holy Land,” Josh and Chuck do their best to react to a confusing, disappointing, and frankly embarrassing Cotton Bowl loss for Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
With Michigan, National Signing Day, and even the loss of their starting QB at least temporarily in the rearview, Day and his OSU football squad had an opportunity to turn the page and roll into 2024 with some momentum. Instead, the head coach looked overwhelmed and underprepared, leaving Buckeye Nation with more questions than answers.
Questions such as: What the hell happened in Arlington, TX? Where does the football program go from here? And should Day be the one leading it?
Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter: @ctholmes3
Continue reading...
LGHL You’re Nuts: What is your New Year’s resolution for Ohio State athletics in 2024?
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You’re Nuts: What is your New Year’s resolution for Ohio State athletics in 2024?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Now that we have made it through Christmas, the next holiday we have on the calendar to look forward to is New Year's. Last year was a bit of a tough year for Ohio State fans. The men’s basketball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament back in March. While the women’s hockey and basketball teams made deep runs in their tournaments, they both ended up falling a little short of winning titles. Then in the fall, the football team lost to Michigan for the third year in a row and missed out on making the College Football Playoff.
Since the new year is a time to set goals to better ourselves, today we want to know what your New Year’s resolution is for 2024 when it comes to Ohio State athletics. Is there a team you want to pay attention to more? Is there a certain goal you have in mind when it comes to how you root for the Buckeyes? Maybe there is a particular game on one of the team’s schedules you want to attend. If we all reveal our resolutions we can help keep each other accountable in 2024!
Since I moved to Columbus in 2005, last year’s Ohio State women’s basketball team made one of their deepest NCAA Tournament runs, making it to the Elite Eight before losing to Virginia Tech. In the past 20 years there was numerous NCAA Tournament appearances, but they all didn’t make it beyond the Sweet Sixteen. It also helped that the men’s basketball team missed the NCAA Tournament, freeing me up to focus more on the run the women’s team made.
This year’s women’s team has enough talent to make the Final Four. So far this year, the Buckeyes are 10-2 ahead of Saturday’s game against Michigan. While Ohio State has lost two games, those setbacks came to a very talented USC in the first game of the year, and then at home recently to UCLA, who is ranked second in the country. The Buckeyes did beat Tennessee by 20 points, as well topping Penn State 94-84 in their Big Ten opener.
Jacy Sheldon, Cotie McMahon, and Taylor Thierry are averaging over 13 points per game, and the team recently saw guard Madison Greene return to the court after she was injured last season. Even though Greene is averaging just 10 minutes per game in her first four contests, she could be a huge factor off the bench as March nears. All this and I haven’t even mentioned Rebeka Mikulasikova or Celeste Taylor.
There would be times when I would keep track of scores from the women’s team but I wouldn’t really tune in to games. I know I need to change that this season since this team is so talented. The Buckeyes have two games on the regular season schedule against Iowa, which should be “must-see TV” as they try and slow down Hawkeye superstar Caitlin Clark. Along with Iowa, there are a number of tough teams in the Big Ten on Ohio State’s regular season schedule.
If you’re like me and want to do a better job at keeping tabs on the Buckeye women’s hoops team this year, at least you’re on the right site. Our own Thomas Costello does an amazing job at covering the team, so I know I’m going to keep an eye out for his work as the season moves along.
Happy New Year to all!
I’ll be honest with you, blogging about the Buckeyes over the last few seasons hasn’t always been a ton of fun. After practically 20 years of dominance, the downturn in on-field success (almost exclusively against Michigan and in the postseason) has made for rather tumultuous reactions from a fanbase that is not particularly known for being level-headed. Part of this is the ability of social media to amplify small pockets of emotion in a way that makes it feel like they are the majority-held position. And it’s almost always the people who are the most disgruntled who are so passionate about letting as many people as possible know about it.
Now, this is not to say that anger, frustration, and disappointment have not been — and do not continue to be — warranted; we have passionately written and podcasted about the team’s failures over the years. However, due to the general anonymity of social media — and blogging — there is a tendency to overamplify the negative so that it goes from being a legitimate, but limited, grievance to something that people have to act like is an affront to our shared decency or an attack on our collective humanity.
These very loud, very angry voices are actually an accurate representation of the thoughts of a group of fans, but it is a small group. And I don’t say that to discount their positions, because often I think that their analysis, while not their toxicity, is fairly astute. Instead, I just mean that the larger majority of fans — be they of the Buckeye or any other team in any other sport — don’t pay close enough attention to the individual minutia surrounding their favorite team.
So, instead of letting embarrassing losses in New Year’s Six bowls (in which the offensive gameplan looked amateur at best) destroy their entire holidays and serve as an ever-present torment on their psyche for the next nine months, most fans move on fairly quickly; still disappointed and intermittently angry, but not enough to go scorched earth on anyone and everything even tangentially associated with the program.
While we as bloggers — remember LGHL is a fan site and in no way claims to be a journalistic outlet, especially when it comes to football — are not the point here, that is from where I have most witnessed the corrosive nature of the eternally online element in the OSU fandom. So, when things don’t go super well for the Bucks, we do what bloggers do and react to it or write about it or tweet about it, That, unsurprisingly, is often met with responses from fans who don’t take kindly to anyone criticizing the team that they love.
However, if we try to take an optimistic, glass-half-full approach to any disappointing outcomes, a different group of OSU fans (or maybe it is some of the same folks) get upset that we are not as actively pissed as they are. So, no matter what we do, there are people in this large and expansive Buckeye Nation who aren’t going to be happy. That’s just how it works when you cover the team with the largest fan base in the country.
And to be honest, that’s a bummer because everyone that covers football at LGHL is a die-hard Ohio State fan and we all want to see them win just as much as all of the readers and listeners do. But, when the team does fall short of its own (or its fans’) expectations, we are going to write about it. And, just like all of the fans out there, we have a wide range of opinions, so someone is practically always angry at us when we discuss the team’s shortcomings.
So, my New Year’s resolution is to just not pay attention to it, whether that’s in the comments of our stories, podcasts, or posts, or just on social media at large. It’s not that I don’t think that those people’s opinions are valid, or that they don’t have worthwhile perspectives, it’s just that they diminish my enjoyment of something that should fundamentally be fun. Being a fan of a football team comes with inherent highs and lows, and a general negativity surrounding a team at is underachieving is to be expected. But it’s the extreme venom that makes being a fan not much fun.
Therefore, in 2024, I’m just removing myself from that part of following the team. Podcasts, newspapers, articles, TV, radio, those are all forms of media that are st all still on the table
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Now that we have made it through Christmas, the next holiday we have on the calendar to look forward to is New Year's. Last year was a bit of a tough year for Ohio State fans. The men’s basketball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament back in March. While the women’s hockey and basketball teams made deep runs in their tournaments, they both ended up falling a little short of winning titles. Then in the fall, the football team lost to Michigan for the third year in a row and missed out on making the College Football Playoff.
Since the new year is a time to set goals to better ourselves, today we want to know what your New Year’s resolution is for 2024 when it comes to Ohio State athletics. Is there a team you want to pay attention to more? Is there a certain goal you have in mind when it comes to how you root for the Buckeyes? Maybe there is a particular game on one of the team’s schedules you want to attend. If we all reveal our resolutions we can help keep each other accountable in 2024!
Today’s question: What is your New Year’s resolution for Ohio State athletics in 2024?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Watch more of the Ohio State women’s basketball team
Since I moved to Columbus in 2005, last year’s Ohio State women’s basketball team made one of their deepest NCAA Tournament runs, making it to the Elite Eight before losing to Virginia Tech. In the past 20 years there was numerous NCAA Tournament appearances, but they all didn’t make it beyond the Sweet Sixteen. It also helped that the men’s basketball team missed the NCAA Tournament, freeing me up to focus more on the run the women’s team made.
This year’s women’s team has enough talent to make the Final Four. So far this year, the Buckeyes are 10-2 ahead of Saturday’s game against Michigan. While Ohio State has lost two games, those setbacks came to a very talented USC in the first game of the year, and then at home recently to UCLA, who is ranked second in the country. The Buckeyes did beat Tennessee by 20 points, as well topping Penn State 94-84 in their Big Ten opener.
Jacy Sheldon, Cotie McMahon, and Taylor Thierry are averaging over 13 points per game, and the team recently saw guard Madison Greene return to the court after she was injured last season. Even though Greene is averaging just 10 minutes per game in her first four contests, she could be a huge factor off the bench as March nears. All this and I haven’t even mentioned Rebeka Mikulasikova or Celeste Taylor.
There would be times when I would keep track of scores from the women’s team but I wouldn’t really tune in to games. I know I need to change that this season since this team is so talented. The Buckeyes have two games on the regular season schedule against Iowa, which should be “must-see TV” as they try and slow down Hawkeye superstar Caitlin Clark. Along with Iowa, there are a number of tough teams in the Big Ten on Ohio State’s regular season schedule.
If you’re like me and want to do a better job at keeping tabs on the Buckeye women’s hoops team this year, at least you’re on the right site. Our own Thomas Costello does an amazing job at covering the team, so I know I’m going to keep an eye out for his work as the season moves along.
Happy New Year to all!
Matt’s answer: Tune out the vocal minority
I’ll be honest with you, blogging about the Buckeyes over the last few seasons hasn’t always been a ton of fun. After practically 20 years of dominance, the downturn in on-field success (almost exclusively against Michigan and in the postseason) has made for rather tumultuous reactions from a fanbase that is not particularly known for being level-headed. Part of this is the ability of social media to amplify small pockets of emotion in a way that makes it feel like they are the majority-held position. And it’s almost always the people who are the most disgruntled who are so passionate about letting as many people as possible know about it.
Now, this is not to say that anger, frustration, and disappointment have not been — and do not continue to be — warranted; we have passionately written and podcasted about the team’s failures over the years. However, due to the general anonymity of social media — and blogging — there is a tendency to overamplify the negative so that it goes from being a legitimate, but limited, grievance to something that people have to act like is an affront to our shared decency or an attack on our collective humanity.
These very loud, very angry voices are actually an accurate representation of the thoughts of a group of fans, but it is a small group. And I don’t say that to discount their positions, because often I think that their analysis, while not their toxicity, is fairly astute. Instead, I just mean that the larger majority of fans — be they of the Buckeye or any other team in any other sport — don’t pay close enough attention to the individual minutia surrounding their favorite team.
So, instead of letting embarrassing losses in New Year’s Six bowls (in which the offensive gameplan looked amateur at best) destroy their entire holidays and serve as an ever-present torment on their psyche for the next nine months, most fans move on fairly quickly; still disappointed and intermittently angry, but not enough to go scorched earth on anyone and everything even tangentially associated with the program.
While we as bloggers — remember LGHL is a fan site and in no way claims to be a journalistic outlet, especially when it comes to football — are not the point here, that is from where I have most witnessed the corrosive nature of the eternally online element in the OSU fandom. So, when things don’t go super well for the Bucks, we do what bloggers do and react to it or write about it or tweet about it, That, unsurprisingly, is often met with responses from fans who don’t take kindly to anyone criticizing the team that they love.
However, if we try to take an optimistic, glass-half-full approach to any disappointing outcomes, a different group of OSU fans (or maybe it is some of the same folks) get upset that we are not as actively pissed as they are. So, no matter what we do, there are people in this large and expansive Buckeye Nation who aren’t going to be happy. That’s just how it works when you cover the team with the largest fan base in the country.
And to be honest, that’s a bummer because everyone that covers football at LGHL is a die-hard Ohio State fan and we all want to see them win just as much as all of the readers and listeners do. But, when the team does fall short of its own (or its fans’) expectations, we are going to write about it. And, just like all of the fans out there, we have a wide range of opinions, so someone is practically always angry at us when we discuss the team’s shortcomings.
So, my New Year’s resolution is to just not pay attention to it, whether that’s in the comments of our stories, podcasts, or posts, or just on social media at large. It’s not that I don’t think that those people’s opinions are valid, or that they don’t have worthwhile perspectives, it’s just that they diminish my enjoyment of something that should fundamentally be fun. Being a fan of a football team comes with inherent highs and lows, and a general negativity surrounding a team at is underachieving is to be expected. But it’s the extreme venom that makes being a fan not much fun.
Therefore, in 2024, I’m just removing myself from that part of following the team. Podcasts, newspapers, articles, TV, radio, those are all forms of media that are st all still on the table
Continue reading...
