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LGHL Ohio State hosts seven prospects on official visits over the weekend

Ohio State hosts seven prospects on official visits over the weekend
Gene Ross
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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2024 WR Elijah Moore | Chris Anderson, 247Sports

Official visit season has begun for the Buckeyes.

With one weekend now in the books this June, the busy time for recruiting has fully commenced. Ohio State hosted seven prospects in the 2024 class on official visits this weekend, including a pair of Buckeye commits and a handful of targets heavily considering continuing their playing careers in Columbus.

OSU Official Visitors

June 2nd - 4th

Via @alexgleitman pic.twitter.com/gyGeF3oWyv

— Bond Edits (@bondedits15) June 2, 2023

Despite being one of the lowest-ranked members of the cycle in attendance the past few days, perhaps the most interesting player on campus this weekend was wide receiver Elijah Moore. Just a three-star prospect and the No. 66 WR in the class, the Maryland native moved up his official visit date up a few weeks from its original spot, and that likely isn’t a coincidence with the Buckeyes more or less close to wrapping up its offensive class.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, Brian Hartline obviously likes what he sees in Moore despite his ranking. With two of the top wideouts in the country already committed in Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham, Ohio State can afford to get picky with the remaining one or two guys they choose to fill out the room with. There is definitely mutual interest between Moore and the Buckeyes, with an OSU Crystal Ball coming in from Bill Kurelic on Sunday. If this is a player Hartline wants, he could very well pull the trigger soon.

Had a great time in columbus this weekend ❗@OhioStateFB @ryandaytime @brianhartline @CoachJordan82 #2the4the pic.twitter.com/HlcaTrhdsj

— Elijah Moore ♌️ (@3lijahmoore) June 4, 2023

One of the biggest names on campus this weekend was four-star defensive lineman Nigel Smith II. Smith, the No. 11 DL and No. 75 player in the class overall, has been to Columbus a handful of times already, but this was obviously his only visit of the official variety and likely the last time he will be at Ohio State before making his decision later this year.

With a top eight schools of Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Rutgers, Texas, Texas A&M and Ohio State, the Buckeyes are likely among the final group alongside the Texas schools and Oklahoma, with the Sooners the current favorite owning the lone Crystal Ball prediction.

— Nigel Smith (@NigelSmith_25) June 2, 2023

Ohio State is still searching for its first defensive line commit in 2024, and while it is probably a bit of an uphill climb for Smith, by all accounts his visit with the Buckeyes seems to have gone very well. Also in Columbus this weekend along the defensive line was five-star Dominick McKinley — the highest overall ranked official visitor of the group as the No. 5 DL and No. 29 player overall in the 247Sports Composite. Like Smith, Ohio State’s biggest competitors for McKinley appear to be Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M.

Up front, Daniel Cruz was the focus this weekend. With four offensive linemen already committed in the class, Justin Frye is still looking to add another two to three big names to his position group. The four-star Cruz is currently listed as the No. 18 IOL and the No. 274 player in the 247Sports Composite, and the Texas native currently has a Crystal Ball prediction in favor of the Longhorns. Cruz projects as a center at the next level, and seems to be a longshot to wind up at Ohio State.

— Daniel Cruz (@DanielCruz_51) June 2, 2023

Quick Hits

  • As expected, three-star defensive lineman Sean Sevillano Jr. committed to Notre Dame this weekend. Ohio State was among his four finalists, but the Fighting Irish were the expected selection as the Buckeyes will have to look elsewhere for their first D-line pledge in 2024.
Committed!! Go Irish☘️☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/MOwh7pGz6k

— Sean Sevillano Jr. (@SevillanoSean) June 2, 2023
  • While the 2024 class is the main focus this summer, the 2025 class will be getting their share of eyes as well. Four-star 2025 OT Carter Lowe will be in attendance on June 12 for what will likely be one of many camps Ohio State puts on for underclassman this offseason. Lowe is currently listed as the No. 16 OT and No. 143 player overall in his class on the 247Sports Composite.
Camp schedule, excited to compete!! pic.twitter.com/7iJmSSsWor

— Carter Lowe (@big_carter72) June 2, 2023
  • Speaking of 2025 prospects, Ohio State will also be getting a visit from cornerback Jermichael Gillis later this week. Gillis is currently listed as the No. 37 cornerback and No. 342 player overall in the 2025 class on the 247Sports Composite.
I will be at Ohio state university June 6-7 #gobuckeyes @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/JzcRybGIsE

— Jermichael Gillis (@Jmike2025) June 3, 2023

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LGHL Player to Watch: Ohio State’s Swiss Army Knife Xavier Johnson

Player to Watch: Ohio State’s Swiss Army Knife Xavier Johnson
Brett Ludwiczak
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Indiana v Ohio State


The former walk-on made a name for himself in 2022 with his strong play on offense and special teams.

From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about players to watch this upcoming season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Player to Watch” articles here.



While guys like C.J. Stroud, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka deservedly received most of the attention on Ohio State’s prolific offense last season, the player that came up the biggest when needed most was Xavier Johnson. After receiving just four carries over his first four seasons as a Buckeye, Johnson saw 25 touches last season, totaling nearly 300 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

Johnson’s value to the offense goes so much deeper than what you’ll see in his numbers from the 2022 season. With injuries to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams during the year, Johnson ended up doing a little bit of everything for the Ohio State offense. About the only things Johnson didn’t do on offense for the Buckeyes last year was snap the football and throw a pass.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 03 Notre Dame at Ohio State
Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In the season-opener against Notre Dame, the Ohio State offense had a hard time getting much going in the first half, heading into halftime trailing the Fighting Irish 10-7. Some of those struggles were due to the hamstring injury Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered. Eventually Stroud and the Buckeye offense found some traction in the second half, but not many fans would have expected Xavier Johnson to be the one to score the go-ahead touchdown in the game.

Johnson caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Stroud with 17 seconds left in the third quarter to cap off a 10-play, 70-yard drive that gave the Buckeyes a 14-10 lead.

Along with his contributions on offense, Johnson also was one of the most reliable special teams players for Ohio State last season. In back-to-back weeks, Johnson was the one to recover blocked punts by Lathan Ransom against Indiana and Maryland. The punt block recovery against the Terrapins would lead to a Dallan Hayden rushing touchdown a couple plays later to give the Buckeyes a 17-13 lead.

Following a Maryland touchdown early in the fourth quarter, Johnson returned the kickoff 46 yards, which would result in another Hayden rushing touchdown a few plays later that extended Ohio State’s lead to double digits.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 31 Semifinal Game Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

To cap off an outstanding senior season, the former walk-on hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter of the Peach Bowl against Georgia to give the Buckeyes a 28-24 lead heading into halftime. Johnson finished the game with three catches for 43 yards, and was given six carries that totaled 28 yards. Even though the season didn’t end with a trip to the national title game, it still was a very successful campaign for Johnson, who went from being barely known by fans to a fan favorite.

With the depth at wide receiver and running back for Ohio State, it would have been understandable if Johnson had decided to either declare for the NFL Draft or enter the transfer portal. Instead, Johnson decided it would be in his best interests to return to Columbus for another season with the Buckeyes. What made another year at Ohio State attractive for Johnson was the plan head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline laid out for how he would be utilized in the offense.

Unfortunately, Ohio State fans didn’t get an idea of what Day and Hartline had in mind for how they would use Johnson this year, since the wide receiver/running back missed most of spring camp because of a foot injury. There isn’t any worry about Johnson not being on the field when Ohio State’s season begins in early September, as the coaching staff was just being cautious with the injury.

Along with being a factor for Ohio State on offense and special teams, it is likely Johnson will be named a captain since he is one of the three longest-tenured players currently on Ohio State’s roster. Even though the captains are named by a team vote, many have raved about some of the leadership Johnson provides, and Hartline has likened Johnson to Kam Babb when it comes to the type of leadership he has seen from him.

We got a preview of how Johnson can operate in an offense with guys like Harrison, Egbuka, Henderson and others last year. This year is going to be even more interesting to watch since even more will be expected out of the fifth-year standout. The tough part for opponents is Johnson can excel in all facets of the game, so it makes the Buckeye offense even tougher to prepare for.

Even though some of the bigger names that will go higher in the NFL Draft will get more attention, Xavier Johnson might be the most important player on the Ohio State offense.

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