Matt Tamanini
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Five-star in-state prospect hoping to visit both Ohio State and Oregon this week
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State cornerback coach Tim Walton and 2026 recruit Elbert Hill | 247Sports
Also, rumors continue to swirl around David Sanders Jr. becoming a Buckeye
While the majority of Buckeye Nation was focused on the happenings in Indianapolis for the first day of Big Ten Media Day, yesterday there was a bit of recruiting news that Ohio State fans should be aware of. Perhaps the most concrete piece of intell has to do with one of the best players in Ohio’s 2026 recruiting cycle.
On Tuesday, Bucknuts’ Bill Kurelic reported that Elbert Hill, the No. 17 player in the country according to 247Sports’ Composit Ratings, will be heading to Eugene, Oregon this weekend for his first visit with the Ducks. However, he is hoping to sneak in another trip to Columbus before heading to the Pacific Northwester.
Hill is the top-rated cornerback in the country — not to mention the top-rated player in Ohio — so you know that he is a major priority for Tim Walton as he establishes the Buckeyes as the #BIA. The rising junior at Archbishop Hoban in Akron has already been in Columbus on a pair of occasions over the past few months, first to check out a spring practice and then for a one-day camp over the summer. He is now hoping to swing down to campus on Thursday before heading to Oregon for a major recruiting event for the new Big Ten power.
The five-star prospect’s father told Kurelic that this fall, the family is planning on doing game-day visits at Alabama, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, and Ohio State, which he called a “a no-brainer.” In March, Kurelic logged an expert crystal ball prediction for Hill to eventually become a Buckeye, but as we have seen in recent months, Oregon — aided by the billions in the Phil Knight warchest — have been flexing their muscles in the new NIL reality, especially as the Ducks step up in competition to the Big Ten.
Oregon is currently the betting-favorite to land Trey McNutt — the No. 19 safety in the 2025 cycle and No. 2 player in Ohio — so if OSU sees both McNutt and Hill end up in Eugene, losing the top defensive backs in your home state in back-to-back years could be a significantly devastating development for the Buckeyes.
In his weekly chat, Bucknuts Steve Helwagen admitted that he too had heard the rumors of the nation’s No. 2 player leaning toward OSU. David Sanders Jr. isn’t scheduled to commit until Aug. 17, and he is believed to be down to Ohio State and Tennessee, but there has been an increasing amount of smoke to indicate that that the Buckeyes’ oft-derided offensive line coach Justin Frye might be on the verge of pulling off a major recruiting coup.
Not only is Sanders is the No. 2 player in the country, but he is the top offensive lineman as well, an area where the Buckeyes are in significant need of an upgrade. The eerily accurate social media presence known as CFB Focus has shown significant insights into the innerworkings of Ohio State football in the past, and recently shared that he believes that Buckeye fans should feel good about Sanders’ ultimate decision.
Of course, when it comes to recruiting, nothing is a sure thing until pen is put to paper in December or February, but Sanders plans to make his announcement in a little over three weeks so he can put this process behind him and focus on his senior season at North Carolina’s Providence Day School. If he puts on a Block O hat on Aug. 17, it would be difficult to overstate the importance of that decision.
However, as Helwagen was quick to remind readers in his Q&A, no one prospect will make or break Ohio State football.
“It looks like it is Ohio State or Tennessee. Just let it play out..” he said “They’ve had football at Ohio State for 134 years and may have it for 134 more. Is he important? Yes. But the program is going to be OK either way.”
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State cornerback coach Tim Walton and 2026 recruit Elbert Hill | 247Sports
Also, rumors continue to swirl around David Sanders Jr. becoming a Buckeye
While the majority of Buckeye Nation was focused on the happenings in Indianapolis for the first day of Big Ten Media Day, yesterday there was a bit of recruiting news that Ohio State fans should be aware of. Perhaps the most concrete piece of intell has to do with one of the best players in Ohio’s 2026 recruiting cycle.
On Tuesday, Bucknuts’ Bill Kurelic reported that Elbert Hill, the No. 17 player in the country according to 247Sports’ Composit Ratings, will be heading to Eugene, Oregon this weekend for his first visit with the Ducks. However, he is hoping to sneak in another trip to Columbus before heading to the Pacific Northwester.
Hill is the top-rated cornerback in the country — not to mention the top-rated player in Ohio — so you know that he is a major priority for Tim Walton as he establishes the Buckeyes as the #BIA. The rising junior at Archbishop Hoban in Akron has already been in Columbus on a pair of occasions over the past few months, first to check out a spring practice and then for a one-day camp over the summer. He is now hoping to swing down to campus on Thursday before heading to Oregon for a major recruiting event for the new Big Ten power.
The five-star prospect’s father told Kurelic that this fall, the family is planning on doing game-day visits at Alabama, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, and Ohio State, which he called a “a no-brainer.” In March, Kurelic logged an expert crystal ball prediction for Hill to eventually become a Buckeye, but as we have seen in recent months, Oregon — aided by the billions in the Phil Knight warchest — have been flexing their muscles in the new NIL reality, especially as the Ducks step up in competition to the Big Ten.
Oregon is currently the betting-favorite to land Trey McNutt — the No. 19 safety in the 2025 cycle and No. 2 player in Ohio — so if OSU sees both McNutt and Hill end up in Eugene, losing the top defensive backs in your home state in back-to-back years could be a significantly devastating development for the Buckeyes.
In his weekly chat, Bucknuts Steve Helwagen admitted that he too had heard the rumors of the nation’s No. 2 player leaning toward OSU. David Sanders Jr. isn’t scheduled to commit until Aug. 17, and he is believed to be down to Ohio State and Tennessee, but there has been an increasing amount of smoke to indicate that that the Buckeyes’ oft-derided offensive line coach Justin Frye might be on the verge of pulling off a major recruiting coup.
Not only is Sanders is the No. 2 player in the country, but he is the top offensive lineman as well, an area where the Buckeyes are in significant need of an upgrade. The eerily accurate social media presence known as CFB Focus has shown significant insights into the innerworkings of Ohio State football in the past, and recently shared that he believes that Buckeye fans should feel good about Sanders’ ultimate decision.
Of course, when it comes to recruiting, nothing is a sure thing until pen is put to paper in December or February, but Sanders plans to make his announcement in a little over three weeks so he can put this process behind him and focus on his senior season at North Carolina’s Providence Day School. If he puts on a Block O hat on Aug. 17, it would be difficult to overstate the importance of that decision.
However, as Helwagen was quick to remind readers in his Q&A, no one prospect will make or break Ohio State football.
“It looks like it is Ohio State or Tennessee. Just let it play out..” he said “They’ve had football at Ohio State for 134 years and may have it for 134 more. Is he important? Yes. But the program is going to be OK either way.”
Continue reading...