To earn an offer from Ohio State the summer before your sophomore season, you have to stand out substantially as a prospect.
Class of 2026 offensive tackle Micah “Champ” Smith fits that billing. The Vero Beach, Fla. prospect checks in at 6-6, 295 pounds with the potential to grow further over his final three years of high school. Going into Monday he already held offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and Penn State, among many others.
On Monday he added Ohio State to that list, proving enough of his mettle at the team’s one-day camp to land the scholarship opportunity.
During the run-up to the recruiting camp Smith had seen his momentum with the Buckeyes pick up some steam.
“I started hearing from the Ohio State staff a few weeks ago to get up here, now they’re going to start recruiting me because they offered me today,” Smith told BSB Monday.
Now that he’s earned an Ohio State offer, Smith offered some insight into why he called Ohio State his “dream school” in the above tweet.
“It’s how professional they are, how they can get you to better places in life,” Smith said. “On and off the field.”
Speaking of that professionalism, Smith was the recipient of plenty of individual instruction from Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye. He stood out in pass rush one-on-ones, shutting down juniors and seniors before they had a chance to threaten the coach standing in as a quarterback.
Still, there were plenty of things he was working to fine-tune and tool with Frye, who also gave plenty of attention to class of 2025 four-star offensive tackle Carter Lowe of Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer (6-5, 290) and other offensive linemen at the camp.
“My footwork was a little off, and Coach Frye, he helped me recognize that and make it better, fix it,” Smith said.
That footwork is, generally, something Smith is working on entering his sophomore year of high school. He’s still very early in his recruiting process, so all he can do for now is keep improving on his game.
“Obviously I’m working on my footwork, and finishing blocks,” Smith said. “Just having that dog mindset and dominating.”
