June signals another shift in the college football recruiting calendar, with official visits beginning to take place throughout the month, and Ohio State is already hard at work with seven prospects expected to be hosted from June 2-4.
Starting off with committed prospects, Ohio State is expected to host Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School four-star tight end Max LeBlanc (6-4, 222) and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star running back Jordan Lyle (6-0, 180), who both committed to the Buckeyes in April.
Moving to the uncommitted recruits, Ohio State is expected to have five prospects on campus. The list includes North Richland Hills, Texas, four-star offensive lineman Daniel Cruz (6-4, 295), Lafayette (La.) Acadiana five-star defensive lineman Dominick McKinley (6-5, 290), Olney (Md.) Good Counsel three-star wide receiver Elijah Moore (6-4, 190), Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas three-star linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez (6-1, 190) and Melissa, Texas, four-star defensive lineman Nigel Smith II (6-5, 260).
The highest-rated of the bunch is McKinley, who is the No. 29 overall prospect and No. 5 defensive lineman in the class. He included Ohio State among his top six schools on Wednesday along with Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M. He recorded 86 tackles last season (18 for loss) with 10 sacks last season for Acadiana.
Ohio State does not have a commitment on the defensive line yet, but McKinley is just one of several highly-touted prospects – along with Buford, Ga., five-star Eddrick Houston (6-3, 255), Olney (Md.) Good Counsel four-star Darien Mayo (6-7, 247), Chicago St. Ignatius five-star Justin Scott (6-4, 310) and Washington (D.C.) Friendship Collegiate Academy five-star Dylan Stewart (6-5, 235), among others – that are expected on campus in June.
Smith is another top-100 defensive line prospect that has already arrived on campus. He is the No. 75 overall prospect and No. 11 defensive lineman in the class, and is considering Ohio State along with Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Rutgers, Texas and Texas A&M.
Smith posted 103 tackles (17 for loss) last season with 11 sacks and two forced fumbles, following up on a sophomore season in which he registered 10 sacks.
Staying on the defensive side of the ball, Rodriguez is the No. 606 overall prospect and No. 58 linebacker in the class. He was offered by Ohio State in March and holds additional offers from Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Tennessee, among others.
The Buckeyes already have two linebackers committed in Sunbury (Ohio) Big Walnut four-star Garrett Stover (6-0, 195) and Lucas (Texas) Lovejoy four-star Payton Pierce (6-1, 225), but a third is not out of the question, with Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco four-star Kingston Viliamu-Asa (6-3, 230) and Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy four-star Edwin Spillman (6-1, 216) other key targets that will be on campus in June.
Cruz and Moore are the other remaining prospects expected on campus, both on the offensive side of the ball. Cruz is the No. 274 overall prospect and No. 18 interior lineman, and while Ohio State already has several commitments in the interior of the offensive line, it’s looking to be a large class in the trenches for offensive line coach Justin Frye.
Moore, meanwhile, is just the No. 481 overall prospect and No. 66 wideout in the class, but recruiting rankings have never stopped offensive coordinator Brian Hartline from identifying targets he wants in a class and bringing them home to Ohio State. Moore is considering the Buckeyes along with Michigan, where has an official visit set for next weekend.
This is the first of several big recruiting weekends for Ohio State in June, with the Buckeyes also expected to host prospects the weekends of June 9-11, June 16-18 and June 23-25.
