Ohio State head coach Ryan Day walks onto the field before the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin Dec. 7. Ohio State won 34-21. Credit: Cori Wade | Photo Editor

When the coronavirus pandemic brought the sports world to a halt in early March, Ohio State football’s season was already completed, but the Buckeyes’ offseason recruiting plans were made much more difficult due to the strict recruiting guidelines implemented by the NCAA coupled with the Big Ten’s cancelation of the 2020 season. 

Despite the restrictions, Ohio State has continued to bulk up their top-ranked 2021 recruiting class while beginning their pursuits of 2022 recruits. Since the NCAA instituted a recruiting dead period March 13, the Buckeyes have added nine members from the class of 2021 and five from the class of 2022. However, with the recruiting dead period not expected to end until Aug. 31, Ohio State is still only allowed to correspond with recruits through phone calls, texts and emails. 

These new challenges have put Ohio State in a unique situation as head coach Ryan Day said that if a season is unable to be played in the fall, it could create new issues for the Buckeyes on the recruiting front.  

“If we weren’t, for whatever reason, allowed to play in January or February that would be a whole different story, but that’s why I think we have to play,” Day said in a conference call with the media Aug. 12. “Certainly it would be a big challenge if we didn’t.” 

However, if a season is able to begin on time, Day has called for the conference to allow mid-year enrollees to be able to play in both the spring and following fall and have it only count for one year of eligibility. 

“I’m going to fight really, really hard so that, if I’m a mid-year guy coming in, we do play in January and have the opportunity to play in January and then also in the fall but only count for one year of eligibility because it’s only playing in one calendar year,” Day said in the call. 

The Buckeyes have experienced adversity on the recruiting trail with the decommitment of four-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, who committed to Ohio State April 15.  Adeleye’s commitment was short-lived, as he announced his decommitment Aug. 11. 

“First and foremost I would like to thank coach Johnson, and the rest of the Ohio State staff for taking me in as one of their own since the day I committed,” Adeleye said in a statement posted on Twitter. “However with that being said I feel it’s best for me to decommit from Ohio State at this time.”

Adeleye was primed to join five-star and top-ranked defensive end Jack Sawyer on the Buckeye defensive front next season. 

TreVeyon Henderson, the No. 1 running back in the 2021 class, joins four-star running back Evan Pryor in running back’s coach Tony Alford’s impressive offseason haul. Alford said that he and the Ohio State coaching staff stuck to their typical recruiting philosophy while approaching the offseason. 

“You go after the guys you go after and you think can help your program,” Alford said in an April 22 conference call. “The philosophies that I’ve always used and what I like to think, I know, that our staff uses is pretty universal. ” 

The Buckeyes also put together a Fiesta Bowl-redeeming recruiting victory, as they flipped former Clemson commit and four-star cornerback, Jordan Hancock. 

“Clemson is a great school, I wish them nothing but the best, but I knew where I wanted to go in my heart,” Hancock said in a July 19 statement posted on Twitter. “Ohio State has been the school for me since they offered me last fall.”

Hancock has already concluded his high school football career, as he elected to sit out his senior season due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. 

Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs was instrumental in flipping Hancock as he continues to bulk up his 2021 class of secondary commits. Coombs said that he only looks for guys that have the desire to improve and unlock their full potential. 

“I’m really not interested in being around anybody that doesn’t want to be the absolute best in the world at what they do,” Coombs said in an April 22 conference call. 

As Ohio State strengthens its 2021 class, it also began its pursuit of the top players from the class of 2022. The Buckeyes added four Ohio native, four-star recruits to kick off their class of 2022 recruiting campaign. 

Kansas native and four-star outside linebacker Dasan McCullough joins the talented 2022 class, announcing his commitment to join the Buckeyes Tuesday. 

The Buckeyes strengthened their linebacker core thanks to Ohio’s top prospect from the 2022 class, outside linebacker Gabe Powers, commitment on Aug. 1. Powers joins fellow four-star outside linebackers C.J. Hicks and McCullough in Al Washington’s linebacker room. 

This is Washington’s first season where he is returning to a program since 2016. With this  opportunity, Washington said that being able to gain experience within a program for more than a single season has helped his recruiting strategy.

“This year going in, I know the team, I’m a part of the team,” Washington said in an April 22 conference call. “You’re far more effective when you’re able to speak from experience as opposed to what you read.”