Recruiting Update: Ohio State Maintains Top 2021 Class
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite recently missing out on top prospects JC Latham (OT/Alabama) and Troy Stellato (WR/Clemson), Ohio State still remains atop the 2021 football recruiting class team rankings as mid-summer approaches for second-year head coach Ryan Day’s program.
The Buckeyes, maintaining the top position by both Rivals.com and 247Sports, sit firmly ahead of Clemson, Tennessee, USC, North Carolina, Michigan and beyond following their most-recent commitment of ESPN Top 300 prospect Denzel Burke in late May.
Burke, a four-star athlete from Scottsdale, Ariz., is ranked No. 262 through ESPN and considered a top-10 player at his position. The two-way Saguaro High School product, standing 6-0 and weighing roughly 190 pounds, will likely end up as a defensive back in college.
Burke committed to the Buckeyes just a few weeks after releasing a top-five list that also featured Oregon, USC, Washington and Colorado. He received an offer from OSU in January but was never able to take an official visit to campus.
“Ready for the next chapter,” Burke emphatically said along with his commitment post on Instagram.
The 2021 class now features a combined 15 four/five-star prospects, headlined thus far by the likes of defensive end Jack Sawyer, running back TreVeyon Henderson, offensive guard Donovan Jackson, quarterback Kyle McCord and defensive end Tunmise Adeyele.
Wildly enough, Ohio State has never recorded the nation’s top recruiting class according to Rivals.com and 247Sports databases. The Buckeyes have been a constant force among the top five since Urban Meyer was hired in 2011, however, only falling out of the top 10 during the brief coaching transition in 2019.
The 2021 list of Buckeyes could become even stronger with multiple others still considering Columbus as their final destination. Big names such as defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau (Bellevue, Wash.), wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (Steilacoom, Wash.), cornerback Tony Grimes (Virginia Beach, Va.), outside linebacker/safety Derrick Davis Jr. (Monroeville, Pa.) and defensive tackles Damon Payne (Belleville, Mich.) and Tywon Malone (Oradell, N.J.) have all continued showing strong interest in Ohio State.
Add in the possibilities of offensive guard Jager Burton (Lexington, Ky.) and tight end Hudson Wolfe (Savannah, Tenn.), and Ohio State’s 2021 class could really be one for the ages.
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