Georgia Defensive End Lebbeus Overton Reclassifies, Includes Ohio State In Top 5
Ohio State appeared to put the finishing touches on its 2022 recruiting class on Wednesday, but there’s still a chance the Buckeyes add another piece after Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton five-star defensive end Lebbeus Overton announced on Thursday that he is reclassifying from the class of 2023.
He plans to take official visits with Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas A&M this spring and then make his college decision shortly thereafter, mimicking the Buckeyes’ pursuit of rising sophomore defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau one year ago.
The 6-foot-5 and 265-pound Overton, who is now considered the fifth-best defensive lineman and No. 18 prospect overall in the class of 2022, has recorded more than 100 tackles for loss and 50 sacks in four years at the varsity level, where he started as an eighth grader.
The teammate of 2022 point guard signee Bruce Thornton, Overton landed a dual-sport offer from the Buckeyes back in February. He then made his way to Columbus for the first and only time in July, at which time he toured campus and met with head coach Ryan Day and defensive line coach Larry Johnson.
Overton wasn’t able to spent time with Chris Holtmann, though, as the college basketball calendar was in a recruiting dead period at that time. He also took unofficial visits with the Aggies, Bulldogs and Sooners which helped him narrow down his list of options.
It’s worth noting he has ties to several of those programs, as his father, Milton Overton, played at Oklahoma and was an associate athletic director at Texas A&M before taking over as the athletic director at Kennesaw State – about an hour an a half west of Athens.
All of that would suggest it’s going to be an uphill climb for Ohio State to land Overton’s pledge, but SI All-American director of recruiting John Garcia isn’t quite ready to count the Buckeyes out.
“If Larry Johnson is latching on, you’ve got a chance,” Garcia said on this week’s episode of Building The Buckeyes. “Now, this is going to be a bit of an uphill climb. But the schools he’s looking at, he’s not worried about the competition. Those are competitive schools that have built a pass-rushing stable, for the most part.
“The next step is absolutely to get back to Columbus because he just visited A&M and they’ve got momentum, and Georgia is what it is, an hour from his house and the national champions. Those are the two shoo-ins to stay in this race, so between Ohio State, Oklahoma and Oregon, which one of these schools is going to be that third contender, that third point of view to dig into moving forward?
“I think that could be Ohio State, but he’s got to get back to Columbus. He’s an Ohio State kind of kid, an elite pass rusher … It will be fascinating (to watch). If he starts accelerating things, it’s more of an A&M or Georgia situation, but if he takes a few months, I think the Buckeyes will potentially become that third school and really give him something to think about.”
Ohio State has experience with prospects who have reclassified, landing Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers last summer and incoming freshman linebacker/safety Sonny Styles in the current cycle, so that will certainly help the staff navigate the coming months.
There shouldn’t be any concerns about the Buckeyes currently being seven players over the 85-man scholarship limit, either, as they’ll room if a player of Overton’s caliber wants spent the next three or four years in Columbus.
As for how he would fit into Ohio State’s class, the Buckeyes just landed signatures from four of the nation’s top-rated defensive linemen, including Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna four-star end Kenyatta Jackson; Duncanville, Texas, four-star end Omari Abor; Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove tackle Caden Curry; and Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic four-star tackle Hero Kanu.
The staff was hoping to add one more player in Ellenwood (Ga.) Cedar Grove four-star tackle Christen Miller, but he ultimately picked the home-state Bulldogs. Given his position versatility, Overton would easily fill that void.
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