2023 In-State Offensive Guard Austin Siereveld Includes Ohio State Among Top Schools
Liberty Township (Ohio) Lakota East four-star offensive guard Austin Siereveld included Ohio State in his top six on Thursday morning alongside Alabama, Cincinnati, Iowa, Michigan and Notre Dame.
The 6-foot-5 and 315-pound Siereveld, who is considered the 23rd-best interior lineman and No. 325 prospect overall in the class of 2023, landed an offer from the Buckeyes following an unofficial visit for the win over Penn State in late October.
Siereveld was only lightly recruited to that point, with offers from Michigan State, Ohio, Toledo. He blew up from there, though, landing offers from each of his finalists over the next few months, highlighted by game day visits with the Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish.
While most prognosticators expected Siereveld’s recruitment to be pretty cut-and-dried – with him committing to Ohio State shortly after he received the offer – that never came to fruition.
He was mostly in contact with former offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and former defensive coordinator and area recruiter Kerry Coombs, and the uncertainty of their job status over the last month of the season played a role in his decision to hold off.
That left the door open for Alabama and Cincinnati, which has since hired Coombs as its cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator. Siereveld is also notably the only prospect from the state of Ohio that the Crimson Tide are actively recruiting.
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, effectively had to start over in the relationship-building process with the hiring of new offensive line coach Justin Frye. He’s been playing catch-up since then, which includes attending one of Siereveld’s basketball games in late January.
Siereveld admittedly grew up rooting for Ohio State, but it’s clear his relationships are stronger with other schools at this point in time. That would suggest he won’t end up with the Buckeyes if he wants to commit to a school sooner rather than later.
However, if Siereveld is willing to let the last part of the process play out slowly and return to campus in an effort to grow his relationship with Frye, things could easily trend back in Ohio State’s favor.
The Buckeyes hold just one commitment along the offensive line for the current cycle in Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne four-star guard Joshua Padilla, but appear on the verge of adding another in Findlay, Ohio, four-star tackle Luke Montgomery next week.
It’s unclear at this time how many players the staff would like to land at this position in 2023, but other names to keep in mind include Brockton (Mass.) Thayer Academy five-star tackle Samson Okunloloa; Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep four-star tackle Chase Bisontis; Orlando Dr. Phillips four-star tackle Payton Kirkland; Windsor (Conn.) The Loomis Chaffee School four-star tackle Olaus Alinen; and Indianapolis Roncalli three-star tackle Tervor Lauck, among others.
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