Recruiting: Tywone Malone Leaves Buckeyes off Top 6 List

Class of 2021 dual-sport standout Tywone Malone (Oradell, N.J./Bergen Catholic) released his top-six schools Monday evening… and, a bit surprisingly, Ohio State was not included.

Malone, a prized defensive lineman in the football recruiting cycle and then also a coveted first baseman on the baseball diamond, trimmed his contenders down to USC, Rutgers, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Florida State and Tennessee.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound prospect has been looking to continue both sports at the college level, and all finalists have apparently presented that opportunity. Malone is ranked No. 16 on the Preseason SI99 list and also the No. 3 interior defensive lineman.

Ohio State, behind defensive line coach Larry Johnson, had been regarded by many as the potential front-runner for Malone in recent months and even had a strong Buckeye forecast from Rivals. Current OSU sophomore defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste was a teammate of Malone’s at Bergen Catholic.

The Buckeyes did recently land 2021 defensive tackle Tyleik Williams somewhat unexpectedly back in late August, giving the class three at the position. He joined fellow interior lineman Michael Hall (Streetsboro, Ohio) and standout edge prospect Jack Sawyer (Pickerington, Ohio).

Ohio State is also still in the running for elite target J.T. Tuimoloau, who included the Buckeyes on his top-seven list last week.

Malone tallied a combined 99 tackles (24.5 for loss) over his sophomore and junior campaigns for Bergen Catholic, which won the Non-Public Group 4 state championship in 2017 and finished runner-up in 2018.

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