Biggest Storylines In a Massive Recruiting Weekend

Ohio State will host its biggest recruiting weekend of the 2023 football season, kicking off on Saturday when Penn State rolls in. The Buckeyes have dozens of high profile visitors in the 2024-2026 recruiting classes expected to take in the Top 10 matchup and there are several key storylines to watch as the weekend unfolds.

We’ll break down just a few of the biggest ones below.

Can the Buckeyes flip Amaris Williams?

With four-star wide receiver Chance Robinson moving his visit until November, four-star defensive lineman Amaris Williams will be the lone official visitor this weekend for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is looking to add multiple defensive linemen to this class before the dust settles and Williams could be one of the most realistic remaining targets for the Buckeyes. The four-star prospect out of Clinton (NC) is committed to Florida, but that appears to be on shaky ground right now as Ohio State has really turned up the heat.

Williams is capable of playing strong-side end or kicking inside as a three-technique at the next level with his explosive and powerful 6-foot-3, 270-pound frame. Given a likely exodus to the NFL of several defensive linemen after the season, reloading with a player of Williams’ caliber is critical.

Larry Johnson has worked quickly to develop a strong relationship with Williams and Williams’ actions continue to give the sense that the Buckeyes can win this battle. Ohio State won’t demand an answer from Williams on Sunday or anything like that, but the Buckeyes would love this to move quickly and will push for that to happen.

Prediction: Ohio State flips Williams

How real are the chances with super 2025 corner Devin Sanchez?

The short version? Very, very real.

Five-star Houston (TX) North Shore cornerback Devin Sanchez is an elite talent in the Jeff Okudah mold. A tall, long athlete with incredible skill, Sanchez will find himself in the discussion as the nation’s top cornerback prospect throughout the 2025 cycle.

Sanchez made an unofficial visit to Ohio State back in the summer and worked out with cornerbacks coach Tim Walton at a one-day camp. That visit left a big impression on Sanchez who has gushed about Ohio State ever since. Now Sanchez is back on campus with family in tow as the Buckeyes hope to keep momentum going with the five-star prospect.

Alabama and Texas A&M look like the biggest competition right now, but just about every major program in the country is recruiting Sanchez at this point. That always makes the fanbase nervous, but this is a battle that Ohio State can win. The Buckeyes have done a good job here on the relationships front, have showed that they will play young guys in the secondary who earn it, and look to be back to producing potential 1st round NFL prospects at the position once again with the development of Denzel Burke.

Prediction: No commitment this weekend from Sanchez, who continues to weigh several tremendous options, but the Buckeyes establish themselves as the team to beat moving forward.

Hartline doing it again

Brian Hartline has put together some historic wide receiver classes during his time at Ohio State and he looks locked and ready to go again in both 2025 and 2026. The Buckeyes will see new 2025 receiver commit Jayvan Boggs and 2026 pledge Chris Henry Jr. back on campus this weekend.

But the big news of the weekend for the receivers room is that the Buckeyes will also host 2025 five-star Alabama commit Jamie Ffrench and 2025 stud receiver Naeshaun Montgomery, both from the state of Florida, as well as a slew of talented 2026 prospects.

Ffrench is playing this as just a trip to see a great game, and there’s certainly some truth to that, but Ffrench also told us over the summer that he’d visit Ohio State despite his upcoming commitment, which ended up being Alabama. So he’s following through on what he said he would do before even committing to the Crimson Tide. Brian Hartline has never given up here and Ffrench visiting this weekend should only give Hartline reason to continue to work at it.

With Montgomery, the Florida star has named Hartline as his favorite coach and the one he has connected with the most so far. This will be his first visit to campus and a chance for the Buckeyes to impress and emerge as a potential favorite.

The 2026 list is just as impressive and has even more depth. Georgia standout Aaron Gregory, North Carolina star Brody Keefe, and Florida’s Jabari Brady. It’s still incredibly early for the 2026 class, but all three of these players are tracking as prospects who will be very highly ranked when the dust settles.

Prediction: No early commitments from the 2026 superstars (other than Henry of course), but Hartline’s 2026 crop will end up rivaling any he has signed at Ohio State.

Buckeyes can impress Ohio stars

Ohio’s 2025 and 2026 classes are showing a ton of early promise and many of the top prospects in those classes will be on campus this weekend. From the loaded group at Akron Hoban which includes three offered prospects in 2025 linebacker Eli Lee, 2026 offensive tackle Sam Greer, and 2026 cornerback/athlete Elbert Hill, to priority 2025 targets like Shaker Heights defensive back Trey McNutt, Winton Woods linebacker/edge Justin Hill, and Toledo Whitmer offensive tackle Carter Lowe, the Buckeyes will have an opportunity to show these outstanding prospects why staying home would be in their best interest.

Prediction: The next commitments for Ohio State in both 2025 and 2026 come from Ohio prospects and happen in the next few weeks.

Keep it locked in here at BuckeyeHuddle.com throughout the weekend for visitor updates, intel, and more.

Go to discussion...