VERO BEACH, Fla. — Long-time Ohio State offensive line target Micah ‘Champ’ Smith is getting ready for the official visit portion of his recruiting process. The four-star prospect out of Vero Beach High in Central Florida has been on the Ohio State radar since before his sophomore season.
But things have changed a bit since Smith was offered by the Buckeyes, most notably a change from offensive line coach Justin Frye to Tyler Bowen. Smith had a good relationship with Frye before he left to take a job in the NFL and he is working on building that type of relationship now with Bowen.
Smith made it back to campus back in March for Ohio State’s first spring practice.
“Coach Bowen is a real up-tempo guy,” Smith explained. “So talking to him, I can see why they’ve got a few commits these last few months.”
Ohio State has also brought in several new support staff members with offensive line coaching experience, allowing the Buckeyes to get all of their linemen plenty of reps during practice.
“With the four offensive line coaches, it’s very good,” Smith said. “You’ve got them running four different stations and giving you four different coaching points.”
Smith is, of course, the former high school teammate of freshman linebacker T.J. Alford and the two have remained close and been able to connect about Alford’s first several months in Columbus.
“Talking to T.J., he just told me a few things about Ohio State, about the culture there,” he explained. “He’s loving it, so seeing him and seeing that he’s loving it up there, me and him kind of coming from the same area, and seeing that he can become successful in Columbus, that’s nice.”
Smith will be back in Columbus the weekend of June 20th for his official visit, giving the Buckeyes a chance to potentially make the final impression before a summer decision is reached.
Going into this upcoming round of visits, Ohio State remains a top contender for the talented lineman.
“I still like Ohio State,” he said. “They’re still up there.”
Check out more from one of Ohio State’s top recruiting targets from our one-on-one sit down with Champ on Southern Swing.
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