Ryan Day was in the middle of his signing day news conference, discussing a new crop of Ohio State Buckeyes when the program’s general manager, Mark Pantoni, conveyed a message to him.
Jeremiah Smith, the five-star wide receiver and top recruit in the 2024 class, had just signed with Ohio State during an event at his Miami-area school.
“Really?” Day asked.
Really, he was told. The nation’s top player was in the fold after weeks of speculation that he might be a late flip to either Miami or Florida State.
Day exhaled.
“Jeez,” he muttered, before pretending he was about to faint.
Not long after that came more good news. Five-star defensive end Eddrick Houston from Buford, Georgia, was signing with Ohio State as well even after a ferocious late push by Alabama that left many recruiting experts predicting a flip to the Crimson Tide.
Ohio State finished with the third-ranked recruiting class per Rivals.com, a 20-man outfit whose average star ranking of 3.95 is best in the nation.
That’s a huge win for Ohio State and a much-needed one for Day, who despite his 56-7 record wasn’t having the smoothest time since losing to Michigan less than a month ago.
Ohio State’s Ryan Day was breathing a sigh of relief on Wednesday. (John Fisher/Getty Images)
Since then, 15 Buckeyes entered the transfer portal, including, most notably, starting quarterback Kyle McCord. Coupled with the expected NFL departures and those out of eligibility, the roster was about as in flux as you ever see at a program such as Ohio State.
Then came the run up to signing day. Just this week two four-star recruits decommitted to sign elsewhere — wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan to Oregon and running back Jordan Lyle to Miami. They followed a late-November decommit from five-star defensive end Justin Scott, who also flipped to Miami.
Ohio State is about…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/after-fighting-off-recruit-exodus-ryan-day-and-ohio-state-breathe-a-sigh-of-relief-203726882.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-20 20:37:26
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