With only 10 days until National Signing Day, the final pieces of Ohio State's 2018 recruiting class are starting to come together. And while the staff still hopes to address a glaring need at offensive tackle, they'll almost always make room for more playmakers like San Marcos, California, Mission Hills four-star wide receiver Chris Olave, who pledged his services to the Buckeyes on Twitter Sunday evening.
Dear God, Thank You. Committed. #Zone6 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/xH3W5dXsGo
— Chris Olave (@chrisolave_) January 29, 2018
The Olave File
- Class: 2018
- Size: 6-foot-1, 170 pounds
- Pos: WR
- School: Mission Hills (San Marcos, CA)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 54 (WR)
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Olave is considered the 54th-best wide receiver and No. 324 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He picked Ohio State over finalists UCLA, USC and Utah.
"Chris needs somewhere where he can thrive as a football player," Mission Hills head coach Chris Hauser told Eleven Warriors. "He's not a one-dimensional kid. Getting his degree and going to a school that has some substance to it is important.
"At the same time, Chris is just now discovering he might have elite talent. He might be a guy that can get paid some day doing this. He's all about competing against great players. He loves it when he's in pressure-cooker moments where the other guy is supposed to be the best around. Going to Ohio State, they put defensive backs in the NFL all the time. He's excited about that opportunity.”
Olave landed an offer from the Buckeyes in October and took an official visit with his family for the win over Michigan State one month later, but commitments in December from St. Louis four-star wideouts Kamryn Babb and Cameron Brown seemingly ended all hope of him playing his college ball in Columbus.
The Bruins made a significant push with Chip Kelly’s hiring, meanwhile, as the proximity to home, possibility of early playing time and Kelly’s offensive scheme were certainly intriguing. That all changed, though, when offensive coordinator Ryan Day paid Olave a visit earlier this month.
College football's new Early Signing Period has allowed some programs, like Ohio State, to ignore the traditional recruiting approach of adding depth late in the process and instead pursue the “Best Available Player” — a term most often used in the latter rounds of the NFL Draft. Despite six returning starters and three signees in Babb, Brown and L’Christian “Blue” Smith, Olave was viewed as simply too talented to pass up.
Day and wide receivers coach Zach Smith then returned to California on Monday night for an in-school visit with Olave and an in-home visit with his family, at which time he made the staff aware of his intentions to become a Buckeye.
Olave becomes the 24th member of Ohio State’s Supreme ‘18 recruiting class, and — as mentioned — the fourth commitment at the wide receiver position.
Eleven Warriors will have more on his pledge shortly.
