It’s been a wild week for Lakota East (Middletown, Ohio) offensive lineman Austin Siereveld.
Until a week ago, the 2023 interior offensive line prospect had only offers from Ohio and Toledo. Then, Michigan State offered on Oct. 27. Ohio State followed on Saturday when he was there for an in-person gameday visit to watch the Buckeyes’ 33-24 win over Penn State.
Cincinnati followed on Monday, then Kentucky and Illinois offered on Tuesday evening. Siereveld has only recently blown up in recruiting circles and does not yet have a 247Sports composite ranking. For the Ohio resident, though, getting offered by the Buckeyes was truly special for him.
After a great visit and game Im truly blessed to receive an offer from THE Ohio State University!!! @ryandaytime @CoachStudOL @CoachCookOL @DB_CoachCoombs @hawksfootball12 pic.twitter.com/uU3kPrVs8w
— Austin Siereveld (@SiereveldAustin) October 31, 2021
With his parents in attendance, Siereveld was given his scholarship offer during a meeting with Ryan Day before Saturday’s game with defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and offensive line graduate assistant coach Kennedy Cook also on hand.
“I was really honored to be offered by them,” Siereveld told Eleven Warriors. “The fact that they offered me in person with Coach Day was really awesome too.”
Growing up in Ohio, Siereveld was a die-hard Buckeyes fan.
“I watched every game,” he said. “You could say it’s my dream offer ... Everyone in my community is Ohio State fans. Having them potentially supporting me would be great.”
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound offensive lineman first impressed Buckeyes coaches by standing out in drills during an Ohio State camp on June 16.
“When they told me to come back up for a second camp (I knew they were interested),” Siereveld said.
Siereveld returned for another camp later in the month, then attended the Buckeye Bash & BBQ with a plethora of other recruits in late July and attended the Buckeyes’ home opener against Oregon on Sept. 11. While attending both camps, Siereveld was told by OSU’s coaching staff they see him as a guard at the collegiate level.
“They really like my physical nature that I bring,” Siereveld said. “Also how I finish my blocks and my footwork.”
Despite the offer from his dream school, and even though Siereveld has already picked up a Crystal Ball projection to Ohio State from 247Sports, he isn’t in a rush to decide on a school and is willing to let his recruiting process play out. He said he’d like to make a commitment before his senior season starts, though.
In-person scouting leads to offers
Siereveld wasn’t the only Ohio product the Buckeyes offered last weekend. Findlay 2025 quarterback Ryan Montgomery also picked up a scholarship opportunity, becoming the first member of that cycle to receive an offer from OSU. Rising 2024 Texas quarterback Dylan Raiola joined Siereveld and Montgomery by picking up the third offer of the weekend. In short, OSU was busy.
Earlier this week, Day talked about the confidence OSU has in extending scholarship opportunities earlier this year than they may have in the last 18 months or so, without mentioning any recruit by name. It seems simple, but having in-person interaction and scouting with recruits once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted has led to more offers being extended.
“We’ve been able to actually see guys play, which has been great,” Day said. “We’ve been able to get back on the road for the first time in a couple years and that’s really helped. Then we now have a lot more video to go off of and we’re seeing guys in person. We almost went a year-and-a-half without looking someone in the eye and now when they’re on campus, we can do that. We can watch the film, we can watch them play, and then they come over and we see them in person and project how they can physically mature really allows us the opportunity to get ahead of this stuff.”
Kanu enjoys visit
One of Ohio State’s priority targets for the 2022 class, defensive tackle Hero Kanu, enjoyed his visit to Columbus last weekend, the German-born prospect told 247Sports.
Kanu was joined on the visit by his mother, who flew in from Germany, and PPI Recruits founder Brandon Collier. According to 247Sports, Kanu visited with current Buckeye J.T. Tuimoloau while on the trip and was impressed by OSU’s win.
Great time at @OhioStateFB with @HeroKanu and @R2X_Rushmen1 @PPIRecruits #4theculture pic.twitter.com/n2v0TdWay1
— Brandon Collier (@BCollierPPI) October 31, 2021
“It was really fun to watch,” Kanu told 247Sports. “It never got boring. The defensive touchdown by (Jerron Cage), my mom said she has a new favorite player now. We really enjoyed the game.”
Kanu visited Columbus twice over the summer, once in June and another in late July. The 6-foot-5, 293-pound defensive tackle is ranked as the 92nd-best player and the 15th-best defensive lineman in the 2022 class according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Kanu has one more visit to take this fall, which will be this weekend at Georgia. He canceled his Nov. 13 visit to LSU. While Kanu may silently commit somewhere in December, he plans to announce his commitment in January at the All-American Bowl.
