After arriving in California on Sunday evening for the Rose Bowl, Ohio State was back to practice on Monday morning.
There were a few visitors in attendance.
Players from at least three local high schools – St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California), Pacifica High School (Garden Grove, California) and Millikan High School (Long Beach, California) – were in attendance.
“This is great exposure for our program for all the great players in Southern California, the whole state of California and the West Coast,” Ryan Day said Monday when asked about the recruiting benefit of allowing California high schools to watch Rose Bowl practices. “There’s certainly a lot of good players out here. Any time we can get that type of exposure in this area, it means a lot to our program.”
Most of the players Ohio State is recruiting from Bosco, a California and national powerhouse, are well known to those who follow OSU recruiting. Some of those names include 2022 offensive lineman Earnest Greene, 2023 defensive backs Jshawn Frausto-Ramos and R.J. Jones, 2023 defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei, 2024 defensive backs Peyton Woodyard and Marcelles Williams and 2024 linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Ohio State will be at St. John Bosco on Friday for a walkthrough, and some recruits are expected to attend. Uiagalelei, Viliamu-Asa, Woodyard and Williams were among those who attended Monday’s practice.
Good day on the field watching @OhioStateFB practice. pic.twitter.com/4y8sUgFIQR
— Peyton PeyPey Woodyard (@peypey_wood) December 27, 2021
Here at the Home Depot Center watching Ohio St practice #gobuckeyes
— Marcelles Williams (@cellesthegreat1) December 27, 2021
From Pacifica, sources told Eleven Warriors Ohio State is looking at four-star 2024 wideout Jordan Ross and 2024 interior offensive lineman Lake Dawson. OSU wide receivers coach Brian Hartline visited with the Pacifica coaching staff briefly Monday and plans to return to California in February to learn more about those players.
Pellum thrilled by OSU offer
As for Millikan, one player that stopped by Ohio State’s practice on Monday left with an offer: 2024 four-star California wide receiver Ryan Pellum.
OSU texted Pellum’s brother Sunday evening and encouraged him to attend the Monday practice. Pellum found out about the offer after Day himself spoke with Pellum’s brother and gave him the good news.
“It felt really good when my brother announced it to me,” Pellum told Eleven Warriors.
Blessed to receive an offer from THE Ohio State University @OhioStateFB @ryandaytime @brianhartline @MillikanHSFB @HRealm7v7 pic.twitter.com/mDikAzkTBj
— Ryan Pellum (@ryan_pellum) December 27, 2021
Pellum, who told Eleven Warriors Monday night he did not root for any particular team growing up, already has 33 Division I offers. His offer sheet includes schools such as Alabama, USC, LSU, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. In eight games for Millikan, the sophomore wideout caught 42 passes for 721 yards with 10 touchdowns. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Pellum also scored a rushing touchdown and finished with 35 rushing yards on 13 carries this season.
Pellum visited Texas, Texas A&M, Cal and USC during the fall. While he’s never been to Ohio, Pellum told Eleven Warriors he hopes to visit Ohio State sometime next year.
“What I see is getting to the league mostly,” Pellum said when asked what’s appealing about potentially playing for Ohio State.
Hicks, Arbor, others to arrive in Orlando
Tuesday marked the first day recruits selected to play in the Under Armour All-American Bowl on Jan. 2 arrived in Orlando. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Ohio State fans will have plenty of reasons to watch the game, as several 2022 commits are expected to participate in the contest, including C.J. Hicks, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Gabe Powers.
But the biggest reason to watch is the expected commitment announcement from four-star defensive end Omari Abor. Abor, who did not silently sign with a team in the early signing period, is still heavily considering Ohio State, along with Texas and perhaps Texas A&M.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound edge rusher is considered the No. 38 overall prospect and the fourth-best edge player in the 2022 cycle, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
