Bryce West has visited several of college football’s top programs over the first two weeks of June, but the attention he received during his visit to Ohio State stood out.
Prior to participating in Ohio State’s fourth camp of the summer on Tuesday, West had already made visits to Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky earlier this month. He’ll be at Michigan on Wednesday and is also planning to visit a few more schools alongside his Glenville High School teammates as the month progresses.
When comparing his visit to Ohio State to the other schools he’s visited recently, West was impressed by just how many Ohio State coaches, staffers and players took the time to talk to him while he was on campus.
“At many of the places, I didn't get to talk to the players, I didn't get to talk to all the coaches. At Ohio State, when I came in, I talked to every coach, all the recruiting analysts, all the players,” West said after Tuesday’s camp. “So that gives off a great vibe. It shows you how much they care for me and how badly they want me because not many colleges will go out of their way to do that for you.”
Ohio State has reason to make West feel like a priority. He’s the No. 1 prospect in Ohio and the No. 42 overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2024, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. A four-star cornerback, West stands out as the must-get in-state prospect for the Buckeyes in his recruiting cycle.
While there’s still plenty of time to go in his recruitment, there’s reason to feel good about where Ohio State stands right now. He told Eleven Warriors at the Under Armour Next Camp in March that Ohio State was “at the top of my list.” Based on everything he had to say after camping at Ohio State on Tuesday, it doesn’t sound as though that’s changed.
“At many of the places, I didn't get to talk to the players, I didn't get to talk to all the coaches. At Ohio State, when I came in, I talked to every coach, all the recruiting analysts, all the players.” – Bryce West on the attention he received from Ohio State on Tuesday
West got good feedback about playing for the Buckeyes from current Ohio State cornerbacks Cameron Brown, Jyaire Brown and Jakailin Johnson, who told him “it's an amazing place.” And he says he learned a lot from his time spent with Ohio State cornerbacks coach Tim Walton.
“He taught me a lot of life lessons, but most importantly, how to play inside leverage, shoot that hand,” West said. “Kick-slide where you drag your hand and move it over into one-on-one coverage.”
Bryce West (@bryvonny) in one-on-ones. pic.twitter.com/GftrPRWb4F
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) June 14, 2022
West says he is planning to make a return trip to Ohio State later this summer to continue building his relationships with the Buckeyes’ coaches and players.
West’s interest in Ohio State is bolstered by the possibility of restarting the Glenville-to-Ohio State pipeline. While 21 Glenville alumni played for the Buckeyes from 2002 to 2017, Ohio State hasn’t had a Tarblooder on the team since. Many of West’s Glenville teammates also camped at Ohio State on Tuesday, and West would love to have the opportunity to play alongside them at the next level.
“I'm trying to get my whole team offers, so we can build a pipeline,” West said. “All of us come down here. That's like the biggest thing to me. Making sure we build a close bond with each other so we can all end up at the same college.”
As of now, the only other one of those players who has an Ohio State offer is 2023 four-star linebacker Arvell Reese. If Reese ultimately joins the Buckeyes’ class of 2023, that would only bolster their chances of landing a commitment from West. When asked about the possibility of playing at the same college as Reese, West said “that's definitely the plan for us right now.”
“That’s my boy,” West said. “We’ve basically got every same offer. We got the same top five, top 10. I talk to him every day, grew up with him since I was six. I’ve been playing football with him since I was six, he’s like a big brother to me.”
Reese will be trying to recruit West to join him wherever he goes.
“Me and Bryce, we talk all the time,” Reese said. “We definitely will want to team up in college.”
West, who holds offers from 19 schools, says he plans to begin narrowing down his recruitment around the middle of his junior year.
