The Hurry-Up: Four-Star 2024 Offensive Lineman Ian Moore Nearing College Decision, Keon Keeley and Damon Wilson Making Official Visits Elsewhere This Weekend

By Garrick Hodge on October 6, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Ian Moore
17 Comments

One of Ohio State’s top offensive line targets in the 2024 class is nearing a decision.

After the conclusion of his second visit to Ohio State this fall, four-star top-100 prospect Ian Moore told Eleven Warriors he had one more planned visit to make and then would likely come to a decision shortly after taking a trip to Wisconsin. 

Moore and his family visited Wisconsin last weekend for the Badgers’ contest against Illinois. Now, he’s entering the final stage of the recruitment process.

“I’ll probably make a decision in the next month or two,” Moore told Eleven Warriors Wednesday. 

His final four schools in consideration are Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin. Even though Moore attended Wisconsin’s loss to Illinois that led to Paul Chryst’s firing the next day, the Badgers are still drawing consideration from the Indiana prospect. 

That said, Ohio State is the heavy favorite to land Moore’s commitment, with the 6-foot-5, 295-pound prospect visiting Columbus for both the Notre Dame and Wisconsin games in September. He is also communicating frequently with OSU offensive line coach Justin Frye. 

“He’s starting to feel like family,” Moore said of Frye. “Him and (graduate assistant) coach (Mike) Sollenne.”  

Moore doesn’t plan to make any more visits before announcing a commitment, though he wouldn’t rule it out if the opportunity sprouts. In the meantime, he’ll take time to make his college decision with his family.

“I’m basing it on a collective of things,” Moore said. “How far is it, will my family be taken care of, academics, recruits and the least important is the coaches but they still make an impact on my decision.”

Keeley, Wilson taking officials elsewhere this weekend

Ohio State isn’t hosting any recruits on visits this weekend with the Buckeyes playing on the road at Michigan State, but that doesn’t mean this weekend isn’t big regarding Ohio State recruiting. 

Two of OSU’s top remaining defensive end targets, five-stars Keon Keeley and Damon Wilson, will be making official visits to other schools Saturday. Keeley will be visiting Alabama for the Crimson Tide’s game against Texas A&M, while Wilson will be at Georgia’s contest against Auburn. 

On Keeley’s second visit of the fall to Ohio State during the Wisconsin game, he told OSU commit Joshua Padilla that he’s essentially down to Alabama and Ohio State, so needless to say his visit to Tuscaloosa will be worth monitoring over the next couple of days. A decision from Keeley could come shortly after the visit, but no commitment date has been set as of now. 

Wilson’s recruitment is closer to the vest, as he hardly talks to any media outlets unless the interviews are done in person. After his Ohio State official visit on Sept. 3, speculation was circulating in favor of Ohio State landing Wilson and even that he may make his decision by the end of the month, seeing as he had no further visits lined up at that time. A visit to Georgia this weekend indicates this recruitment is more open than it was perceived to be a month ago, and there still could be plenty of twists and turns left in the talented Florida prospect’s decision process. 

Montgomery dazzles with six TD passes in win

It’s been a slower start to the season for Findlay football than Ohio State offensive line commit Luke Montgomery would like, as the Trojans currently hold a 3-4 record. However, Findlay is on a two-game winning streak after a 1-4 start, most recently besting St. Francis de Sales (Toledo) 48-17 last week. 

Ryan Montgomery, Luke’s brother and a primary Ohio State quarterback target for the 2025 class, lit it up with a whopping six touchdown passes in that game.

The younger Montgomery visited Ohio State on Sept. 3 for the Notre Dame game and was impressed by what he saw in the victory, even though the Buckeyes’ now-top-ranked offense hadn’t yet hit their stride.

“I loved my time at OSU,” Montgomery told Eleven Warriors after the visit. “The game was great and the atmosphere was even better. It was as advertised. I thought OSU offense came out slow but I know they will pick up their groove. It’s the first game of the season so they just need time. But they have all the pieces to be one of the best offenses in America.”

17 Comments
View 17 Comments