One of Ohio State's top remaining targets in the 2023 class has officially reopened his recruitment.
Four-star Indiana defensive end Joshua Mickens decommitted from LSU on Monday following his official visit to OSU over the weekend.
— Joshua Mickens (@JoshuaMickens7) November 28, 2022
Mickens, considered the 138th-best prospect and the 18th-best edge player in 2023 per 247Sports' composite rankings, has taken two visits to Columbus recently, one coming on Saturday and the other on Nov. 12, where he picked up his Buckeyes offer.
Now that he has officially reopened his recruitment, the Buckeyes are the overwhelming favorite to land the 6-foot-5, 225-pound defensive end between now and the Early Signing Period on Dec. 21. OSU has three defensive linemen committed for 2023 in Jason Moore, Kayden McDonald and Will Smith Jr. OSU remains in heavy pursuit of five-star defensive end Damon Wilson, who was also at The Game on Saturday, as well as fellow five-star edge rushers Keon Keeley and Matayo Uiagalelei.
Three visitors receive offers
Ohio State hosted one of its largest recruiting weekends of the season for the Michigan game, and while the Buckeyes didn’t achieve the result they wanted on the field, that didn’t stop the football staff from doing their jobs on the recruiting front.
The Buckeyes made three new offers to prospects who visited over the weekend, two from the 2024 cycle and one from the 2026 class.
Elijah Moore
The first offer we’ll break down is 2024 three-star wideout Elijah Moore, who was impressed with his gameday visit to OSU on Saturday.
“(Getting the offer was) crazy,” Moore told Eleven Warriors. “I was still processing it, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t be any more grateful. Me, my mom, dad, and sister went into coach Day’s office and he congratulated me with the offer.”
Extremely Blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University!@OhioStateFB @ryandaytime @brianhartline #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/l9oN8QXBO1
— Elijah Moore (@3lijahmoore) November 27, 2022
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Maryland product is considered the 408th-best prospect and 54th-best wideout in the 2024 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings. Ohio State is his 20th Division I offer thus far, with the other 19 being USC, Maryland, Kentucky, Florida State, Penn State, Miami, Marshall, Duke, Kansas, Toledo, UConn, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, Boston College and West Virginia.
Moore is a high school teammate (Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Maryland) of fellow Ohio State targets Aaron Chiles and Faheem Delane.
Boo Carter
Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford has offered another talented running back in the 2024 class in four-star Tennessee prospect Boo Carter.
Carter plays both sides of the ball for Brainerd High School (Chattanooga, Tennessee), lining up at both running back and cornerback frequently. He’s considered the 267th-best player nationally per 247Sports’ composite rankings for 2024.
Blessed to receive an offer from Ohio State University! Go Buckeyes @CoachTonyAlford @ReillyJeffers @Coach_Cass @ncec_recruiting @CSmithscout @NatlPlaymkrsAca @coachTBarr@ChadSimmons_ @SWiltfong247 @scoop1914 pic.twitter.com/AnvWGOgfZW
— Boo Carter (@boo_Carter6) November 27, 2022
The 5-foot-10, 184-pound prospect has more than 30 Division I offers, but put out a top 12 in October consisting of Clemson, Jackson State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan State, Penn State, Michigan, Miami, LSU and Arizona State. With the OSU offer in hand, the Buckeyes will now be in top consideration for the Tennessee product.
Malachi Toney
2026 Florida wideout Malachi Toney became just the third player Ohio State has offered in his recruiting class and the second wide receiver, joining defensive end Tyler Atkinson and wideout Chris Henry Jr. as the other players offered in his class.
Toney was accompanied on his visit by his high school teammate and 2023 OSU commit Brandon Inniss and saw his trip end with an offer from the Buckeyes and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline.
EXTREMELY BLESSED TO RECEIVE AN OFFER FROM THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY @brianhartline @247Sports @Andrew_Ivins @D2Dperformance @CB_Tha_1 pic.twitter.com/D9GJEI9Rma
— Malachi Toney (@MALACHITONEY2) November 26, 2022
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect already has 10 Division I offers, including Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Penn State, Syracuse and Texas A&M. Toney had a breakthrough freshman season for American Heritage High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), catching 30 passes for 557 yards with eight touchdowns.
BUCKEYE FANS HOW IM LOOKING pic.twitter.com/SbJvJmwK1U
— Malachi Toney (@MALACHITONEY2) November 28, 2022
Two visitors commit to Michigan within 24 hours of The Game
While the vast majority of the recruit reaction was positive for Ohio State on Saturday, two in-state prospects committed to Michigan within 24 hours of OSU’s defeat: Three-star 2023 cornerback Cameron Calhoun and four-star 2024 offensive lineman Luke Hamilton. Although they were among Ohio State’s visitors for The Game, neither Hamilton nor Calhoun held an OSU offer.
Hamilton discussed his commitment with The Morning Journal on Sunday and candidly opened up on his experience being recruited by OSU.
“After going to Ohio State and seeing how they treated us, and it wasn’t on the good side of treating people,” he said. “My dad (Steve Hamilton) looked at me and told me to pull the trigger now… I think (Michigan) is the right fit for me.
“At Michigan, I always feel like I am at home. Even before I got the offer, I always felt like I was at home,” Hamilton said. “Going to Ohio State, I was kind of on edge on whether they were going to treat me good or are they going to treat me bad. As soon as I walked in the door, I could tell that there was not good energy.”
According to Hamilton, he felt like Ohio State took his recruitment for granted because he lives in the state.
“(Ohio State) did this to all of the in-state (recruits). They put us on the back burner and will wait until the last second, because they think they have us committed there if they offer, which I think is totally stupid. That is not how that works at all. I’ve talked to linemen all around Cleveland and people that I know and they all feel the same way. … I think Ohio State is taking too long and I don’t think they are doing it right (at this time).”
Hamilton told Eleven Warriors on Sept. 1, the first day college coaches were allowed to directly contact players in his class, that he had not been contacted by anyone from OSU but had heard from 10 Michigan coaches. Although he is ranked as the eighth-best Ohioan in his class, he was not a priority offensive line target for the Buckeyes’ 2024 class, though he’s clearly motivated to prove he should have been now that he’s committed to their rivals.
