He was Ohio State’s second commit of 2023.
But considering the first commit was Ty Lockwood, who later decommitted from the Buckeyes in favor of Alabama, four-star Ohio offensive lineman Joshua Padilla has been committed to the Buckeyes for the longest period of time.
On Wednesday, Padilla made the commitment that has withstood since Nov. 4, 2021 official by signing his National Letter of Intent to play with the Buckeyes. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound center is considered the 218th-best prospect in the 2023 class and the 10th-best interior offensive lineman per 247Sports’ composite rankings and was a first-team All-Ohio Division I selection his senior season.
The gem of the Gem City, Mr. All-State himself is locked in and ready to set the tone as the future of the Buckeye offensive line. Welcome to The Brotherhood Josh Padilla#CHO23N | @JoshuaPadilla66 pic.twitter.com/XfuMxX0Tam
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 21, 2022
The Padilla File
- Class: 2023
- Size: 6-foot-4/280 lbs
- Pos: OL
- School: Huber Heights (Dayton, Ohio)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Ranking: #218 (#10 IOL)
Padilla was a staple of the 2023 class and stayed committed to the Buckeyes despite the firing of former OSU coach Greg Studrawa in January. He quickly developed a strong bond with first-year OSU offensive line coach Justin Frye shortly after his hiring.
“Right away I watched interviews of his online,” Padilla told Eleven Warriors. “I saw instantly that he was a funny guy. I watched a video of him rapping at UCLA. So I instantly knew he was going to be a funny guy and down-to-earth person. I knew right away, ‘Yeah, this is going to be my coach.’”
Padilla made many visits to Columbus in his senior season, including almost every home game. He attended a camp with fellow commits Luke Montgomery and Austin Siereveld in June to have the opportunity to learn from Frye personally in a workout.
“It was good seeing the drills that coach Frye does every day and understanding how it will help them in situations,” Padilla told Eleven Warriors of his first-ever session with Frye. “That’s what he tries to teach in his drills. I feel like I’ve used those drills this year for some of the plays I do and stuff like that.”
Montgomery may have been the most vocal peer recruiter in the 2023 recruiting class, but Padilla also played a role at helping to recruit several players to Columbus.
“I’ll just text them usually and tell them that ‘This is the place to come There’s no place like Ohio State. The culture and the brotherhood here is different than every school in the nation,’” Padilla said of his peer recruiting message. “I say all that stuff to them.”
While Padilla played offensive tackle at Wayne High School, he plans to play center at the next level, and used the OSU camp to get reps at that position. He took his official visited to OSU in June, and talked to center Luke Wypler about techniques for his future position.
“On my official visit in June I got to talk to him a little bit,” Padilla said. “I got to see what he does to prepare for games and stuff like that. He told me how he stays focused, avoids mistakes and tries to fix as many as he can.”
Padilla plans to be an early enrollee at OSU and is expected to participate in spring football.
“I think getting in the strength program earlier will help a lot,” Padilla said. “I think I’ll be able to learn more plays in the spring too so I have them down come August. It’ll help prepare me for fall camp.”
