Four-star 2024 defensive end Elias Rudolph has long been a priority target for Ohio State.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect first earned his Ohio State offer after impressing the Buckeyes’ coaching staff at a recruiting camp on June 1, and since then, he’s been viewed as one of Ohio’s top pass rushers in the 2024 cycle. Rudolph followed that up with a tremendous junior season, recording 19 sacks at Cincinnati Taft.
However, Rudolph moved to Deerfield Beach, Florida, last month and is no longer considered an in-state prospect in Ohio.
“It was just a change for real,” Rudolph told Eleven Warriors Tuesday of the reasoning behind his move out of state. “There were a lot of things going on in the city that I just wanted to kind of get away from. It opened up new opportunities.”
Rudolph said his time in Florida has been a slight adjustment but a positive experience overall.
“I’m liking it, getting the hang of things,” Rudolph said. “It’s different, considering where I’m coming from.”
Rudolph’s move may impact not only his personal life but also his college football recruitment.
“It changes my recruitment a lot,” Rudolph said of his move to Florida. “Most of my offers are up north, so it makes it harder to get up there to visits. But I still stay in touch with coaches, so it hasn’t changed my recruitment too much, but it did open up my eyes to a lot of different schools. I would say I’m looking at colleges all over, so (the move) probably impacted it a little bit more.”
Rudolph insists that moving to Florida has not made him any less interested in Ohio State. He communicates with defensive line coach Larry Johnson once per week and continues to think highly of the program.
“The coaching staff, the energy and the outlook on the program are all great,” Rudolph said of Ohio State.
Before the move, Rudolph was scheduled to visit Columbus for practice this week with some of his former teammates, but that visit will no longer happen. Rudolph, who has been to OSU multiple times over the past year, said he will take a trip to OSU in the future, though he does not have a date set.
“I’ll definitely be back up there to see the Buckeyes,” he said.
Rudolph declined to delve into what schools are the front runners for him at the moment but said he’s anticipating announcing a decision sometime this fall.
“I want to say I’ll commit during my senior season,” Rudolph said. “By the time I get ready to graduate, I want to be committed.”
OSU commits, staff, targets react to Marc Nave commitment
In case you missed it, Ohio State landed its fourth 2024 commitment on Wednesday as in-state offensive lineman Marc Nave Jr. pledged to the Buckeyes one day after visiting OSU’s first spring practice.
Various Ohio State football staffers, commits and targets were thrilled with Nave’s decision to commit to the Buckeyes, and took to Twitter in reaction. Nave is the second in-state commitment overall in 2024, with Garrett Stover being the other and the second offensive lineman (Ian Moore).
Welcome to the Brotherhood https://t.co/oJvmJ6rd0n
— Ian Moore (@IanMoore2024) March 8, 2023
BOOM! Welcome bro
— Garrett Stover (@GarrettStover2) March 8, 2023
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) March 8, 2023
BOOM!!! Big time get for the !! The best in STAY in !! Whos next? #2The4The #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/w2A06g3945
— urph (@N_Murph) March 8, 2023
419 @marcnavejr https://t.co/2DxvGpE3Tg
— Luke Montgomery (@lukeMonty8) March 8, 2023
BM
— Mike Sollenne (@CoachSollenne) March 8, 2023
Congrats bro!! https://t.co/yQG8qlneLp
— Devontae Armstrong (@Devontae_440) March 8, 2023
Jarcoby Hopson announces he’ll visit Ohio State
A highly-touted Mississippi defensive prospect has announced he plans to visit Ohio State sometime in the near future. Four-star safety-linebacker hybrid Jarcoby Hopson announced he plans on visiting Ohio State, Louisville, LSU, South Carolina, Oregon, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Florida State, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss and Florida this spring and summer.
School I plan to visit @ChadSimmons_ @adamgorney @samspiegs @MacCorleone74 @RivalsCole @SWiltfong247 pic.twitter.com/uIlxOEsFEb
— Jarcoby Hopson Jr (@JarcobyJ) March 3, 2023
Hopson holds 14 Division I offers thus far but not one from Ohio State yet. He’s considered the 56th-best prospect and seventh-rated linebacker in the 2025 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Hopson is the teammate of four-star defensive end Kamarion Franklin, who was offered by Ohio State last month and plans to visit Columbus in mid-April. It seems plausible that Hopson and Franklin could take that visit together on April 14.
