In two weeks, Ohio State is hosting a promising in-state offensive tackle in the 2025 class who’s already received several Power Five offers.
Winton Woods offensive tackle Raphael Greene confirmed to Eleven Warriors he’ll visit Ohio State on March 23 with several of his high school teammates. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Greene has visited OSU twice as a recruit but hasn’t been on campus since last spring.
“Ohio State is a really good school and I’ve been up there before, this time when I go I really want to try and talk to as many coaches as I can,” Greene said. “Get them to know as much as they can about me. I already sort of have a relationship with coach (Justin) Frye, but I’m trying to build more of a relationship this time around.”
I will be in Columbus March 23rd #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Q2Qyj2zIYB
— Raphael Greene (@RaphaelGreene77) February 22, 2023
Ohio State’s offensive line coach has done his due diligence on Greene and hopes the scheduled visit in March will be one of many OSU visits to come for the Cincinnati prospect.
“He’s come down to my school at least six or seven times since last year to check up on me,” Greene said of Frye. “He’s telling me to come down for camps this summer, he’s setting up visits for me, communicating with me and stuff like that. We can’t text because I’m only a 2025 recruit, but we talk through my coach a lot.”
Greene has picked up eight Division I offers thus far, including Kentucky, Marshall, UMass, Miami (Ohio), Pittsburgh, Purdue, Toledo and West Virginia. He’d love to add an OSU offer to that mix in the coming months.
OSU has had success recruiting Winton Woods, landing alums such as Miyan Williams, Jerron Cage and most recently, Jermaine Mathews. Greene is not your typical Ohio prospect, as he moved to Cincinnati a few years ago from London, England. While he may not have the sentimental value one would have if he grew up cheering for OSU, Greene feels a connection to OSU because of the success past Winton Woods players have had with the Buckeyes.
“Since I’ve been in Ohio, Ohio State has been a big deal at my school. Especially with Jermaine and Miyan, of course we know all about them,” Greene said. “They bring out great players, and I am an Ohio State fan, it’s a really good school.”
Greene was a rugby player in London, then started playing high school football two years ago after his move.
Greene played right tackle in his first year at Winton Woods before moving to left tackle last year. And he might just be scratching the surface of the player he can become.
Full Varsity Season Highlights
— Raphael Greene (@RaphaelGreene77) November 13, 2022
| 10-0 Regular Season|
|0 Sacks given up|
| Class: 2025|
|Height: 65|
|Weight: 320lbs|@DJRSwework @CoachChadMurphy @CoachKummer @Winton_WoodsFB pic.twitter.com/c2relt3Lir
“On the field, one thing I’d say I’m really good at is my footwork,” Greene said. “My feet are always moving, I never stop. Getting to the backfield, getting to the linebackers and blocking them and making gaps for the running backs. Those are always my main focus.”
Aaron Chiles puts OSU in top 10
One of Ohio State’s linebacker targets for the 2024 class has started to narrow down his recruitment. Four-star Maryland linebacker Aaron Chiles trimmed his school list down to 10 on Thursday, and Ohio State made the cut along with Notre Dame, Penn State, Clemson, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, LSU, Florida State and Georgia.
. . . pic.twitter.com/o4oW0kuGlW
— 6 (@Aaron7Chiles) March 9, 2023
OSU is recruiting several of Chiles’ teammates at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School as well, including 2024 wideout Elijah Moore and 2025 safety Faheem Delane. The hiring of former OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis as a graduate assistant has already started to pay dividends on the recruiting trail, including in Chiles’ recruitment.
“One of the best teams in the Big Ten, and the hiring of coach Laurinaitis really boosted Ohio State,” Chiles told On3 of why he’s high on Ohio State.
Graham visits OSU Thursday
Ohio State hosted various prospects for its Thursday spring practice, and the highest-priority target among them was four-star 2024 wideout Mylan Graham. Graham made his way back to campus for the first time since last fall, when he attended the Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Michigan games. OSU was the first school to extend an offer to the 6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect last summer at a recruiting camp, and he remains one of the Buckeyes’ top targets at wide receiver for the 2024 class.
Other schools in hot pursuit of Graham include Purdue, Alabama and Tennessee. OSU continues to prioritize Graham and make a big push to land the Indiana wideout; the Buckeyes would love to host him again for the April 15 spring game. Graham has kept a favorable opinion of the Buckeyes, and with Brian Hartline serving as his lead recruiter, there remains a good chance he’ll end up in the recruiting class at some point.
“He likes it and likes the environment there,” Graham’s high school coach Kyle Booher told Eleven Warriors in October. “He really likes when he gets to talk to coach Hartline, he’s just a great coach there. He’s definitely excited about the Buckeyes.”
