Good evening.
Has anything newsworthy happened within the past few days?
I hadn’t noticed. Anyway, we’ve got a lot to get to, so let’s dive right in.
Buckeyes a school to watch for Cam Ward
By now, you probably know Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal Monday morning, and the Buckeyes will now be in the market to add a signal-caller via the transfer portal. My colleague Chase put together a list of options the Buckeyes could feasibly pursue, but so far, they’ve been publicly connected to two.
The more feasible option seems to be Washington State transfer Cam Ward, who is being courted by Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Florida State, Washington, Miami and Wisconsin, per On3.
Ward had a terrific 2023 season for the Cougars, throwing for 3,732 yards with 25 touchdowns to seven interceptions while also rushing for eight touchdowns. He threw for 3,231 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2022.
The other name OSU has been connected to is Duke transfer Riley Leonard. 247Sports’ Tom Loy said Ohio State has “been making a strong, late push” for him, though he still expects Leonard to end up at Notre Dame. Leonard completed 95 of 165 passes for 1,102 yards this season while throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions for the Blue Devils. He also ran for 352 yards and four touchdowns. Leonard was sidelined for a portion of the season, though, after suffering multiple injuries throughout the year.
Jordan Seaton impressed by Justin Frye, official visit
Ohio State hosted its top remaining target in the class of 2024 in five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton on an official visit over the weekend and all indications are it was a successful visit for all parties.
O H -_____ pic.twitter.com/OL2dFGqN5L
— Jordan Seaton (@JordanSeaton_) December 3, 2023
I will win the outlander trophySpeak Into Existence #Amen #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/L2BEhV8iUO
— Jordan Seaton (@JordanSeaton_) December 3, 2023
The 6-foot-5, 287-pound Seaton arrived in Columbus on Saturday and stayed through Monday, hearing recruiting pitches from offensive line coach Justin Frye and head coach Ryan Day. He also attended OSU men’s basketball’s 84-74 win over Minnesota on Sunday.
“Coach Frye’s attention to detail is insane,” Seaton told 247Sports. “And coach Day is an offensive mind and having a head coach who is an offensive guy is huge for me.”
Per 247Sports, Seaton said OSU coaches have told him he’d have the opportunity to come in and compete for a starting offensive tackle spot in his freshman season.
Seaton has long been a priority target of OSU dating back to 2022, but a visit was always needed for the Buckeyes to have a real chance in this recruitment. Following the official visit, the Buckeyes like where they stand in Seaton’s recruitment.
The Buckeyes received the final visit of Seaton’s recruitment, who announced just hours after concluding his visit to Ohio State that he will make his commitment on Thursday.
72HRS! Thank You God! https://t.co/1m4oMZfHrx
— Jordan Seaton (@JordanSeaton_) December 4, 2023
Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, Maryland and Florida are the other schools Seaton is considering. Among Seaton’s top seven, OSU, Oregon and Tennessee are viewed as the leading candidates to land Seaton throughout the recruiting industry.
Jaylen Williams picks up Ohio State offer
Ohio State expanded its recruiting board in the 2025 class on Monday, offering four-star Illinois defensive lineman Jaylen Williams.
#AGTG!! Extremely blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State university!!! @EDGYTIM @Rivals_Clint @R2X_Rushmen1 @OhioStateFB @JoshBostick8 @PHS_Football @AllenTrieu @LemmingReport @On3sports @adamgorney @TH3FBA pic.twitter.com/659tKHEJ9Y
— Jaylen williams (@jay_williams55) December 4, 2023
Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Williams is considered the 228th-ranked prospect and the 26th-best defensive lineman in the 2025 cycle. He’s picked up 20 Division I offers thus far, including Michigan, Auburn, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Mizzou, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC and Wisconsin.
Noland reaffirms commitment to Ohio State
Not that anyone was questioning it in the first place, but in case you were wondering if Kyle McCord’s transfer and a potential transfer addition would impact five-star 2024 quarterback Air Noland’s commitment to Ohio State, the Georgia prospect put those worries to rest on Monday.
Im a 100% committed to
— Pss A N. (@AirNoland_) December 4, 2023
The Ohio State
Javion Hilson puts OSU in top 10
One of Ohio State’s defensive end targets in the 2025 class has started to narrow down his recruitment. Four-star Florida prospect Javion Hilson released a top 10 list on Saturday consisting of Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Penn State, Florida, Florida State, Miami and UCF.
#AGTG @Cocoa_Schneider @J55FoFo@mdiesel321 @OfficialAthlete @CocoaFootball @BHoward_11 @larryblustein @Rivals @RivalsFriedman @247Sports @SWiltfong247 @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/dWIHhaTpbU
— Javion Hilson (@javion_hilson) December 3, 2023
Hilson is considered the 48th-ranked prospect and the seventh-ranked edge prospect in the 2025 class. He visited OSU in June to participate in a recruiting camp with Larry Johnson.
Hilson is the high school teammate of four-star OSU 2025 wide receiver commit Jayvan Boggs and the former teammate of OSU safety Cedrick Hawkins.
“I was talking about that a lot with him the other day,” Boggs said in October of recruiting Hilson to play in Columbus with him.
