Ohio State Football: Top 5 targets for 2018 National Signing Day

Maybe the reason the staff has held off on a potential commitment from Christopher Oats is because of the desire to land outside linebacker Javontae Jean-Baptiste. Again, it’s all speculation at this point.

Jean-Baptiste is a four-star outside linebacker from New Jersey who looks to be down to four schools: Nebraska, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Texas A&M. The Buckeyes could be playing catch-up with Scott Frost and Nebraska who seem to be the current leaders in his recruitment.

Texas A&M has made a recent push as Jimbo Fisher visited him in his home on Wednesday night and he’s also taking his last official visit to College Station. Could that visit put the Aggies in the lead? It’s tough to tell, but he did visit Ohio State two weeks ago, which could help Urban Meyer’s chances.

The four-star from New Jersey stands 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 215 pounds. He’s slimmer than a normal linebacker, especially at that height, but needs a college weight room to really get where he needs to be. He has all the tools to be an elite player at the next level.

Jean-Baptiste is ranked the No. 127 overall player and 10th-best outside linebacker in the 2018 class, according to 247Sports.