Ohio State Football: Buckeyes are favorite for 5-star J.T. Tuimoloau

Elite 2021 recruit, J.T. Tuimoloau has set his visit schedule and one top expert has still Ohio State football pegged as the favorite.

For most recruits and schools, the 2021 recruiting class has been in the books for months. Yet, with one of the best overall players in the class, there is still a ways to go.

J.T. Tuimoloau is the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2021 class according to the 247 sports composite rankings and also the No. 1 prospect in 247 sports own rankings.

The 6-foot-5, 277-pound defensive end out of Sammamish, Washington, is a truly dominant prospect. He didn’t want to decide before taking visits and now he has finalized a trip to Ohio State football, as well as other programs such as Washington, USC, Oregon, and Alabama.

Tuimoloau is set to visit all five schools in a 12-day stretch and here’s what 247 sports Brandon Huffman wrote about the new visit schedule:

"“Tuimoloau will take an official visit to USC from June 14-16. On June 18, he’ll fly out to Columbus to start his official visit with Ohio State, which ends June 20. For my money, the Buckeyes remain the slight leader; my Crystal Ball pick is on Ryan Day’s club, albeit with a confidence score of ‘1.’ And the Buckeyes will finally get him to campus.”"

Is Ohio State football still the favorite?

According to Tuimoloau’s crystal ball projections, Ohio State football is still the team most likely to land the five-star defensive end.

While there haven’t been any predictions since December, the Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day will finally be able to get him on campus, and truthfully, if that had been able to happen earlier, then this recruitment might be wrapped up too.

You can never count out Alabama and Oregon did seem like a real possibility at one point. USC also has a really stellar class and already has Korey Foreman, the top-ranked player in the 247 composite rankings for 2021.

At any rate, once Tuimoloau takes his visits, a decision should follow soon after. The 2021 season is just just a few months away and if he wants to play this season, he needs to make a decision in short order.

And even though it’s hard to feel overly confident with Tuimoloau, just because his recruitment has been all over the map, Ohio State football fans have a reason for optimism right now and the Buckeyes appear to have the lead, however slight.