Ohio State football landed the surprising commitment of five-star defensive tackle Justin Scott, beating out Notre Dame football, Michigan, and others.
The Ohio State football team had a pretty good weekend thanks to a five-star surprise on Sunday with the commitment of Justin Scott.
Ohio State football had recently hosted Scott for an official visit, but there wasn’t a ton of buzz surrounding the Buckeyes. There was some talk of Michigan gaining momentum, while Miami and Notre Dame football were both considered leaders at one time.
In this day and age, you don’t see many surprise commitments. However, Scott didn’t have a commitment date announced. He also didn’t have a single crystal ball projection to Ohio State football before he made his pledge.
https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1675655608538656768
It’s a massive pickup for the Buckeyes, as well as a brutal recruiting loss for Notre Dame football and Michigan. Here are three takeaways.
Ohio State has a case to make for No. 1
The Buckeyes are No. 2 right now in the 247 Sports team rankings for the 2024 class, but they are trending up.
Ohio State football is now ranked higher than Alabama in terms of rating per commitment. The Buckeyes lead Georgia thanks to the commitment of Scott, who is the fourth five-star pledge for OSU in this class.
Ohio State football might not be done with 5-star commitments either. Dylan Stewart, a five-star EDGE is trending to Ohio State, which would be another massive get for Ryan Day.
Georgia has a solid lead right now but five more commitments than Ohio State, which makes you think there’s a realistic chance the Buckeyes could push for No. 1 with a strong finish.
A brutal loss for Michigan
According to what Justin Scott told Chad Simmons of On3.com, this recruitment came down to Michigan and Ohio State. Michigan was even poised for a commitment at one point.
The Wolverines were in the lead, at least among his parents going into the Ohio State visit. Yet, Larry Johnson, the legendary D-line coach for the Buckeyes was able to seal the deal, according to what Scott told Fawcett.
It was a close battle between Michigan & Ohio State leading up to Scott’s commitment to the Buckeyes
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 3, 2023
The 5-star DL texted me while on his OV to Michigan that he’d be committing July 2nd (today)
At first it was Michigan for he & his family but that changed:
“Going into the… pic.twitter.com/mVkX3qGiLM
There was a ton of optimism in Michigan circles last week about Scott, so it was a surprise and a gut punch for Michigan fans to see Scott commit to Ohio State.
Miami was the perceived favorite. Plus Notre Dame football was strongly in the mix, even though the Irish didn’t host Scott for an official visit as Ohio State, Michigan, and Miami did.
Michigan’s 2024 class is much better than 2023. It’s likely going to be a top-10 haul, but the Wolverines have zero composite five-star commitments. Ohio State as four.
And after two straight wins over Ohio State, you wonder if Michigan will ever be able to out-recruit Ohio State, especially with a non-existent NIL program. The Wolverines don’t believe in pay-for-play and I get it — that’s against the rules.
But five-star prospects want NIL and that has to be part of the reason the Wolverines haven’t landed a composite five-star since the 2022 class.
The sting factor for Notre Dame football
For a long time, it seemed like Justin Scott to Notre Dame football was a done deal. There was even a commitment date set at one time — with all the experts pegging the Irish as the favorite.
But then, Scott delayed his decision and took some official visits this summer. Georgia and Ohio State got more involved — Miami also grabbed the lead for a time.
At any rate, the final nail in the coffin came on Sunday. Scott’s commitment wasn’t expected, but Notre Dame football fans didn’t seem ready for him to come off the board so suddenly.
The 2024 class is solid. Notre Dame ranks in the top 10 overall and has 20 commitments, 13 of which are of the blue-chip variety (four or five-star). However, there are just three blue-chip commitments on defense, and only one ranked in the top 300.
That’s not exactly the kind of defensive recruiting Notre Dame football fans were hoping for under Freeman. The fact that Scott is from Chicago, which is the backyard of the Irish, makes this loss sting even worse.
For Freeman’s sake, he better put together more wins in 2023, because the idea of him being an elite recruiter is taking a bit of a hit, at least among some Irish fans.