Ohio State recruiting: Holtmann adds another major prospect, football reopens Glenville pipeline

Pickerington Central forward Devin Royal verbally committed to Ohio State last week. He is the No. 2-ranked prospect in Ohio behind guard George Washington III, a Chaminade Julienne senior who is also committed to Ohio State.

Filling out the class at this point is St. Mary’s Memorial center Austin Parks, who at No. 105 nationally in the 247Sports Composite is the lowest-rated member of the class.

Middleton is No. 34 in the nation while Washington is No. 60 and Royal checked in at No. 70.

The class is ranked No. 3 in the nation behind Duke and Kentucky.

Holtmann also signed a top 10 class last year after putting together a pair of underwhelming classes ranked in the 40s.

His 2019 class was ranked 14th but did not pan out other than All-Big Ten forward E.J. Liddell.

Holtmann is 107-56 in five seasons at Ohio State but still looking for his first Big Ten championship and Sweet 16 appearance with the Buckeyes.

Since finishing second in the Big Ten in Holtmann’s first year, they have not finished higher than a tie for fourth.

Middleton shared the news on a webcast with Paul Biancardi, an ESPN recruiting analyst who was the head coach at Wright State until an NCAA infractions case linked him to recruiting violations during his time as an Ohio State assistant from 1997-2003.

Meanwhile, the Ohio State football program picked up a commitment from Cleveland Glenville linebacker Arvell Reese.

Reese is the No. 7-ranked prospect in Ohio, 277th nationally and 20th at his position.

He is the seventh in-state prospect to join the Ohio State class this year, one more than head coach Ryan Day signed in each of the previous two classes.

Reese is on track to be the first Ohio State signee from Glenville High School since Erick Smith, Marcelys Jones and Marshon Lattimore in 2014.

That ended a 13-class run that saw at least one Tarblooder sign with Ohio State every year. It began with Troy Smith in 2002 and included 21 players. Eleven of them became at least part-time starters and seven were NFL Draft picks, including Smith and Lattimore.

Under coach Ted Ginn Sr., Glenville was a centerpiece of then-Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel’s ramping up of in-state recruiting that focused heavily on his native northeast Ohio.

Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class sits at 19 players and is ranked third in the country behind Notre Dame and Alabama.