Since Jim Harbaugh became Michigan's head coach in 2015, 22 players from Ohio have committed to the Wolverines. Only two of them were offered by Ohio State.
) in the class, and the Armstrong twins. That said, Ohio State is well-positioned with three more top-12 in-state prospects – cornerbacks Bryce West and Aaron Scott and tight end Damarion Witten – which would give the Buckeyes six of the top 13 Ohio prospects in the class.
West, Scott and Witten are all priority targets for the Buckeyes, especially after they missed out on Marshall. Not only are they three of the best prospects in Ohio in the 2024 class, but each of them holds an offer from Michigan as well, meaning Ohio State will have to battle its rival to keep the two Glenville products and the Springfield native in their home state.
Surely, some of the 31 Ohioans who committed to Michigan since 2015 that didn’t have Ohio State offers were good enough to play for the scarlet and gray. But the Buckeyes aren’t limiting their recruiting efforts to in-state talents, and their national recruiting efforts have paid off, as they have had a top-five national recruiting class in seven of the past eight years.
Ohio State's coaching staff is clearly doing something right, even if it means letting some of Ohio’s top players leave the state – and even go to Michigan – at times.