'We will be the No. 1 class': Ohio State football shows recruiting momentum at spring game

Ryan Day didn’t need to make a massive pitch to recruits heading into Ohio State football’s annual spring game. He let momentum speak for itself.

Since the start of April, Ohio State has added five players to its 2024 class — four-star running back James Peoples, five-star wide receiver Mylan Graham, four-star quarterback Air Noland, four-star linebacker Payton Pierce, four-star tight end Max LeBlanc, who ended his recruitment minutes before the Buckeyes kicked off its spring game Saturday, and three-star running back Sam Williams-Dixon.

And with each commitment comes a barrage of excitement from long-standing members of the Buckeyes’ 2024 class, but usually with one caveat: a succinct, yet cryptic message claiming Ohio State isn’t done yet.

It’s what Day has come to appreciate about recruiting. Once a player joins a class, he says, the responsibility of molding the rest of the class begins.

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“I think it’s a sign of how people view the program and the culture and what’s going on here,” Day said. “I think that’s kind of what you are seeing right now. Guys coming on these visits, they are getting around our players. They are getting around our coaches. They see who we are. They see the foundation of the program here. They see not only a program that competes nationally for championships every single year, but also has a culture that you want to send your son to be a part of.”

Offensive lineman Ian Moore wants to be a part of that culture, which is why he committed to OSU on Oct. 20. Saturday afternoon reaffirmed that decision.

“It felt like game day,” Moore told The Dispatch. “I went to a couple spring games last year including (Michigan’s), and none of them compared to the atmosphere of OSU’s. Like the fan base treats this like it’s actual game day and you can feel that energy.”

Moore was the first player to join what is currently the No. 2 ranked class in the country, behind Georgia and ahead of Michigan.

“It’s great man,” Moore said. “I mean offensively we’re looking like the best team in the country. We just got to get some more defensive guys, and we will.”

Marc Nave, a 2024 four-star Ohio State offensive line commit out of Toledo was also on hand for Saturday's scrimmage.

“I had a few moments of me trying to envision me there,” Nave said.

Nave calls recruiting other players into the 2024 class a “blessing,” something that allows members of the class to “sharpen each other every day” and develop their relationship ahead of officially joining the class.

But just like other members of Ohio State’s recruiting class indicate with cryptic tweets, Nave says Ohio State still has work to be done.

“We will be the No. 1 class in recruiting when all (is) said and done,” he said.

How Ohio State recruits felt about the Buckeyes’ spring game

Booker Pickett Jr. was succinct when asked what his latest visit to Ohio State was like.

“It was amazing,” he answered.

Pickett, whose uncle Ryan Pickett was a defensive tackle for Ohio State from 1998-2000, is a 2024 four-star defensive end out of Tampa, Florida.

Ryan Montgomery, one of two 2025 quarterbacks Ohio State has offered, not only visited the Buckeyes and spoke to Day Saturday afternoon. He had the chance to see his brother, 2023 offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, getting his first action in Ohio Stadium as a Buckeye.

"Seeing my brother out there in uniform and playing in the Shoe was very surreal for my family and I," Montgomery said.

Emaree Winston, a 2025 tight end out of Calhoun, Georgia, received his Ohio State offer before the 2022 season and visited the Buckeyes on the day they lost to Michigan last year. On his trip back for the spring game, Winston said he had a “great” time and got to talk with Day during his visit.

Maki Stewart, a 2025 offensive tackle out of Mission Hills, California who has offers from Florida State, South Carolina and Utah, among others, is seeking that same attention from Ohio State. But he left Ohio Stadium impressed with what he saw.

“The visit went great,” he said. “The game was jam packed with energy and lots of tradition, and I love the way they play a lot of tempo and they love to develop players.”

2026 offensive lineman Maxwell Riley out of Avon Lake, who was offered by Ohio State at the beginning of March, said members of the Buckeyes staff showed “great hospitality.”

Teammates at St. Edward High School with recent offensive line commits Deontae and Devontae Armstrong, 2025 linebacker and running back Nate Gregory left impressed with Ohio State’s game day atmosphere.

“The environment was exactly what you would think and more, and the energy was through the roof,” Gregory said. “It is truly an amazing program and you can see why they are the powerhouse program they are. Definitely looking forward to coming back in the future.”

 cgay@dispatch.com 

@_ColinGay

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football shows recruiting momentum at 2023 spring game