INTEL: Ranking the contenders for four-star Devin Royal

Devin Royal has moved up to No. 23 in On3’s 2023 rankings. The 6-foot-6 Royal solidified our aggressive ranking with an MVP performance at Pangos All-American Camp and then averaged 18.4-points, 7.6-rebounds, 2.9-assists, and 1.4-blocks per game during Nike’s Peach Jam.

The four-star recently came out with a top nine; Alabama, Clemson, Marquette, Michigan, Miami, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Ohio State, and Penn State. This list was narrowed down from the 25 or so offers he picked up throughout the process. 

Royal took his official visits to Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Xavier, Iowa State, and Marquette. 

The four-star forward led his Pickerington (OH) Central High team to a Division 1 Ohio state championship this year. Royal had 20 points in that game. He finished the season 1st team all-state averaging 19.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. 

With all the offers, the elevated notoriety, and visits, two schools stand above the rest. Based on sourced intel, here is where they stand. 

1. Ohio State

The Ohio State offer came early in the process for Royal. The staff had time to build a relationship throughout the season and a comfort level with the player and those around him. 

Royal took his official visit to Ohio State on July 3. Chris Holtmann and staff did an excellent job of selling Royal on EJ Liddell’s role within the offense. 

The Ohio State campus is also less than 25 miles from Royal’s high school. 

Ohio State’s chances: 75-percent

2. Michigan State

The Michigan State offer came in April, a full six months after the Ohio State tender. While the Spartans were a little late to the party, they went full force, and Royal appreciated their aggressiveness. 

Tom Izzo and the staff’s selling point to Royal was how his versatility fit into the system and their success with the tweeners; Draymond Green, Miles Bridges, Denzel Valentine, etc.

Royal’s official visit to East Lansing was on June 17.

Michigan State’s chances: 25-percent

Final intel

Devin Royal has kept his recruitment pretty close to the vest. He did his due diligence, taking six official visits. But there was a clear line between pre and post-blow-up. The four-star forward’s final two official visits were to Ohio State and Michigan State, which are the two schools in the final mix here. 

Royal said he is coming out with a final three this week; expect those two to be in the fold along with a school Royal has not visited yet. Sources close to the recruitment say that Royal got the feeling he knew where he wanted to go on his trip home from Peach Jam. That is why things are moving somewhat quickly, just a couple after putting out a top nine.

Intel says the relationship Royal was able to build over time with the Ohio State program played a factor. There was a comfort level with the location and a relationship with the players. Ohio State was able to lay out their plans for Royal and answered any questions he, or those around him, may have had on the visit. In this day and age of recruiting, things can change at a moment’s notice. As of pressing publish on this article, sources tell On3 to watch for a commitment to Ohio State.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine

I have placed my expert pick in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Devin Royal to choose Ohio State. I set my pick with 75-percent confidence.

The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. Starting from the ground up, On3 built an entirely new product that utilizes data, human expertise, and machine learning.