Recruiting Notebook: Big day for the Buckeyes; latest on 5-star OT Samson Okunlola

Just a week remains until the beginning of the Early Signing Period — also known as the new National Signing Day. And between the continued chaos of the NCAA transfer portal and the final stretch of the recruiting calendar, college football recruiting news is on one right now.

Each day until we hit the signing period, On3 will be breaking down the top storylines from both the recruiting world and the transfer portal. Let’s get into it.

Miami trending late for Samson Okunlola

Brockton (Mass.) Thayer Academy five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola is announcing his commitment on Thursday, with a final four schools consisting of: Alabama, Florida, Miami and Michigan State. Each of those programs received an official visit from the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder and have been among the top contenders for him for some time.

Miami has long had the momentum with the top uncommitted offensive prospect in the country, and according to the latest intel from On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, the Hurricanes are still the favorite to land him.

If that comes to fruition, Miami would have two of the country’s top three offensive tackles on its commit list with Okunlola and Five-Star Plus+ mauler Francis Mauigoa.

Tennessee beats Alabama — again

Smyrna (Tenn.) four-star linebacker Arion Carter was down to Tennessee and Alabama before his decision today. Like it did with five-star Daevin Hobbs earlier this fall, the Vols took home the ‘W’ on this one by keeping Carter in the state.

The No. 188 prospect in the On3 Consensus said Tennessee head coach Josh Huepel made him a top priority, and that helped the Volunteers win out.

“It’s really been a blessing to get to know him as a coach, a father, a man and an individual,” Carter said. “He’s a great man overall, and I feel like when you go with people who have good intentions and are good people in general, then good things will come to you. I really believe in what Coach Huepel is building at Tennessee, and I want to be part of helping build it.”

Big day for the Buckeyes

What started as a quiet morning for Ohio State quickly became a major day for the Buckeyes on the recruiting trail.

Early in the day, four-star Washington quarterback commit Lincoln Kienholz announced he had flipped his pledge to the Scarlet & Gray, giving Ryan Day and Co. their passer in this class after missing on a handful of others. Kienholz joins a group that ranks No. 3 nationally and will look to close strong in the 2023 cycle over the next week.

Less than 12 hours later, receivers coach Brian Hartline struck again with an elite talent, reeling in 2024 No. 2 overall prospect Jeremiah Smith. The nation’s top wideout chose the Buckeyes over just about everyone else in the country, and his commitment gives OSU pledges from the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the On3 Consensus.

If that wasn’t staggering enough, Hartline has now landed eight five-star receivers in the past six years. EIGHT.

Alabama looking to hold on — and close strong

As Alabama sits with the No. 1 class in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings, the Crimson Tide are doing anything but standing idly by at the end of the cycle.

Multiple programs have been in pursuit of five-star Tide running back commit Justice Haynes, but as Chad Simmons reports, Nick Saban and Co. look to have fought off the late runs from Ohio State and Georgia.

On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama is trending to land five-star Montgomery (Ala.) Carver teammates James Smith and Qua Russaw in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). Landing both would secure one of the best defensive recruiting classes in recent memory.