Ohio State impresses Kenyatta Jackson, Ty Lockwood to narrow his list

Stay in touch or be left out because Ohio State recruiting is a 24-hour, seven-day-per-week obsession. What’s the latest news as the Buckeyes build for the future? Get that and more Sunday through Thursday on Lettermen Row. Today’s notebook catches up on a few prospects expected to visit Ohio State next week.

Kenyatta Jackson won’t make a commitment until ‘at least’ September

There were a number of Ohio State 2022 commitments in town for the Buckeyes Bash and BBQ on Thursday and every single one of them was working hard to convince Florida 4-star edge rusher Kenyatta Jackson that he needs to join the Buckeyes commit list soon.

Maybe he will, but it won’t be anytime real soon according to his father, Kenyatta Jackson, Sr.

“My son enjoyed himself, most definitely,” Jackson Sr. told Lettermen Row. “But there will be no decision until after Sept. 11.”

That is the day that the 6-foot-5, 231-pound Jackson makes his next visit to Oklahoma. The Sooners are hosting Western Carolina that day and reportedly have a big recruiting weekend planned that day. Oklahoma and Ohio State are very likely the top two schools in this race and that weekend will play a big part in its outcome.

Jackson was back in Columbus for the second time this summer. He visited Ohio State for an official visit last month along with teammate — and Buckeyes commit — Ryan Turner.

Ty Lockwood reconnects with Kevin Wilson, narrowing recruiting list on Saturday

Tennessee 2023 tight end Ty Lockwood also made his second visit to Ohio State on Thursday. The country’s No. 5-ranked tight end prospect has 23 offers including one from the Buckeyes. He’s begun to emerge as a top prospect at the position for Kevin Wilson and Ohio State and the chance to connect with Wilson was the highlight of Lockwood’s visit.

“Coach Wilson has done such a great job recruiting me, for a long time,” Lockwood told Lettermen Row about the visit. “Me and him have built a great relationship. and Coach [Ryan] Day is a coach that I want to play for.

“He’s a good coach and an even better person. Everything they do has a competitive feel to it but they’re always having fun.”

Ohio State is almost certain to be on the list of top schools for Lockwood when he narrows his choices to just four remaining programs on Saturday.

The Buckeyes have offered nine scholarships to 2023 tight ends. Eight of them visited Columbus this summer.

Tamere Robinson growing into top Ohio State 2023 linebacker target

The Buckeyes are very interested in Brashear (Pittsburgh) High School 2023 linebacker Tamere Robinson. Offered last month by Ohio State, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Robinson felt a different level of interest on Thursday than he expected to. The coaches in Columbus were very clear with him that he’s a wanted man.

“It was great,” Robinson said of the visit. “I had a lot of fun competing with the other recruits and coaches. It was by far the best visit I’ve ever been on.

It was great being able to chop my camp film up with Coach Washington, and with C.J. Hicks as well. Then I spent some 1-on-1 time with Coach Day, He seems like he really wants me from the conversation he had with me.”

Robinson is the country’s No. 78-ranked 2023 prospect and has offers from Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan and the rest of the Midwest’s top programs. He’s a name to pay close attention to moving forward.

Trevor Lauck finds more than he expected at Ohio State

Indiana offensive lineman Trevor Lauck camped at Ohio State in June and impressed offensive line coach Greg Studrawa enough to earn an invite to Thursday’s cookout. The country’s No. 20-ranked offensive tackle in the Class of 2023 raved about his second visit to Columbus.

“The thing that stood out [Thursday] was definitely all the great players I got to meet and talk to,” Lauck told Lettermen Row. “And the coaches that were all there. It was clear all the coaches really cared about growing a bond with the players. When you go to Ohio State, there’s so much more than just football.

“There’s so many great people and relationships to have there it’s just awesome. Getting to see the non-football parts about Ohio State was good.”

Ryan Day was very impressive to Lauck and his family this summer.

“My parents and I sat down with him last time we were there, and we all really loved him,” he said. “It was clearly noticed that he loves being involved in everything. He was always somewhere doing something with people and it was really cool to see.

Lauck, 6-foot-6 and 275-pounds, plays at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis. He holds double-digit offers from schools like Iowa, Cincinnati and Indiana but hasn’t yet added the “big boys” to his list. Notre Dame, as they are with most Indiana lineman, is a big draw and could be hard to beat if the Irish offer. For the young lineman, the summer has opened his eyes about a lot of the country’s elite programs and he thinks it’ll make his ultimate decision more difficult.

“Every school I’ve gone to, especially Ohio State, has made the process a lot harder,” Lauck said. “This definitely isn’t going to be as easy of a decision I thought it would be.”

(Top photo: Kenyatta Jackson Jr./Courtesy)