Multiple Ohio State commits earn First-Team All-State honors

COLUMBUS — Ohio State routinely and consistently recruits some of the best players in the country. But it doesn’t just recruit the best players in the country, Ohio State finds and lands the best players in the Buckeye State.

That rang true once again as multiple Ohio State commits earned First-Team All-State honors from the Ohio High School Athletics Association on Wednesday afternoon. Four-star Sunbury (Ohio) Big Walnut linebacker Garrett Stover, 2025 four-star Bellefontaine (Ohio) quarterback Tavien St. Clair, 2025 three-star Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban linebacker Eli Lee and 2026 four-star Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. all earned those honors.

Lettermen Row breaks down the four seasons each commit had and how they earned the awards.

Garrett Stover

Garrett Stover was one of Central Ohio’s most consistent wrecking forces over the last three years. He and Big Walnut may have stumbled at the beginning of the season, but they turned things around and made the playoffs — even winning in the first round.

Stover, the No. 7 linebacker and No. 150 overall prospect per On3, has been committed to Ohio State since Nov. 21, 2022. He is the younger cousin of Ohio State tight end Cade Stover. The 2024 prospect initially started his high school career as a safety but transitioned to linebacker his junior season playing at the Will. This fall was his first year playing at Mike and he had a prolific season with 89 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, two pass break-ups, two quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, one pass deflection and one blocked punt.

He will be an early enrollee for the Buckeyes.

Tavien St. Clair

What a last 18 months Tavien St. Clair has had. The four-star Bellefontaine (Ohio) quarterback went from a little-known prospect to now the No. 2 quarterback and No. 11 overall prospect by On3.

St. Clair took Bellefontaine to a regional championship appearance and lost to eventual state runner-up Columbus Bishop Watterson. The junior quarterback finished the season with 3,083 yards, 34 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 70 percent completion rate. St. Clair also had 352 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Eli Lee

Ohio State’s first, in-state, 2025 defensive commit might be low on the rankings, but his First-Team All-State nod shows he’s a high-caliber player.

Lee has camped at Ohio State multiple times over the last two summers, but this year he got to work closely with James Laurinaitis. Those two built up their relationship and the Buckeyes started paying attention to the 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker.

Lee, the No. 12 Ohio prospect, finished his junior season as the Division II state runner-up, losing 7-2 to Massillon Washington on Nov. 30. He ended the year with 170 tackles, 11.5 sacks, two safeties, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Chris Henry Jr.

The final Ohio State commit with postseason accolades on Wednesday is 2026 four-star Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow wide receiver Chris Henry Jr.

Henry, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound wideout, saw his name take off after he earned his Ohio State offer going into his freshman year. He left an Ohio State summer recruiting event and eventually announced to reporters that he had committed that same day.

He finished his sophomore season with 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns on 71 receptions in 14 games. That’s good for an average of 15.9 yards per reception and 80.5 yards per game.