Ohio State will start to get a good look at some of its future players a little earlier than in years past.
On the first-ever Early Signing Period signing day, recruits will be able to officially fax in their letters of intent to the various schools. Throughout the day, this blog will be updated to reflect prospects from the class of 2018 sending in their letters of intent to Ohio State, as well as any decommitments and commitments.
Update: 10:42 a.m.
Ohio State now has 20 recruits signed to its 2018 class as four-star offensive lineman Matthew Jones submitted his letter of intent.
247Sports Composite Rankings rank Jones as the No. 55 prospect overall and top player at his position. He is listed as the second-best player in the state of New York.
The Brooklyn, New York, native attended Erasmus Hall, the school that produced both former Ohio State H-back Curtis Samuel and redshirt freshman safety Jahsen Wint.
?NY➡️OH ?
Welcome to the Buckeye family, @Grindtime55!#GoBucks #Supreme18 #NSD18 pic.twitter.com/lgWIOoJWcH
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 20, 2017
Update: 10:26 a.m.
Two more defensive linemen will be joining Ohio State next season as four-star defensive tackle transfer Antwuan Jackson Jr. and three-star defensive end Alex Williams have both sent letters of intent to the Buckeyes.
Jackson, coming from Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, is the top junior college transfer in the nation according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Williams, who had previously been committed to West Virginia, flipped his commitment Tuesday to favor Ohio State. He is the 588th-best in the nation according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. A product of Pickerington North, Williams is the 32nd-best player at his position of weakside defensive end and is the 26th-best recruit from the state of Ohio.
#18 @Hercules__52 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#19 @Williams99_PN !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 10:01 a.m.
Ohio State will be adding some depth to the defensive tackle position as four-star Tommy Togiai submitted his letter of intent to the Buckeyes Wednesday morning.
Togiai joins five-star Taron Vincent as the only defensive tackles in the 2018 class who have officially signed with Ohio State. Four-star transfer Antuan Jackson Jr. is committed, but has not signed.
Togiai is ranked as the No. 126 prospect in the 2018 class by 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 9 prospect at his position. He is the No. 2 prospect from the state of Idaho.
#17 @Big_Tom71 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 9:44 a.m.
After a little over an hour, Ohio State’s fax machine is up and running again, this time receiving the letter of intent from four-star safety Josh Proctor.
He becomes the second safety to commit to Ohio State Wednesday morning, joining fellow four-star Tyreke Johnson. Proctor is listed as the No. 76 prospect in the nation by 247Sports Composite Rankings. The site also lists him as the eighth-best safety and second-best recruit from the state of Oklahoma.
#16 @Jproctor_2018 !!!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 8:31 a.m.
Make it 15 players. Four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb becomes the 15th player to join the Buckeyes’ 2018 class, also becoming the first player listed as a wideout to sign his letter of intent.
247Sports Composite Rankings lists Babb as the 65th-best player in the class of 2018 and the 12th-best wide receiver. The St. Louis native is also listed as the No. 2 player from the state of Missouri. Though listed as an athlete, L’Christian Smith was the first player to submit a letter of intent who will likely play wide receiver for the Buckeyes.
#15 @kamm_o !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 8:26 a.m.
Ohio State is now up to 14 official players in its 2018 class as four-stars running back Master Teague, tight end Jeremy Ruckert and cornerback Sevyn Banks all joined the Buckeyes Wednesday.
The second player in a row from Tennessee, Teague is listed as the No. 219 prospect in the nation, No. 6 from his home state and No. 11 at the position of running back, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Joining him on the offensive side of the ball is Ruckert, the nation’s top tight end per 247Sports Composite Rankings. The site also lists him as the No. 29 prospect overall and top player from the state of New York.
On the defensive side, Banks becomes only the second cornerback to sign with Ohio State so far. He is listed by 247Sports Composite Rankings as the 235th-best prospect in the class, 26th-best cornerback and 42nd-best player from the state of Florida.
#12 @MasterTeagueIII !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#13 @Jeremy_Ruckert1 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#14 @BanksNiko !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 8:11 a.m.
Add two more offensive players to Ohio State’s growing list of locks as four-star offensive tackle Max Wray and three-star quarterback Matthew Baldwin submitted their letters of intent to Ohio State.
The No. 112 prospect in the nation, Wray is also ranked as the No. 9 offensive tackle and No. 3 prospect in the state of Tennessee, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Joining Wray in Columbus was Baldwin, a pro-style quarterback from Austin, Texas. 247Sports Composite Rankings list Baldwin as the No. 444 recruit in the country, No. 18 pro-style quarterback and No. 59 from the state of Texas.
#10 @maxwray10 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#11 @matthewb_12 !!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 8:02 a.m.
The letters of intent continue to fly through the fax machine at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as four-star athlete L’Christian Smith becomes the ninth recruit in the class of 2018 to join the Buckeyes.
Smith is ranked by 247Sports Composite Rankings as the 120th-best recruit in his class and the fifth-best at his position, which is currently listed as athlete. The Dayton, Ohio, native is the No. 4 prospect in the state of Ohio. It is expected that he will play wide receiver for Ohio State.
#9 @bluesmith_ !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 7:58 a.m.
The first two defensive backs officially faxed in their letters of intent to Ohio State as three-star cornerback Marcus Hooker and four-star safety Tyreke Johnson have joined the Buckeyes beginning in the 2018 season.
Hooker, the younger brother of former Ohio State safety Malik Hooker, is listed as the No. 618 national prospect, No. 57 cornerback and No. 21 recruit from the state of Pennsylvania, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Johnson is listed by the recruiting site as the No. 41 prospect in the nation, No. 5 at safety and No. 7 from Florida.
#7 @marcushooker23 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#8 @Im_showtime_ !!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 7:51 a.m.
Ohio State has locked down the commitment of another running back, receiving a letter of intent from four-star running back Brian Snead.
A native of Seffner, Florida, Snead is listed by 247Sports Composite Rankings as the No. 82 prospect in the class of 2018 and the fourth-best running back. He is also listed as the No. 17 recruit from the state of Florida.
#6 @snead655 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 7:37 a.m.
The Buckeyes have now added an offensive player to their recruiting class as five-star running back Jaelen Gill has faxed in his letter of intent to Ohio State.
Gill was one of the earliest prospects to commit to Ohio State, stating he wished to play for the Buckeyes on March 1. The Westerville, Ohio, product is listed as the No. 23 prospect in the nation, No. 1 all-purpose running back and No. 2 prospect in the state.
#5 @jaelengill21 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 7:24 a.m.
Ohio State has now added a defensive tackle and two more linebackers to its list of recruits signed as defensive tackle Taron Vincent, linebackers Dallas Gant and K’Vaughan Pope have all faxed in their letters of intent.
Vincent is the No. 13 prospect in the nation and No. 1 defensive tackle, while also being ranked second in his home state of Florida, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. The Brandenton, Florida, native committed to the Buckeyes on Apr. 2.
Gant is the No. 157 recruit in the nation, per 247Sports Composite Rankings. The rankings aggregator also lists the Toledo, Ohio, native as the ninth best prospect at his position of outside linebacker and fifth best in the state of Ohio.
Joining Mitchell and Gant as linebackers in Ohio State’s class is Pope, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound inside linebacker. 247Sports Composite Rankings has the inside linebacker listed as the No. 213 prospect overall and eighth best at his position. It also lists him as the fourth-best prospect from the state of Virginia.
#2 @t_lova23 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#3 @dallas_gant !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
#4 @Pop3Bad_81 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017
Update: 7:09 a.m.
The signing day has officially started with four-star linebacker Teradja Mitchell becoming the first recruit to submit his letter of intent to Ohio State.
Mitchell is listed by 247Sports Composite Rankings as the No. 39 prospect in the nation overall, No. 2 at his position and No. 2 in the state of Virginia.
Ohio State director of player personnel Mark Pantoni tweeted out the news that Mitchell had become the first recruit to officially sign with the Buckeyes.
#1 @WhosThatNumber7 !!!
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 20, 2017