Another top defensive end target for Ohio State has been a dud.
On the first day of the Early Signing Period, five-star pass rusher Matayo Uiagalelei signed his National Letter of Intent with Oregon. Uiagalelei announced his decision live on Wednesday, picking the Ducks over OSU and USC.
Since the summer, the Buckeyes have been among the front-runners to sign Uiagalelei, and they were previously regarded as having done the best job of luring the highly regarded California recruit. But rumours that Uiagalelei was seriously considering sticking close to home circulated before signing day. The rumours turned out to be genuine in the end. The nation’s 17th-ranked prospect for football is leaving his home state for the next phase of his career.
The nation’s 17th-ranked prospect will be close by in Eugene, Oregon, for the next phase of his football career even though he is leaving his home state.
5 stars for safety Peyton Bowen successfully switches to Oregon from Oklahoma.
The choice made by Uiagalelei has a significant effect on Ohio State since the Buckeyes now have a good chance of missing their top three DE targets in 2023 by three games. Five-star edge rusher and fourth-best recruit Keon Keeley selected Alabama over the Buckeyes after withdrawing his commitment from Notre Dame. It’s widely anticipated that Georgia would sign five-star Florida pass rusher Damon Wilson instead of Ohio State.
As a result, Ohio State will go two cycles without signing a five-star defensive end or even a prospect who ranks in the top 50 for defensive line.
Uiagalelei paid Columbus an official visit in June, and on Sept. 3, she returned to the city with many of her high school teammates for the Buckeyes’ season opener against Notre Dame. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound defender left Ohio State after his trip for the season’s first game, but Ryan Day and Larry Johnson paid him a visit in his home state earlier this month to make a good impression before he made a decision.
The eventual result of such initiative was unsuccessful.
Uiagalelei’s selection of Oregon is representative of a lengthy series of dismal defensive recruiting decisions made by the Buckeyes this cycle. Beyond Keeley and Wilson, Ohio State also missed out on four-star cornerback Dijon Johnson, five-star safety Caleb Downs (Alabama), and top linebacker target Tackett Curtis (USC) (Florida). Before restarting his recruitment in July, the latter had already made a commitment to Ohio State.