Congrats To James Smith On Receiving An Offer To The Ohio State University. #MadhouseFit #Family #GoBuckeyes #WeBuiltDifferent @R2X_Rushmen1 @DemetricDWarren pic.twitter.com/odU2Iu3RMt— Madhouse Training (@Madhousefit) March 3, 2021
Check out PHESHMAN PHENOM by James Smith on @hudl https://t.co/2Mb5lGvZCi #hudl— OSUBasketballJunkie (@ScarletBuckeye2) March 5, 2021
BUCKEYES OFFER NO. 1 DT Ohio State has not made a true run at the nation's No. 1-ranked defensive tackle prospect since it was in a good position in the 2020 class to land Bryan Bresee. (Unless you want to count J.T. Tuimoloau as a defensive tackle in the 2021 cycle with the positional versatility he brings to the table. Leonard Taylor in 2021 and Walter Nolen in 2022 were offered by the Buckeyes, but Taylor signed with Miami and Nolen is already very unlikely to end up with Ohio State.) Not that Larry Johnson really cares about rankings. He's constantly going after the guys he truly wants from a talent and personality perspective. It looks like Johnson may have found both of those things, however, in his latest defensive line offer in James Smith, the No. 3 overall prospect and No. 1 DT in the 2023 class. Johnson has gotten in early on Smith in this cycle by extending an offer to the 6-foot-3, 270-pounder on Tuesday night. The man with the nickname "Big Kong" has offers (or at least listed offers) from a dozen programs – Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Penn State, Texas and Texas A&M are the highlights alongside Ohio State. Smith hails from Montgomery, Alabama's Carver High School, making him the second player in this cycle that Ohio State has extended an offer to, following an offer to the nation's No. 1 cornerback in Tony Mitchell last week. Again, it's rare for the Buckeyes to extend offers to Alabama players and even more rare for them to win out in a recruitment from a player residing in the state. They have never signed a high school player from Alabama, and Smith is only the fifth player Ohio State has offered from the state among the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 cycles. The Crimson Tide have done an excellent job keeping their in-state talent home, as to be expected, but Ohio State is dipping its toes in the water here for Mitchell and Smith – a player whose physicality and versatility to play as a 3-tech and on the edge is one item that has to be a reason Johnson and Co. value Smith so highly with an early offer. He is more of a 3-tech prospect, but Johnson loves to bring in players who can be moved around along the defensive line. The Hurry-Up: Ohio State offers the nation's No. 1 DT, Austin Jordan cuts his list to three, and Clemson lands its QB, locking in Quinn Ewers' OSU commitment even more. https://t.co/rlbAC30PO8— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 3, 2021
2023 Alabama defensive tackle James Smith has never been on a "real recruiting visit" but hopes to see Ohio State for the first time this summer: https://t.co/Y9S8yfmwvG— BuckeyesNow (@BuckeyesNow_FN) April 28, 2021
Great stuff here from @JosephAHastings on a five-star stop at #UGA:https://t.co/K74Py2wS3K— Jake Reuse (@ReuseRecruiting) February 4, 2022
5-star DL James Smith is keeping his options open, but #OhioState is certainly catching his attention.Larry Johnson is a big reason why. #Buckeyes ➡️ https://t.co/3CrlXHUyOa (On3+) pic.twitter.com/VuTCJo27oi— Joseph Hastings (@JosephAHastings) February 5, 2022
BREAKING: Five-Star DL James Smith is down to 6️⃣ Schools!The 6’3 320 DL from Montgomery, AL is ranked as the No. 8 Player in the ‘23 Class (No. 1 DL)https://t.co/7kk8F3RvGu pic.twitter.com/BvhjvVC1cf— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) August 12, 2022
5-star DL James Smith updated his recruitment with On3's @ChadSimmons_ after narrowing his list to Alabama, Alabama State, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio State.Read (On3+): https://t.co/6l7pZKqN4j pic.twitter.com/N3PlpFEXNY— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) August 26, 2022
5-star DL James Smith showing off his athleticism on this TD run from Thursday night https://t.co/h5welxLsyL pic.twitter.com/3oPTPCmECD @JosephAHastings @AndrewJBone @KeithNiebuhr— Charles Power (@CharlesPower) August 27, 2022