The Ohio State football recruiting class of 2023 is complete and despite some murmurs of negativity in the crowd, this class is fantastic from top to bottom. One of the studs of this class is a four-star tight end from the state of Georgia in Jelani Thurman.
Thurman is regarded as a top-70 prospect in the class and a top-five tight end. The tight end room at Ohio State is already reasonably deep with Cade Stover returning and Gee Scott Jr looking to take another step forward, but Thurman is an elite talent and has the ability to see the field early in his career.
Name: Jelani Thurman
High School: Langston Hughes (Fairburn, GA)
Height: 6-feet, 5-inches
Weight: 230 pounds
4-Star Tight End
Strengths
Breaking It All Down
Watching Jelani Thurman is fun. The dude is tall with very long limbs, which makes him an extremely quarterback-friendly target. Another enticing trait is Thurman’s ability to go across the middle.
What a weapon Jelani Thurman is going to be in this Ohio State offense! I cannot wait pic.twitter.com/LfrVt3BV0V
— The Buckeye Nut (@TheBuckeyeNut) December 10, 2022
Weaknesses
BOOM: 4 Star TE Jelani Thurman has signed with Ohio State
Welcome to Buckeye Nation Jelani!@jelani3345 pic.twitter.com/kkoLB6JDzC
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) December 21, 2022
Breaking It All Down
It shouldn’t be surprising, but Thurman will need to work on his blocking to be a complete tight end in the Big Ten. He used his length to push smaller defenders around in the high school ranks, but he will need to gain the technical know-how to properly block in the Big Ten.
4 star Ohio State TE commit Jelani Thurman. 👀
(🎥: His IG story) pic.twitter.com/MUFMtjrGqN
— Buckeyes Insider (@buckeyesinsider) July 23, 2022
Comparison: Rickey Dudley
Breaking It All Down
Rickey Dudley had a fascinating college career. He went to Ohio State to play basketball and was a three-year starter for the basketball team. He didn’t join the football team until 1994 and played sparingly before exploding to All-Big Ten honors in 1995 and was eventually drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders in 1996. Dudley had a solid career playing with the Raiders, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Much like Dudley, Thurman has extremely unique size that can make him a quarterback’s best friend. But unlike Dudley, Thurman is ready to see time immediately and should see time sooner rather than later.
Imagine 1995 Rickey Dudley in a 2021 offense https://t.co/92leYEWunZ pic.twitter.com/4SxQZVNiBs
— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) July 3, 2021
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Josh Keatley on Twitter.
