This wasn’t the news that Buckeye fans wanted to see; 5-Star and number one overall player in the 2024 class, quarterback Dylan Raiola decommitted from the program today. The smoke began yesterday when the Arizona star scrubbed his social media of all things Ohio State.
This hurts on multiple levels, but the silver lining is that the 2024 class is over a year away from their early signing period, so Ryan Day has plenty of time to find a replacement for Raiola. Yes, they won’t be able to upgrade, but there are still plenty of big-time quarterbacks that will consider the Buckeyes from now until signing day.
Since they previously held the commitment from Raiola, there weren’t many other offers out to quarterback in the class. Two of the four have already committed elsewhere, while the third, Jadyn Davis is trending to our rivals, Michigan. Most likely Raiola won’t return to the class so it’s back to square one. Here are a few targets the Buckeyes should focus their efforts on going forward.
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Elijah Brown
Dimes from @ElijahBrown_29 On to the next…..|/ @GregBiggins @ocvarsityguy @Zack_Poff_MP @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/eOPuybgtXf
— Marcus Brown (@marcusbrown_9) November 13, 2022
The Californian preps at Mater Dei, a high school powerhouse program. The Buckeyes have had plenty of recent success with Cali quarterbacks, see C.J. Stroud, and Elijah Brown is viewed as one of the best in the nation. There is no questioning the level of competition and the transition from Mater Dei to a college program should be very smooth. He’s got great size at six-foot-two-inches and 180-pounds and Brown should be at the top of the Buckeyes’ reworked recruiting board.
Jake Merklinger
2024 4-star QB Jake Merklinger was on the money with this 25-yard touchdown pass.https://t.co/emKcPNEatjpic.twitter.com/ZDDubkzPwU
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) November 5, 2022
I’m a big fan of multi-sport quarterbacks because it shows that they can handle the mental along with the physical demands of the position and Jake Merklinger fits that bill. The Georgian has even better size than Brown, at six-foot-three-inches and 200-pounds, and comes from a football family. His brother played at Valparaiso this past season but entered the portal. He was the 3AAA player of the year, and has dual-threat ability that would bring another dimension to the Buckeye offense. Don’t be surprised to see an offer go out to Merklinger in the near future.
Josh Flowers
VOTE! @WKRG’s Week 4 #FNFFever Play of the Week is LIVE https://t.co/dWUHAVX7Vo
1. @BakerHSFootball’s @JoshFlowers2024 2x spin move TD
2. @UMSWright’s @ColeBlaylock_14 rushing TD
3. @LefloreFootball’s De’Antonio Lesueur TD passWinner announced on #News5 Sunday Sports Overtime! pic.twitter.com/niV0u9BtmB
— Brett Greenberg (@74Talk) September 10, 2022
Prototypical size for the Alabama quarterback at six-foot-three-inches and 210-pounds, Josh Flowers only has four reported offers, Alabama and Florida being two of them. The Crimson Tide already has a verbal from Julian Sayin, while the Gators have a commitment from DJ Lagway. If the Buckeyes were to offer, they should shoot to the top of Flowers’ list. He plays like a former OSU and current Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Head coach Ryan Day can surely work with a skill set like that.
Marcos Davila
Junior Season Highlightshttps://t.co/7QNeFjsr0g @CoachDanny10 @MohrRecruiting @Hartman3Clint @CoachMurch324 @SWiltfong247 @RivalsNick @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/03XryGSj4r
— Marcos Davila (@marcosdavila05) November 28, 2022
After watching the first few plays of his junior highlight film, Marcos Davila looks an awful lot like another former Buckeye, JT Barrett. Both are Texans, are extremely accurate on short routes, and throw a solid deep ball. The dual-threat ability is there as well. Davila isn’t a burner but can move the chains with his legs and will lower his shoulder if needed. It does look like TCU is leading his recruitment, but again, if the Buckeyes make an offer, they could very well be in the mix for the Lone Star player.
