Ohio State is once again sitting as a finalist for a five-star offensive lineman. Darius Gray recently trimmed his list to five programs, which included the Buckeyes. But will Ryan Day and Tyler Bowen be able to seal the deal? Only time will tell.
Gray is ranked as the No. 2 interior lineman in the class according to 247Sports composite rankings. While the Bucks have a solid group of offensive line recruits led by tackles Sam Greer and Maxwell Riley, they’ve been striking out as of late, with the likes of Felix Ojo and JB Shabazz teasing the Scarlet and Gray only to head elsewhere. Bowen would really like to add a stud to the interior line as well.
Joining Ohio State on the shortlist is Clemson, LSU, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It is worth noting that Tyler Bowen was on staff at Virginia Tech, where he was able to develop a strong relationship with the Richmond, Virginia native.
Gray had this to say about the Buckeyes: “A winning program. You can see the reason they have been able to develop linemen. I think it is huge that they got Coach Bowen he was a guy from Virginia Tech, you know we have a great relationship so you can kind of see the way Coach Ryan Day sets up his program and it’s big, and he spoke about it in an interview, you know mental health is important. It gets lost in this college football world that these are still kids at the end of the day, so it’s great to have a head coach understand like that, and very vocal about it. The biggest thing is that they develop and win. It’s a big/huge program that everyone loves.”
Those are glowing remarks from the five-star prospect, but he has wonderful things to say about all of the programs in his final five. A commitment date has yet to be made, but one thing is for sure: Ohio State is in a dogfight once again for one of the nation’s top recruits.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State makes final five for five-star interior lineman Darius Gray
Reporting by Mark Russell, Buckeyes Wire / Buckeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
