The Opening Drive 1/10: An Ode to the Last of a Generation
As the college football landscape changes, we pay tribute to the 2024 Buckeyes.
July 1, 2021 was the day that some folks would say the landscape of college football changed. It was that day that NIL became a thing. Coincidentally enough, the Ohio State 2021 recruiting class may be the last recruiting class that sees eight recruits from the top 225 stay all four years at one university. While not the only reason that the 2024 team was successful, make no mistake about it that the recruits from this class were the heart, soul, and lifeblood of the 2024 National Champions.
The Class Makeup
Ironically, the highest ranked recruit in the class will always be a part of the legendary college football playoff run. However, he was wearing the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns. Quinn Ewers was originally supposed to be the signal caller in the Buckeyes class of ‘22. The state of Texas did not allow high school athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness at the time so Ewers graduated early and began earning money. As we all know, Ewers will still be remembered during the title run for being stripped by Jack Sawyer on the infamous Scoop ‘n Sawyer play.
J.T Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Donovan Jackson, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Jordan Hancock, Tyleik Williams, and Denzel Burke were all ranked in the top 225 recruits in 2021. All eight of these guys came to OSU, stayed all 4 years at OSU, and were absolutely vital to the 2024 national championship.
One other player who you could say played a role in the title run would be the second quarterback recruited in the class and that’s Kyle McCord. McCord would transfer to Syracuse, after entering the portal in December of 2023. This would lead to the Buckeyes recruiting Will Howard to lead them to the promised land.
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The Class of 2022 Chips In
The ‘22 class may not have stayed very in tact, during their Ohio State tenure, but they also had guys on the ‘24 roster that not only contributed. To further cement the 2024 team as the last of a generation, there were seven of those players that would return for their senior season in 2025. CJ Hicks, Sonny Styles, Tegra Tshabola, Kenyatta Jackson Jr, Caden Curry, Carson Hinzman, and Bennett Christian would all return in 2025 hoping to replicate what the ‘21 class did. While they were unable to win another title, the face that these guys also returned for their senior years shows that the ‘24 team truly gets The Brotherhood (despite redshirting CJ Hicks was still around the team all season).
The Remainder of the Roster
While we wait on draft declarations from a few of the class of ‘23, we can’t really say if that class will continue to build their legacy or move on. It’s no secret that the transfer portal did help the title run, with players like Caleb Downs, Quinshon Judkins, Will Howard, and Seth McLaughlin all coming to OSU via the portal.
Why the Last of a Generation?
The Ohio State 2024 recruiting class was comprised of 22 high school recruits, and after their first season on campus 11 of them have already entered the portal. The ‘25 class has already seen players leaving after one season, on campus. The new normal in college football is going to see players leaving after a season if they aren’t getting the burn they hope for. I truly think recruiting classes will shrink, so that school can be worried about navigating the transfer portal and adding proven commodities. The days of seeing so many stars from one class stay for three, let alone all four years are gone.
So, Ohio State’s 2024 roster, I for one thank you for being one of the last homegrown teams to win a national title and being the last of a generation.
Buckeye Film Breakdown will return soon with some fresh content.
