When the Buckeye Bash & Barbecue took place Friday, June 21, it was difficult to tell what the Ohio State class would finish like. The Buckeyes were hovering around the fringe of the top-10, and it seemed, with a realistic approach, that they would bring in a top-10 class and consider that a victory for a first-year head coach that received the 2020 class in the circumstances that Ryan Day received his.
Ohio State had 12 commitments at the time with Grant Toutant and Ty Hamilton being the most recent additions, and with the Buckeye Bash & Barbecue approaching, the Buckeyes shifted the focus for the event onto the 2021 class, creating a healthy and well-understood foundation for the soon-to-be high school juniors.