Final Call: Defensive tackle Jarquez Carter ready to announce commitment

COLUMBUS — Ohio State continues to be a force on the recruiting trail and the Buckeyes are at it again. They have one of the most impressive recruiting classes in the entire country, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Is expansion on the way?

Three-star Newberry (Fla) defensive lineman Jarquez Carter is set to announce his commitment on Thursday. The No. 403 overall prospect and No. 36 defensive lineman in the On3 Industry Rankings has a final group of Ohio State, Florida, Miami, UCF and Penn State.

Where do the Buckeyes stand in the race? What should we expect tomorrow? Lettermen Row breaks it all down.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes were always kind of quietly lingering in the background in Carter’s recruitment. Ohio State hosted him for an unofficial game day visit last fall for the Minnesota game. He said the following to On3’s Chad Simmons about that visit and the Buckeyes.

“My visit there for the Minnesota game was good because I was able to experience the fanbase. That was my first Big Ten game, so that really caught my eye. I saw the fans and was able to go to the pep rally before the game and that was fun.”

“What (defensive line coach) Larry Johnson has been able to produce over the years at Ohio State and Penn State shows that he’s able to develop people in the right way. The d-linemen he’s gotten into the league are not normal d-linemen. They’re top guys.”

Carter returned to Ohio State on March 28 and then again for a midweek official visit, something the Buckeyes very rarely do.

“Ohio State is a school that a lot of people should start paying attention to,” Carter told Lettermen Row . “With all of the schools I’ve been to, they’ve all told me how important official visits are during the summer.

“Ohio State is a real top school for me, they are up there so I had to go see them this summer.”

The Field

This recruitment has had a lot of smoke behind it. Just a few days ago there were reports that Carter was giving the in-state programs — Florida, Miami and UCF — the business and was going to pick one of them.

The interest in all three programs is very real, particularly Miami and Florida. He has strong relationships with both coaching staffs and is within proximity to Gainesville — 31 minutes. Even if ends up committing somewhere out of state, it wouldn’t be shocking if he took more visits to Florida or Miami.

Final Call

The last few days I wasn’t sure if Ohio State would land Carter because I wasn’t sure how hard it was pushing for him. But, there has been enough evidence to see that the Buckeyes should be adding another member to their 2025 class.

Ohio State already has two defensive tackles in the class with Trajen Odom and Maxwell Roy . Carter would have no impact on the push to flip Malik Autry from Auburn or recruit Jahkeem Stewart should he reclassify.

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