ATHENS – The Peach State will have decent representation on the Ohio State travel squad when the Buckeyes come to Atlanta next week to face No. 1 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Currently, there are four Georgia residents on the Buckeyes’ roster. At least two of those individuals are expected play significant roles for No. 4 Ohio State when these powerhouse programs clash in College Football Playoff semifinals Dec. 31 (8 p.m., ESPN) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Linebacker Steele Chambers of Roswell and cornerback Jordan Hancock of Suwanee are Ohio State starters. Wide receiver Kojo Antwi of Suwanee and tight end Bennett Christian of Acworth were December 2021 signees who have appeared in a few games this season, but are still working to earn larger roles on the team.
All of them were highly regarded recruiting prospects who accepted coach Ryan Day’s pitch to go north and compete in the rugged Big Ten. Antwi, Chambers and Hancock each were rated consensus 4-stars and top 150 national recruits by 247Sports.
In fact, Day has spent a lot of time in Atlanta recently, and it wasn’t for a bowl site visit. He was visiting recruits. The Buckeyes currently have commitments from three metro Atlanta 4-star-rated recruits in cornerback Kayin Lee of Ellenwood, tight end Jelani Thurman of Fairburn and defensive lineman Kayden McDonald of Suwanee. Ohio State remained in a battle for Alabama commitment Caleb Downs of Mill Creek until the 5-star commitment moved to Tuscaloosa this week. The Buckeyes’ only commitment so far for the class of 2025 – cornerback Jontae Gilbert of Douglass High – is from Atlanta.
Outside the state, Georgia and Ohio State also are going head-to-head on 5-star edge rusher Damon Wilson of Venice, Fla. Between in-home visits, the transfer portal and resuming playoff preparations this past week, college football’s nonsensical calendar has kept Day running, like it has Georgia’s Kirby Smart and all coaches.
“You’re not allowed to sleep,” Day said with a laugh. “The early signing period certainly made a lot of sense for a lot of folks. It certainly saves a lot of time and energy in January, but it makes for a hectic December. Then with the portal opening up it certainly made it more hectic.”
Atlanta and the state of Georgia at large long has been region of the country targeted for recruiting by Ohio State. Some of the Buckeyes’ highest-rated prospects have come from the Peach State, including linebacker Raekwon McMillan of Hinesville and safety Vonn Bell of Rossville.
Perhaps the most fascinating of the Georgians currently on Ohio State’s roster is Chambers. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound senior signed with the Buckeyes as a running back and logged 221 yards rushing on a 7.9 yards-per-carry average before being moved to linebacker. He emerged as the starter in the second half of 2021. Now he’s Ohio State’s second-leading tackler with 69 stops, has six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception and two pass breakups.
Chambers recently informed the Buckeyes he intends to return for another college season.
“I feel like I’ve progressed in just my knowledge of the game,” he told reporters in Columbus. “But I think there’s just a lot more that I need to learn. I feel like I’m pretty (immature) as far as linebacker savviness.”
As for Hancock, a hamstring injury kept him sidelined for the first half of the season. He has played in the past six, starting once and recording nine tackles and a pass break-up. Hancock’s playing time diminished in the last couple of games because of continued issues with the leg.
But with the Buckeyes losing to Michigan and sitting the week of the conference championship game, Hancock has had time to heal.
“I feel a lot better,” he told Cleveland.com. “The bowl practices are more competitive. In-season, it’s kind of just more scout work, and you’re really not getting the one-on-ones like you should be. But these bowl practices, it’s competitive. You can actually kind of make your name for yourself in practice, and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
That’s the easy part. The hard part is coming up with enough tickets to fill all the requests he’s been getting from family and friends.
“Oh yeah, super hard,” Hancock said. “You’ve got to tell family members that you’re super close with ‘no.’ But it’s nothing wrong on them, there’s just a limited amount (of tickets).”
Dawg Tags: The AJC presents a daily look at the one thing you need to know about Georgia athletics today.
About the Author
