Ohio State Buckeyes set to host 5-star receiver, becoming serious contender

Mandarin (Florida) five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench reopened his recruitment in January

Last summer, Mandarin (Florida) five-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench seemingly put an end to his recruitment with a commitment to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

But following the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban, the dynamic 6-foot-1, 185-pound playmaker decommitted and opened the door for other schools to jump in full force.

One of those programs is the Ohio State Buckeyes.

"I'm looking to visit March 30th, Student Day, and looking forward to seeing it more with them in my top 3," he said. 

That last part - "top three" - is significant.

Ffrench is rated the nation's No. 12 overall prospect and No. 3 receiver in the class of 2025 after accumulating 62 passes for 1,247 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. 

He is an All-American Bowl selection and was 247Sports' "Alpha Dog" of the All-American Bowl National Combine in early January.

"Ffrench wasn’t initially planning to work out on [for the event], but thankfully for us, someone found the star wide receiver out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin a pair of size 12.5 cleats. Ffrench was simply the best of the bunch, scoring just shy of a dozen touchdowns during the second 1-on-1 session. The big-framed pass catcher had no issues breaking free from coverage and made a number of high-level grabs look relatively easy." 

Several other programs, including Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Miami and Texas, are still hard at work trying to secure Ffrench's commitment, so the battle is far from over.

According to On3, Ffrench is also set to visit LSU (March 9), Texas (April 6) and Tennessee (April 8). 

But Ohio State is clearly a major team to watch. 

Junior season highlights