Ohio State football: July 4 pickups continue recruiting roll

Ohio State’s 2020 recruiting class grew to 19 members Thursday as a pair of players issued Independence Day commitments.

Cameron Martinez of Muskegon, Mich., and Josh Fryar of Beech Grove, Ind., are both out-of-state three-star recruits who continued the recruiting roll Ryan Day has enjoyed since the Buckeyes hosted a huge cadre of recruits the weekend of June 22-23.

Martinez is the No. 8 player in the state of Michigan and No. 21 “athlete” prospect in the county per 247Sports Composite rankings.

Fryar is the No. 2 player in the state of Indiana and No. 8 offensive guard protect in the country.

He is the sixth offensive lineman in a class that needed to go heavy on the big guys while Martinez provides something teams today can never get enough of — perimeter speed and skill.

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Ohio State’s recent run of commitments started June 4 with a commitment from Cincinnati La Salle kicker Jake Seibert.

Next came offensive lineman Grant Toutant of Warren (Mich.) De La Salle on June 9 followed by Pickerington Central defensive tackle Ty Hamilton on June 16.

La Habra, Calif., cornerback Clark Phillips III committed ahead of Ohio State's big recruiting weekend June 21, and Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep linebacker Cody Simon and Cincinnati Princeton defensive lineman Darrion Henry made their announcements June 29.

Joe Royer, a tight end from Cincinnati Elder, kept the momentum going into July with a commitment Tuesday and Olney (Md.) Good Counsel linebacker Mitchell Melton joined the class a day later.

Those were all 2020 commits, but the 2021 class grew as well with commitments from a pair of in-state four-star prospects.

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Massillon Washington receiver Jayden Ballard committed June 21 while Richfield Revere offensive lineman Ben Christman announced his pledge five days later.

The 2020 class stands No. 1 in the Big Ten and fourth nationally, trailing Clemson, Alabama and LSU.

The four-man 2021 class leads the Big Ten and is No. 3 in the country.

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