COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Marc Nave is no different than most kids growing up in Ohio playing football and hoping to one day do so for the Buckeyes.
Just like others before him, having that dream become a possibility can often be unbelievable, even when you’re expecting it to happen sooner or later. Nave had been talking with Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye for quite a while before he finally got an offer in January. But it still hasn’t hit him all the way.
“Honestly when I first got it I wasn’t expecting it,” Nave told cleveland.com. “When Coach Frye said that I had an offer it was crazy. I didn’t even know it was real. I was shaking the whole time I was on the phone. It was a great feeling.”
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Nave is a three-star guard in the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports, holding 19 offers, with 10 of them being from Power Five schools. It’s a list that will probably keep growing heading into the spring and summer months as he performs at various showcases and camps leading into his senior season.
He’s also the type of player that OSU will start to prioritize much earlier as it refocuses its recruiting efforts more on what’s in its backyard.
He has a recruiting profile that doesn’t pop out at you right now, but a lot can change over the next six months. It’s a concept we saw play out a year ago with Winton Woods defensive back Jermaine Mathews, who went from an undervalued three-star to a top-50, four-star recruit, with the genesis of that rise being at a one-day camp in Columbus.
Not every rise will be as drastic as Mathews’ but the focus on finding those hidden gems starts by being more aggressive with Ohio kids earlier and tweaking the evaluation process to look for traits that flash even if they aren’t consistent yet.
The offensive line is a great place to start with that, as Frye looks to once again achieve the success he had in his first cycle.
The 2023 cycle featured Luke Montgomery, Joshua Padilla and Austin Siereveld as three in-state four-star offensive linemen who were all committed before the summer. That left plenty of time for Frye to focus on national prospects, but the only payoff was Connecticut three-star Miles Walker, thanks to the lack of headway made by the previous position coach and how much Frye had to play catch-up.
That same formula can exist this year in Nave and twins Deontae and Devontae Armstrong. Those three could end up being the early Ohio additions whenever both sides feel ready to pull the trigger while Frye continues chasing national targets to join Ian Moore, a four-star from Indiana already committed to the Buckeyes, and uncommitted Jordan Seaton, a four-star from Washington, D.C.
Nave already looks the part of a college football offensive lineman. He’s 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds with the versatility to play anywhere. He has the athleticism to be a pulling guard if need be with a nasty streak in the run game.
“I love to finish people,” Nave said. “My motor is always going and I’m always looking to go hit somebody. A lot of my highlights are from pulling plays because I like to get out in space and be a blocker.”
His physicals make him the type of player to keep an eye on to continue the mold of those in-state hidden gems the Buckeyes are looking for, while still trying to pull in the best the nation has to offer.
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