Ohio State hosted its four-man 2023 recruiting class plus a pair of potential candidates to fill it out as the football team hosted Notre Dame at Ohio Stadium.

Verbal commitments Scotty Middleton, Austin Parks, Devin Royal and George Washington III were all on campus for official visits, and the same goes for uncommitted, four-star guard Taison Chatman. But the pregame sideline focus was primarily directed at one player who was on an unofficial visit: Bronny James, Lebron James’ son and a member of the 2023 class who is considering the Buckeyes.

James spent about four hours earlier in the day visiting with the program, watching some practice and even taking part in a photoshoot that has become customary with most recruiting visits. When the visit ended around 3:30 p.m., the James family left campus for a few hours but returned roughly an hour before the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

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In the interim, Chatman, Middleton, Parks, Royal and Washington all took in the “Skull Session” to hear the Ohio State marching band practice inside St. John Arena and spent time at a team tailgate before heading to the stadium. They spent time posing for photos with each other and with coach Chris Holtmann at the north end of the stadium while James and his father headed to the field via another route. Current men’s basketball players Zed Key, Felix Okpara, Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle and Brice Sensabaugh were also on hand.

As Bronny and LeBron James watched the football team warm up while standing around the 35-yard line on the home sideline at the south end of the stadium, two security guards mostly kept fans at bay. Some approached to take selfies with LeBron and others chatted the two of them up. First-year cornerback Diante Griffin ran up to hug both of them at one point before father and son took in a pregame aerial spectacle.

Fans chanted, "We want Bronny!" as they stood on the sideline. And when someone yelled, "O-H!" at them, both father and son returned the cheer by making "I-O" with their arms.

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With about 20 minutes until kickoff, members of the U.S. Navy Parachute Team known as the “Leapfrogs” made their way to the turf field. With his arm around his son’s shoulder, the two jumped up and down and expressed their disbelief as parachuters landed within a few feet of them.

Ohio State currently has the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class for 2023 and could still add one more. Chatman, a four-star combo guard according to the 247Sports.com composite database, is a senior at Minneapolis Totino-Grace and has also taken official visits to Xavier and Kansas.

James’ recruitment has been shrouded in secrecy. This is his first known visit, official or unofficial.

Ohio State also hosted Raleigh Burgess, a 6-10, 205-pound center from Cincinnati Sycamore in the class of 2024. He holds offers from Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa, among others.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bronny James, 2023 class visit Ohio State for Notre Dame football game