Ohio State's summer recruiting season has begun.

This weekend marks the first of four straight official visit weekends for the Buckeyes, who are looking to secure the first top-ranked recruiting class in school history.

Ohio State already has three five-star commits in 2025: cornerback Devin Sanchez, cornerback Na'eem Offord and quarterback Tavien St. Clair. OSU currently has the second-best class in the country according to 247Sports' composite rankings. Notre Dame is No. 1 in those rankings.

With 12 spots filled in the 2025 class – eight on defense and four on offense – the Buckeyes could still add 10 or more commits before the early signing period.

Where does Ohio State stand? Here are four questions that the Buckeyes will focus on this summer.

How many 2025 running backs will Ohio State get?

When it comes to recruiting, Ohio State is still waiting for recently hired running backs coach Carlos Locklyn to make his mark on a position group that will likely be in desperate need of bodies after 2024.

Heading into this season, Ohio State has four scholarship running backs: TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon. Henderson will run out of collegiate eligibility after the 2024 season, while Judkins will become NFL draft-eligible, which would leave Peoples and Williams-Dixon as the Buckeyes' only two options in 2025.

With carries to give, Ohio State could be looking at a three-man running back class in 2025. But Locklyn is still looking to fill that first spot.

Four running backs have reportedly scheduled official visits with the Buckeyes this summer: four-star Bo Jackson, three-star and former Kentucky commit Isaiah West, four-star Byron Louis and four-star Jordon Davison.

Bottom line: Locklyn inherited a project when he was hired at Ohio State after his predecessor Tony Alford failed to secure a running back in the 2023 class.

Can Brian Hartline secure a top-tier 2025 wide receiver?

Brian Hartline needs no introduction as a recruiter. Since being named Oho State's wide receivers coach in 2018, he's secured commitments from 14 top-100 receivers including seven five-stars.

In 2024, Hartline secured commitments from two of the top 10 wide receivers in the country in Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham. He has the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2026 class already committed in Chris Henry Jr.

And in 2025, Hartline, again, has his sights set on top. But a five-star may be harder to secure.

Dakorien Moore, a five-star out of Duncanville, Texas and a former LSU commit, has the Buckeyes in his top three with an official visit scheduled for May 31-June 2. But Texas and Oregon remain in the mix, with the Longhorns seen by many as the favorite to land Moore. Five-star Jaime Ffrench has visited Ohio State multiple times but has not yet reported a scheduled official visit to Columbus and is instead focusing on Miami, Texas and LSU.

Ohio State has one wide receiver commitment in the 2025 class, four-star De'zie Jones. A slew of other receivers are scheduled for official visits this offseason, including four-star Daylan McCutcheon, four-star Quincy Porter and four-star Talyn Taylor. Each are top-100 players.

Bottom line: Ohio State shouldn't doubt Hartline's recruiting prowess. But the Buckeyes may be without a five-star wide receiver in 2025.

Can Ohio State's defensive back recruiting run continue?

In Sanchez and Offord, the Buckeyes have secured commitments from the top two cornerbacks in the 2025 class.

Yes, the Buckeyes lost a commitment from top-100 cornerback Blake Woodby. But Ohio State now has its sights set on another five-star in Dorian Brew, an Ohio State legacy who is the fifth-ranked cornerback in the class and is expected for an official visit June 21-23 with Sanchez and Offord.

Ohio State also has eyes on one of the top-ranked safeties in the country in four-star Faheem Delane, who would join four-star DeShawn Stewart and three-star Cody Haddad in the Buckeyes' 2025 class.

Bottom line: The Buckeyes' 2025 defensive backs class is already one of their best in recent memory. And with Delane and Brew, it has the chance to get better.

Will Ohio State win the David Sanders Jr. sweepstakes?

Ohio State could really use a recruit like David Sanders Jr., and the No. 2 player in the country has made multiple unofficial visits to Columbus leading into the summer.

Buckeye offensive line coach Justin Frye has never signed a commit as highly rated as Sanders. Ohio State has not had a five-star offensive line commit since Donovan Jackson in 2021 – despite being a finalist for multiple in the past three recruiting cycles.

According to multiple reports, Ohio State is Sanders' last official visit, and it is expected to happen during the same time Offord, Sanchez and St. Clair are in Columbus.

Bottom line: Ohio State already has an offensive line commitment in four-star Toledo tackle Carter Lowe. But Sanders could be Ohio State's make-or-break piece to secure the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football: 4 recruiting questions ahead of official visits