Hoban offensive lineman Sam Greer lands Ohio State offer despite never playing varsity

Most Hoban football players have targets on their back the second they step on the field.

Sam Greer will be on an entirely other level come August.

The 15-year-old left tackle picked up an offer from Ohio State on April 5 to put an instant bull’s-eye on his 6-foot-7, 290-pound frame.

Big deal you say?

It is when you consider the freshman hasn’t even played a snap of varsity football and that the Buckeyes were his first offer.

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“It’s all his athletic ability and toughness,” Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell said. “You can see it even in his freshman year. He was obviously good enough. He has natural hips. When you watch him even at the freshman level and then you watch him on a basketball court, it’s his ability to post up, swivel his hips, drop step and move around and do those types of things.”

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day is a throwback to Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel when it comes to the trenches.

Athleticism, coupled with size and incredible footwork are staples of linemen at the university, so it wasn’t a matter of waiting for the mid majors to find him first.

“It means a lot to have that be my first offer,” Greer said. “I mean, it's just crazy.

"There's a little pressure to be great but, I mean, I think I can live up to it. I’ve got a lot of work to do, a lot of lifting and a lot of training.”

Ohio State offers to freshmen without varsity experience are very rare

Greer also has a lot of hype when you consider the names of the past whose first offer came from the Buckeyes.

The last was Mylan Graham (New Haven, Ind.) on June 1. Graham wasn’t known by many then. Now, he’s an Ohio State commit, a five-star junior and is ranked 26th in the country.

Nick Bosa was another to receive his first offer from the Buckeyes and like Greer hadn’t played a snap of varsity before his offer came.

We’re not saying Greer is going to be a future NFL Rookie of the Year like Bosa was. What we’re saying is Ohio State doesn’t hand out offers to freshmen without varsity experience very often.

“I would think he'll be a five-star type kid by the time he’s a senior if he stays healthy,” Tyrrell said. “He's going to play basketball for four years and try to win as many championships in basketball as he is in football. I think he knows what his future is in football. I would think with a healthy body and his athletic ability, he has the potential to be as good as anybody that's come out of Ohio in a few years.”

Hoban star Sam Greer's stock is through the roof as a football player

What fans saw on the basketball court from the phenom in leading Hoban to a state title should multiply immensely when he starts at left tackle in the fall for the Knights.

Just don’t expect Greer to get a big head.

Name a Power Five conference school and they’ve inquired about Greer since Ohio State’s offer and, in case Greer needs a blueprint, he’s got right tackle William Satterwhite as a role model and teammate.

Although Satterwhite is two years older, he currently has 27 offers with the biggest names in the mix.

“He’s going to be a big mentor,” Greer said. “He already has like 30 offers. He's been going through this the last couple months, so he is definitely going to be big with me. I just stay humble, remember my roots and don’t let anything get to my head.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio State first to offer Hoban freshman offensive linemen Sam Greer