Texas WR target Elijah Gardiner commits to Ohio State

An offer from the Texas Longhorns in mid-January didn’t have much of an impact on the recruitment of Kemp wide receiver Elijah Gardiner, who announced his flip from the Missouri Tigers to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday:

The ‘Horns were unable to get the 6’5, 185-pounder on campus on the second visit weekend in January before the Buckeyes hosted Gardiner last weekend.

And though the speedy pass-catcher didn’t pick up an offer while in Columbus, an offer on Monday quickly ended his recruitment in favor of Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

From a small town between Athens and Dallas, Kemp was an under-the-radar prospect who committed to Missouri in early November before officially surfacing on Houston’s radar and eventually attracting the attention of schools like Ohio State and Texas.

Ranked as a consensus three-star prospect, Gardiner is the No. 1,215 player nationally, the No. 172 wide receiver, and No. 167 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking.

Gardiner is just the latest in a number of wide receiver targets to spurn the Longhorns, with Florida’s Jordan Pouncey the last remaining player at the position on the recruiting radar. He’s set to decide on National Signing Day and is currently expected to pick Texas.