Focus turns to ’24 signing class

Local high school football players confirmed their commitment to the next stop in their football careers Wednesday with the beginning of the early signing period.

After the ink has dried on the class of 2023’s early signing day, the countdown to next year’s signing class has begun. The Toledo area class of 2024 is headlined by Jasen Kelly, a linebacker for Whitmer, and Marc Nave, an offensive lineman for Central Catholic.

Here are two names from northwest Ohio to watch for next year.

■ Jasen Kelly, Whitmer, LB

Kelly is ranked the No. 24 player in Ohio for his class by Rivals, No. 30 by 247Sports, and No. 28 by On3. A three-star prospect, Kelly has received offers from Kentucky, Iowa State, Massachusetts, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), and Toledo.

The 6-foot-1, 205 pounder visited Iowa State over the summer and is scheduled to visit West Virginia in January. He also traveled to Ohio State for a game day visit.

Kelly is considering all his options and doesn’t have a top school yet, he said.

“Right now, what I’m looking forward to most is probably getting an offer from one of my dream schools,” Kelly said. “Just keep working and getting the big offer that I worked hard for.”

Kelly recorded 104 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, four interceptions, two caused fumbles, and scored two touchdowns. He was the Three Rivers Athletic Conference defensive player of the year, district defensive player of the year, first team Division I All-Ohio, and a member of the All-Blade defense.

“Just watching him this year grow,” Whitmer coach Ken Winters said. “He is obviously raw his sophomore year and just using kind of his football instincts, but just watching him starting to read his keys a lot better and doing those kind of things, it was fun to watch him proceed through that.”

Kelly is good in coverage, can blitz, and has displayed his versatility at linebacker, said Allen Trieu, who covers Midwest football recruitment for 247sports.

“I think that as the position changes, he’s the kind of guy that schools look for because he can line up in different positions,” Trieu said. “He’s not just a two-down run defender. And so I think that’s been important for him to show that.”

■ Marc Nave, Central Catholic, OL

Nave is the No. 22 recruit in the state for his class and No. 32 offensive lineman in the nation for the class of 2024, according to 247sports. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound three-star prospect was a part of Central Catholic’s Division II state championship title team.

He holds offers from Kentucky, Duke, Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Toledo, and Massachusetts. Nave made game day visits to Ohio State, Kentucky, Toledo, and Notre Dame, he said.

“I’m just trying to just have fun with it,” Nave said. “Eventually I’m going to have to make a decision. Right now I’m just trying to just take it in. Sometimes people can get overwhelmed by stuff like this. I just try and just go with it and just see all my opportunities and just evaluate them as much as I can.”

Nave graded out over 95 percent this year and allowed only one sack all season. Nave second team All-Ohio and to the All-Blade offense.

“He’s a phenomenal college prospect,” Central Catholic coach Greg Dempsey said. “One, all his physical attributes. His measurables are off the charts. His athleticism is off the charts and his production is off the charts so he checks all the boxes there. And to top it all off, he’s a National Honor Society student, which opens up a lot of doors for him.”

What separates Nave from other recruits is his ability to move at his size, Trieu said.

“When you see a kid of his size be able to do that and be coordinated and balanced in space, I think immediately, you know he’s a Division I prospect,” Trieu said. “I think he’s going to stand out right away because he’s big, but it’s really the things that he can do at that size that separate him into being a college prospect.”

Contact Amanda Levine at alevine@theblade.com or on Twitter @amanda_levine1.