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Vo. 1, No. 44
This week in Ohio State football, people are mad.
Like, real mad!
No, the Buckeyes didn’t lose a game, but they did lose a recruit, and sometimes that seems to be worse — at least on the internet.
So what’s all the fuss about?
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5-star RB spurns Buckeyes for Volunteers
David Gabriel Georges announced Wednesday he has verbally committed to Tennessee, thus ending Ohio State’s pursuit of the five-star running back at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Listed at 6-foot, 210, he is the No. 2-rated running back in the country per 247Sports Composite rankings.
Of course, big-time recruits pick other schools all the time. Ohio State always swims in the deep end with these types of guys, but there is only so much room in the boat anyway. Can’t get ‘em all!
So what is the big deal?
Well, some folks are put off by the fact he very likely chose the biggest cash offer available to him.
Although it is hard to judge anyone for making such a decision, that is still a part of the new world of college football that feels unusual to people who have been following recruiting for many years (the same people who happen to be the ones who shape most of the reaction online, to the degree to which that reflects reality anyway).
There are also reports adidas was involved in sweetening the deal and that compensation went to both his uncle and his high school, but again that kind of feels like all part of the new wild, wild west of recruiting.
I think this is also another reminder of the unique situation Ohio State finds itself in: The market is just so large it becomes hard to figure out where to pick your battles for the best of the best prospects.
Losing a player to Alabama or Georgia is one thing, but there are many less successful programs out there like Tennessee desperate to level up and willing to pay a premium to do it.
They also have fewer mouths to feed, to to speak: Not as many elite prospects on their radar or roster taking up finite resources.
In the NFL, there are only 31 other teams, and only a few of them are going to be in on any one prospect because of need, cap space, etc., but in major college football that market is much larger so there is always someone lurking who could blow the top off of any given prospect’s price.
What’s next for Ohio State RB recruiting?
Perhaps the biggest issue is simply they don’t seem to have many options when it comes to adding an elite running back to this class.
Buckeye Insiders recruiting analyst Juck Miletti identified a handful of players Ohio State might pivot to, but all come with big caveats.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, running backs coach Carlos Locklyn and general manager Mark Pantoni made the decision to put all their eggs in this basket. That meant letting other top recruits go both last year and this year, a decision that could come back to haunt them in the future.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 in most cases, and the running back room is far from bare as it stands both for this fall and next.
Bo Jackson, Isaiah West and Anthony “Turbo” Rogers all have four years of eligibility remaining, and true freshmen Legend Bey and Favour Akih just arrived so they have five years left based on a recent change in NCAA rules.
(Ja’Kobi Jackson, a transfer from Florida, is also in the fold for this fall.)
As you may recall, Locklyn asserted this spring he has no concerns about his position group, and that is pretty believable since Jackson ran for 1,090 yards last season and West added 310.
However, Jackson also left some yards on the field and has plenty of room to improve. Most notably he needs to run through arm tackles more consistently and just overall show more play strength. The shiftiness and the vision seem to be there.
QB locked in for good
In better news, Ohio State learned this week Brady Edmunds will be part of the 2027 class.
A quarterback from Huntington Beach, Calif., he’s been committed to Ohio State for more than a year but was openly flirting with UCLA.
That was understandable because Ohio State was actively pursuing another (in all likelihood higher-rated) quarterback for this class, as chronicled in a previous newsletter published more than a month ago.
It’s easy to get jaded about recruiting these days as it becomes more and more of a business, but Edmunds is a lifelong Ohio State fan who grew up dreaming of playing for the Buckeyes.
I can understand both sides assessing their options, but I’m glad this worked out this way. Watching how he develops will be interesting for sure.
He’s listed at 6-5, 220, but the knock on him is a lack of mobility. That may be something that is more of an issue for the coaching staff than it was prior to last season when Julian Sayin’s lack of running was a perceived to be an issue for the offense at times.
Edmunds is the No. 19 prospect in California and the 20th-rated quarterback nationally in his class, that is not the only good news on the recruiting front.
Larry Johnson reels in another big fish
The week started with four-star defensive tackle prospect Karlos May of Birmingham, Ala., committing to Ohio State.
May is the No. 5 defensive tackle prospect in the country, and he told Juck that Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson sees him in the mold of a Tyleik Williams, who was a super-sized three-technique who was great at penetrating and making plays (not a nose tackle like Kayden McDonald, but nearly as hard to find).
May gives Ohio State five elite defensive line prospects for 2027 as Johnson enjoys a recruiting renaissance after a few years of striking out with some of the best players in the nation.
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What about this year’s quarterback?
Sayin had a fantastic first season as a starter last fall, but it did end with a thud as the Buckeyes lost to Indiana and Miami.
One of the biggest questions going into this season is just how much Sayin has developed and grown physically and more so mentally since January.
That not only could determine if Ohio State wins its 10th national title — or can even navigate what looks like one of the most difficult schedules the Buckeyes have played in years — but also if he will want to enter the 2027 NFL Draft.
Though Sayin was a five-star prospect coming out of high school in California, he is not physically imposing at 6-1, 208.
That makes him “polarizing” according to ESPN.com.
"I liked his tape, but the traits are just so limited in a near-perfect setup of surroundings, and you saw that in the playoff," one NFC scout said.
But another AFC scout said, "He's super accurate and operates at a really high level. I think people are underrating him and forgetting that he was in his first year as a starter."
Of course you might not care where Sayin ends up going in the NFL Draft, but his status for next year is fascinating because it could have a major impact on the program.
If he flops this season (unlikely), he’ll likely lose his job to Tavien St. Clair, a five-star prospect from Bellefontaine, before it’s over. In that case, the Scarlet and Gray machine will move on without him.
If Sayin comes out and plays lights out every week and leads the Buckeyes to a national title (or let’s say at least the final four), then he may considered a sure-thing first round pick and have a fairly easy decision to go to the next level.
What if he has a good-not-great season and questions about his physical traits persist? He would likely want to come back for a fourth college season. That is typically considered a good thing right? Well, then one has to wonder how St. Clair would feel spending another season on the bench.
I tend to think he’d make the best of it, but it is an interesting situation — potentially.
That’s all for this week, but if you like what you see, please share share the link on social media or send someone this link to invite them to check it out.
BONUS CONTENT!
Aside from this newsletter, I’m also sharing my thoughts on the premium message board at BuckeyeSports.com and serving as the basketball insider for BuckeyeInsiders.com.
Beyond that, I’m writing for multiple sites, including primarily PressProsMagazine.com, Buckeye Insiders, the Associated Press and MensJournal.com.
For Men’s Journal this week, I wrote about Johnny Cash, the top-ranked domestic automaker and the college towns with the best and worst water.
Next week, I’ll be heading to Chicago for Big Ten Media Days!
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