Predicting Ohio State football’s 2026 recruiting class: Buckeye Talk podcast

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In this episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis dive into their first predictions for Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class. They discuss current commitments, potential targets, and overall class composition, including analysis of various positions and key recruits. They also touch on recruiting rankings, the impact of coaching hires, and the importance of official visits.

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Read the automated transcript of today’s podcast below. Because it’s a computer-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.

Stephen Means (00:12.812)

Welcome back to Buckeye Talk. I’m Stephen Means and that’s Andrew Gillis. is your Tuesday, May 6th pod. The portal’s closed. Nobody’s playing football. People have been drafted. We are now officially in the dog days of the off season, which means that the only thing going on is recruiting. So Andrew is now the star. This is your month, Andrew. This is when you get the ball and get to take 20 shots a game. Are you excited? Are you ready? Are you?

I don’t know, are you in shape enough to handle 20 shots a game? Because we’re going to give them to you.

Andrew Gillis (00:48.164)

Yeah, I just don’t want to end up like Kyle Kuzma, where he’s like running around doing cardio and he has like 22 minutes, zero says zero rebounds, zero points is as long as I don’t end up like him. We’re good. If I don’t have that generational, you know, box score where it’s, you know, what did you do here? I think we’re gonna be all right.

Stephen Means (00:51.15)

Thank you.

Stephen Means (01:09.944)

Those are always funny because they did shoot some shots. They just didn’t make any other shots and they did absolutely nothing else with their time out there. Get the text 614-350-3315. We are kind of in that window right now where literally anything could happen. You know, there’s I think that it’s a dead period right now until June. So it’s not like coaches are out on the road or recruits are coming in to Columbus, but you could see kids pop.

Kids will be scheduling official visits for the summer. Ohio State starting to load up on those. So we thought this would be the perfect time to do what we’ve always done here. And it’s our first prediction of the 2026 Ohio State recruiting class. Earlier this year, we did more of a idea where I just asked Andrew to just put people, like put positions, like what do they need at certain positions? Well, now we’re going to put names on all of those positions. Right now, Ohio State has 11 commits.

and his 2026 recruiting class. It’s the number three recruiting class in the country behind two schools where it’s kind of funny that that’s who they’re behind because it’s a notion of like, this is how early we are into this cycle. Andrew, the top five is USC with 23 commits, Clemson with 14 commits, Ohio State with 11 commits, and then Texas A is four and Notre Dame is five. They both have 11 commits as well. Of that top five, I think Ohio State, will pretty confidently say,

is the only team that was in the top five right now who will still be in the top five after December.

Andrew Gillis (02:40.652)

Yeah, yeah. The thing that’s funny about these rankings is that it’s like, I’ve seen a couple of different recruiting services talk about it. For example, on three does theirs based off a running average. And there are some people that like that, to where if you have three commits and another program has 10, you still might be ahead of them if you know you’re whatever. Some people like that. There are other people who will say, no, no, no.

Stephen Means (02:41.838)

I’m

Stephen Means (02:50.679)

Yeah.

Andrew Gillis (03:10.854)

It’s a running scoreboard. And if a team has 18 commits, I remember Rutgers had a bunch like a year ago or like Texas Tech had a bunch like their teams and people that will look at it and say, no, no, no. If Texas Tech has 18 recruits and Ohio State has three, Texas Tech should probably be above Ohio State. So it’s a unique kind of look, but yeah, USC.

Stephen Means (03:12.685)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (03:38.02)

You know, you look at them right now at the top of the rankings. They do have one five star, 12, four stars and nine three stars. That’s going to that’s a quality class. don’t it’s going to be scratching top five. I don’t think it’s going to end up top five Clemson. I mean, Clemson Clemson put together some guys, so we’ll see. And I mean, you never know. Notre Dame has had a really strong 2026 class as well. But I mean, Notre Dame recruiting has always kind of been outside the top five top 10 ish. So

Stephen Means (03:44.846)

It’s already class.

Andrew Gillis (04:07.172)

We’ll see there. But yeah, think Ohio State is the one with the staying power in that group that you feel most confident.

Stephen Means (04:15.15)

I think they’re this is Steven ranting again about things that it really doesn’t matter, but I’m to do it anyway. It’s got to be a mixture of both because I do think that so Ohio State’s average star rating right now is 92.71 of the teams who are in the top five. That is the second highest behind Texas A &M 92.59. So I do think that should matter, but it should matter along with the quality and quantity because LSU has a 94.46, but they only have nine commits.

Oregon, who’s 13th overall, has an average star rating of 93.55, but they only have eight commits. So if your early commitments are just highly rated guys, but you haven’t started to build depth in your class, I do think that it’s okay to dock you a little bit. shouldn’t just hang on one number or the other. Like we shouldn’t be hanging on the fact that Oregon is a 93.55 average star rating with only eight commits, but we also shouldn’t be hanging only on the fact that

USC has 280 total points because they have 23 commits.

Andrew Gillis (05:15.27)

Well, Texas has four commits. Texas has a higher average player rating than Ohio State right now in 2026. And they’ve got four kids committed. Ohio State has 11. So

Stephen Means (05:21.528)

Right.

Stephen Means (05:27.52)

And that’s why I didn’t even say Texas. not even in this. They clearly haven’t even got started on what they’re going to do this year. think Ohio State somehow is, I think, properly rated because they’ve got a high average star rating, but they also have a high overall point total. And that class is led by Chris Henry Jr., the number 11 player and the number two overall wide receiver. Then Blaine Bradford, the number 25 player, the number two.

safety in the country out of Louisiana. Those are their five star commitments right now. Okay, let’s get to some predictions here. Andrew sent me his list. I had to update it because 247 their composite is in the middle of updating their rankings here and it seems like Andrew was frustrated with that because it’s kind of hard to make points when things are being updated and they updated it again after he sent it to me. So his overall class total for 2026 is 24 commitments with an

point total of 29.77. I didn’t do the average star rating because I just didn’t have time to do all that math and four five star recruits. If this number ends up being right, if this is where they get to those four five star recruits would tie the 2024 class, which also had four that would be second all time behind 2021 seven five star recruits or six, depending on how you feel about when yours that 29, the 294.77 point total would be the

fourth highest, no fifth highest point total of the Ohio State Ryan Day era behind 2021 321 and 2022. They went over 300 as well. And then in 2025, there were 297 and 2020. There were 295 24 commitments. This would tie 2021 for the third most commitments ever. They had 26 this past year and they had 26.

in 2020. So around the same range as Ohio State has typically always been anywhere from 21 to 26 commitments. But here’s what I want to start with. Some of the times when we’ve done this, Andrew, we’ve just gone in order of highest rated kid, the lowest rated kid. I actually want to start at quarterback because you don’t have Ohio State taking a quarterback in 2026. What is wrong with you?

Andrew Gillis (07:35.814)

Well, a lot. But for this particular answer, this was really hard because I think the answer is, and this is something that I would love to ask Ryan Day, you know, do you need to take a recruit at quarterback every cycle? I think he would say yes, but I’m curious to hear how he says yes, if that makes sense.

because you look at where this room is at right now, it is really young. You have Lincoln Kienholz, third year player, Julian Sainz, second year player, Tavian St. Clair, he’s a true freshman. Next year, you’re probably gonna have Sainz as a third year player, St. Clair as a second year player. And then is Kienholz still here? Like if Julian Sainz is the starter, is Kienholz still here?

Is he somebody that comes into this class or comes into this group and goes, you know what I tried, I gave it my best Devin Brown shot and I didn’t get the job done and Julian Sands is the starter and I need to go find greener pastures to where I can play. I don’t think anybody would begrudge him for that. And I don’t think anybody should in this day and age of college football. But at that point, you’re then talking about bringing in a transfer portal quarterback as a depth piece, which was why we were kind of saying a couple of weeks ago.

You know, hey, when we were talking about the portal, you know, Ohio State would benefit from doing that. So, you know, I look at the 26 class and I think, frankly, the answer is that the odds are the quarterback that they’re looking for has not been identified. I think if I think if they were looking for a specific quarterback, mean, Jared Curtis, he’s going to commit to either Georgia or Oregon.

Stephen Means (09:19.278)

Mmm.

Andrew Gillis (09:31.074)

He was a target for a while. Dia Bell was a target for a while. He committed to Texas. They are after a five star Ryder Lyons. He is from California. But I do think that there’s a couple of reasons I put no here because I didn’t want to just throw a name out there and be like, hey guys, he’s going to commit. I have no idea if he’s going to commit, but I actually don’t think Ohio State is going to be in a position to have to take a quarterback that they’re not really.

maybe all that sold on. think, you know, this is definitely a development kind of year unless you get somebody like a Ryder Lyons who is, who is uncommitted. He does have a ton of crystal balls in for USC, whatever you value that at. He’s taken official visits to USC, to Oregon, and then to BYU. He’s a California kid. Ohio State doesn’t really feel, you know, up there with those programs right now.

Brady Smeagol is in this class as well, top 100 recruit. He’s got crystal balls to Florida State. He’s got an official visit scheduled to Michigan. you just, you look at it and go, none of these kids really feel like they’re leaning Ohio State right now. And I think with Brady Edmonds coming in 2027, you might be able to get away with saying,

we’re gonna take a transfer portal quarterback, a third year quarterback, fourth year quarterback is a transfer portal guy, fill out the room, and then we still have Julian and Tavian, and then we have Brady Edmonds coming in a year. That to me feels almost just as likely as Ohio State taking a development quarterback. There are quarterbacks that they could take. There are quarterbacks that I think are...

interesting. I know I’m kind of rambling here, but like there are quarterbacks that you do kind of look at and say, okay, maybe this is a kid, there’s a, there’s a couple kids in the state of Ohio, that you could look at and say like, okay, maybe this is a kid where if you really, you know, force the issue, you could, you know, you could get him going. I’m trying to think of the one kid’s name, Matt Poniatowski.

Andrew Gillis (12:00.518)

I believe is his name in Cincinnati. He’s uncommitted right now. Nathan Bernhardt is from Ashland. He’s like six foot five, 230 pounds. Like he’s a big kid. He does not have an Ohio State offer. Like none of these kids have Ohio State offers right now. So it’s like, do the Buckeyes want to jump on this guy or not? And right now it just feels like not.

Stephen Means (12:29.87)

So I only asked a question that way because he put N-A when he clearly he needs more TBD in this situation. I think what you’re talking about is a situation where we might, it might be the focus for you or the camps this summer is who does Ohio State bring in in 2020? Because this is what they did in 2023 with Lincoln Keenholtz.

Andrew Gillis (12:46.443)

that’s 100 % true.

Stephen Means (12:53.452)

there was a time when they were bringing in a bunch of other guys who were camping and trying to see if they liked them and they didn’t like them and they offered some and they didn’t offer others. And eventually they found Brock Lynn out of that group and things kind of went left with that one. And it was almost a mutual parting between those sides. And they ended up with thinking Kinos closer to signing day. But I do think it’s probably more of that where we’ve talked about this in the past, Andrew, this idea of every three or four years, you might have to go get the development.

because you’ve recruited the room so well. You’ve got Lincoln Keenholz right now, who’s a third year guy. You got a five star who’s a year younger than him and a five star who’s a year younger than him. And I know that Brady Edmonds, they’ve updated the rankings and he’s not a four star, that’s what’s just confusing to me in its own right. I don’t know what could have possibly happened in less than 30 days that you dropped him that many spots, like a hundred spots for a guy who

was a consensus five star amongst the board for you when no one’s played football for 25 days. I don’t understand how anybody could be on any site, not just two, four, seven, not just to pick on them on three rivals, whoever, everybody who does rankings ESPN, I just, why are you updating anything right now? These kids haven’t played real football in four or five months here. So what could possibly be happening that can force you to update these rankings other than just making.

whatever fan base upset or happy that you’ve moved up or moved their player down. But the point of the matter is you’ve done your job. Ohio state has done its job in 24, 25 and 27 and finding highly rated quarterbacks. So if that means in 26, all the highly rated guys, which is what happened in 2020, all the highly rated guys just didn’t want to come here. If Jared Curtis and Faison Brandon and Dia Bell and writer lions and Brady smigel and

Bo Bitley and Noah Grubbs and Jayden O’Neill are all probably looking at this room in some capacity and going, that’s too crowded for me. And you have to go get a guy who’s rated in the low 200s or maybe even the 300s. Then I understand that. And what does it do? Okay, we’re gonna get to the 2028 season and it’s going to be Brady Edmonds against whoever is in this class. Just like right now it’s Julian Sand against

Stephen Means (15:10.742)

Lincoln Keenholz and it’s going to be a third year guy versus second year five star. Good luck to whoever wins that battle. But I do think this is a once again, interesting conversation because the answer to the question is question isn’t whoever the top 100 recruit is that’s going to be Ohio State’s quarterback because it’s a little bit more nuanced than that. Okay.

Andrew Gillis (15:28.954)

Well, and just to throw in real quick, this can obviously fluctuate. Look, we’re doing this really early. This is kind of where things may stand. I’m just going to use him as an example just because I know he camped at Ohio State. Jaden O’Neill is committed to Oklahoma right now. He’s a top 200 kid, number 182 in the composite rankings. Brent Venables is apparently on

kind of thin ice at Oklahoma.

Stephen Means (15:59.714)

You mean losing seasons and watching the quarterback you let leave in the transfer portal excel at Oregon while the quarterback you chose over him is now at Auburn probably wasn’t the best idea.

Andrew Gillis (16:10.234)

Some are saying that some could say that. like, you know, or, you know, Oklahoma’s, you know, four headed to four and eight or six and six or whatever, whatever the record is that gets him fired. What if if what if he gets fired in late November and all of sudden Jayden O’Neill goes, whoa, and Ohio State’s able to jump in the mix. I’m just using him as an example, because like you look at some of the other quarterbacks like Noah Grubbs, I know Ohio State offered him.

Stephen Means (16:11.246)

Bye!

Andrew Gillis (16:37.254)

I don’t think Marcus Freeman is going to get fired this year. Troy Hewn at Penn State, I know Ohio State was interested in him. I talked with him on the phone many, many moons ago, but it doesn’t sound like James Franklin is going to get fired, right? Like there are situations that are just not practical, but there are some that you could look at and say, hey, well, maybe, maybe this is an option.

Stephen Means (17:00.558)

So that’s QB. It’s a big TBD. I think they need to take a quarterback in the cycle. I think they should take a quarterback in every cycle. In fact, I think they should probably look for a portal quarterback for this year. Not a guy to be a starter, but just a guy. So you have four guys in the room. And if not definitely next year, because I don’t know if you can bank on it. If Julian is saying is what we think he’s going to be. I don’t think you can sit here and be like, Hey, Lincoln, do the Devon thing where you lost one quarterback battle, but stick around and lose another quarterback battle, lose another battle. That’s not really a battle. Okay.

Let’s move on the running back then. By the way, 24 players in this class, which means there’s 11 commitments. Andrew does not have them losing any commitments as of right now, which means he’s adding another 13 players to the class. And that starts at running back with Carson Baker and favor a key.

Andrew Gillis (17:56.462)

Yeah, I’ll start with Favour. Really like where they’re at with Favour. I think Favour is an option to where when both parties are ready, it’s gonna be a pretty quick, you know, let’s make this happen. He’s only gonna take three official visits, one to USC, one to Miami. He said he would like to make his decision around that time.

Stephen Means (18:12.27)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (18:22.842)

when I went and visited him. So we’ll see. Now, obviously things can change, but, you know, I would expect him to, you know, be around that decision in June for a commitment. So I like favorite key. He’s from Delaware, Ohio, which is like 20, 30 minutes north of Columbus. It’s really not far. You know, it was actually, I would appreciate Ohio becoming a great football state because then I can.

travel less distance to go see top 200 recruits.

Stephen Means (18:51.534)

Whoa,

Andrew Gillis (18:55.908)

I want it to be California, Georgia or Texas or Florida. Yeah. So, so favor he, you know, he’s, he attends Rutherford B Hayes, you know, for, local listeners who might not know. so he’s just a kid, I think where you look at his speed and you see a running back that can, you know, they can, they can really kind of, you know, move and shake a little bit. And, know, his coach was very, very high on him when I talked to him and

Stephen Means (18:59.019)

It’s not big enough to be all that, but okay.

Andrew Gillis (19:24.922)

I think favor is going to join this class. Then you start to get into some, some other interesting options. And these are the out of state kids. Derek Cooper is a five star running back out of Shaman on Madonna. Perhaps you’ve heard of that. Perhaps perhaps y’all have heard of that school before. There is Savion Heider. He attends Louisa County in Virginia, which is actually just like.

Stephen Means (19:39.918)

I’m a noooone, I’m a no-

Andrew Gillis (19:54.126)

an hour and a half south of where grew up. He is from central Virginia. He is the number one running back in the class, number 18 overall prospect. Ohio State is in on him. Carlos Loughlin made a swing. We were texting Stephen and Stefan and I. Carlos Loughlin went to go visit Darius Gray, an offensive lineman in the Richmond, Virginia area. And Stephen said, this is what sending the house looks like.

that was not Carlos Loughlin’s only swing in, in late April. he went to go see Heider as well. So Ohio state’s in on him, but I landed on Carson Baker and maybe this is me playing it safe. but I do really think that Carson Baker is a really good running back that Ohio state could add. he has an official visit scheduled for June 13th, which is the week after,

which is the week after, favor key. The thing that I’m interested in favors listed at six foot one 90 car, six foot and a half inch and 195 pounds. And Carlos Loughlin said, you never want to have two of the same running back in your class. Carlos Loughlin said, you never want to have two of the same running back in your group. want to diversify your skillset. So I’m curious what that differentiates with their skillset because Derek Cooper looks like a little bit more of a physical running back when you watch him on film.

You know, Heider is definitely more of an all around guy. But I think, you know, maybe more in between the tackles. Like, I’m curious how they differentiate, but I do think Ohio State, like if they land this class of Baker and a key, Carlos Loughlin should be very, very happy with the group he ends up with.

Stephen Means (21:47.758)

This feels like I have Bo Jackson and he’s going to be a co-starter slash starter for the next three years. So we can maybe go a little more developmental in 2026 because I know who my guys are in 2025 and you’ve got to again, so you can’t just have a bunch of guys who want to play it right away. You got to have a mixture of a whole bunch of different guys.

Andrew Gillis (22:10.906)

Yeah. And you know, you got to have the guys that, you know, you got to the guys that, when you talk to, you know, recruits, it’s like, well, you can’t get every five star, not just because the five stars are going to want to play and they might like other schools. You got to diversify your money too, right? You can’t just throw all your money at the, you know, five star running backs or something like that. You might only have a certain amount and things like that. But, know, to your point, you know,

CJ Donaldson probably not going to be around actually definitely not going to be around James people’s Bo Jackson, Anthony Rogers, Isaiah West, Sam Williams, Dixon. mean, Williams Dixon will be in his third year. People’s in his third year, Jackson Rogers and West and their second year. Like that’s a significant running back room. That’s seven. I mean, that, that,

Stephen Means (23:08.012)

Yeah, but like that, don’t let’s just be, we can be, we don’t have to put names on it, but to say that all seven of those guys be on the roster makes true. It’s just, well, no, don’t think I just don’t think we have to dance around that anymore. It’s it’s the transfer portal exists. You load up the room, the best you can, and you hold on to the best guys that you possibly can. And you go from there. I don’t think between those seven guys you just named at least two of those guys are not going to be on this roster at 2026.

Andrew Gillis (23:14.2)

That’s what I was trying to figure out how to say.

Andrew Gillis (23:38.854)

I don’t know about at least two. Yeah, I would say definitely one. I would say definitely one player is gonna be gone. But.

Stephen Means (23:41.346)

You have a six minute monitor?

Stephen Means (23:47.438)

I don’t know man, six man running back room is a lot of running back. Now granted they’re going to 105 scholarship player so it opens you up to that but I don’t, six is all.

Andrew Gillis (23:55.206)

And, and, and depending on the kind of year that James Peeples has, maybe James Peeples is, we’re thinking about him in an NFL draft light at the end of 2025. Um, so there, there are variables here that are interesting and kind of things that we have to monitor, but, um, I, I do think it is very impressive how Carlos Loughlin in a year has helped turn this room into.

Stephen Means (24:04.782)

Yeah.

Andrew Gillis (24:23.672)

a room that is a force to be reckoned with in a room that you were looking at going, Whoa, this, this room could be really good long-term. And yeah, they Trevion Henderson and, yeah, they got, Quincheon Judkins, out of the portal. And, and that was obviously a really big deal. And, and look, Tony Alford did that. That was not, you know, that was not Carlos Loughlin that got Trevion and Quincheon.

Stephen Means (24:49.036)

No, that’s true. Tony offers a lot of

Andrew Gillis (24:53.35)

Carlos Loughlin coached him up. Carlos Loughlin got them to that level. I think Carlos Loughlin probably deserves a lot of credit for Trevin Henderson’s pass blocking ability. But it is very impressive how Carlos Loughlin has turned this group into a homegrown, home run potential group.

Stephen Means (25:15.31)

Okay, let’s move on the wide receiver and tight ends because there’s only one addition here. Brian Hartland, as per usual, he found his guys, he got his guys and then he got out of the way. And then Keenan Bailey seems to have done the same thing with Gordon been Fordman. And now it’s about can he, will he get greedy or not? And it doesn’t seem like you think he’s going to do that. He’ll stick with the one tight end in this class. So I just want to talk about Kayden Dixon Wyatt.

who is he’ll make his official visit early May 30th, which I think is a good thing. I think that is a result of Brian heartlines trying to get this kid in here, get that locked down, tell them, Hey, don’t take and get it locked in cancel all those other visits and heartlines got his four guys. So have Kayden Dixon, Wyatt Brock Boyd, who they flipped from TCU, Jayden Rickards as the in-state guy. And then Chris Henry jr. Is the five-star recruit original in-state guy who was now at California. That’s just sounds right to me.

Ryan Hartline is heading into the summer waiting on one guy and hopefully best case scenario, he has that guy locked in when he leaves here after that final weekend.

Andrew Gillis (26:23.27)

So one of the things that I always think is funny is probably something that you dealt with, not just the changing rankings for these kids, which are always ever changing. These kids are 15 and 16 years old and sometimes 17, meaning they’re still growing. So Kaden Dixon Wyatt’s listed at 6′2, 180. I’ve seen him listed in other places at 6′3, 185, 6′3, 190. So I would like to figure out.

how big this kid exactly is. I mean, Ohio State already has a massive prospect, literally and figuratively, in Chris Henry Jr. coming into the class. He’s listed at six foot five. He might even be six foot six. Brock Boyd is six two. Jaden Ricketts is six feet tall. So Caden Dixon Wyatt might be part of a taller recruiting class, might be, you know, a bigger type of body that Ohio State brings in. He is a current teammate.

Stephen Means (26:55.31)

Mm-hmm.

Stephen Means (27:10.062)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (27:22.464)

of Chris Henry Jr., which I think is really interesting. They both attend modern day out in California. But yeah, a Caden Dixon Wyatt man, this would be another kid where, especially if you look at, you know, maybe Ricketts or Boyd as maybe long term development pieces, long term development projects, that would be a really nice ad because then you’re bringing in Chris Henry and the room just, we set it on a previous pod, like I believe with our draft stuff. It’s a churn.

And that is what the Ohio state receiver position is with, you know, Brandon and his and carnal state. Are they still here in a year? Maybe Brandon and his more likely probably than carnal date. But then Bryson Rogers, Jeremiah Smith, Philip Bell, Milan Graham, Des Jones, Bob Penn Miller, Quincy Porter, the first one who lost their who lost their black stripe like tomorrow and Witten. Like this is it is a remarkable room. And I think Caden Dixon Wyatt

Stephen Means (28:01.528)

Yeah. Yeah.

Andrew Gillis (28:20.238)

He fits that bill. He’s a borderline top 100 kid. mean, Ohio State adding a five star and then another four star and then another lower rate of four star and then another four star after that. Who had it is a Brian Heartline heater and we have not stopped for many years.

Stephen Means (28:37.772)

I think it’s, it would be some way for them to finally infiltrate modern day high school out in California, which is a prestigious school out there. That’s produced a lot of talented football players over the past couple of decades. Matt Lennar from there. I think that price, I think price. I’m like started there before he transferred. I might be wrong about that though, but a lot of talent and Ohio state has been in the race.

especially of late for some of those guys. I remember the money Jackson is a five star cornerback in the 21, the 2022 classics, excuse me, that they were in the race for. In fact, there was a point there where they had momentum there. Jordan Davison running back in last year’s cycle that Ohio state was in the running for that they didn’t, he ended up at Oregon. The money Jackson ended up at USC and then transferred to Alabama, but Ohio state’s been knocking on the modern day door for a while. And it seems like

Chris Henry Jr. as the key. Who would have not thought a five star receiver who was living in Ohio when he committed to you, transferred out to California to live with his mother and go to modern day high school. And now you might get a two for one. You might get two modern day kids when you have failed to maybe unlock that door for so many cycles. Maybe Brian Hartline once again has the key to unlock any door and including the modern day door. I think that would be a big deal for the program. Not because it’s

Brian Heartland did what he always does, but because they finally broke through with a program that they kind of struggled to open the door with because some of the other California programs out there, St. John Bosco, they’ve gotten some guys out of there, but modern day for whatever reason, they’ve always struggled to maybe open the door. I think Brett Schumacher might have been a modern day off for years. I might have that mistaken, but regardless. OK, that’s skill positions. 30 minutes in. Listen, man, we just.

talking ball and so I didn’t think they would get this long in the off season. Here we are 30 minutes in and we still have a few more positions to go. So let’s take a break here and then we’ll head to the trenches where I think people are gonna like what Andrew has predicted because this is what an offensive line class should look like here on Buckeye Talk.

Stephen Means (30:53.464)

We’re back here on Buckeye Talk. Stephen Means, Andrew Gillis. We are predicting Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class. This is the first time we’re doing this and we’re doing this in May before official visits happen before anything happens. So Andrew’s going to be right or wrong in July about some of these guys, because obviously there’s always that wave of commitments in July. We’ll probably do this again before the season starts and then we’ll do one more right before signing day as well. So three times a year we try to do this. This is

1.0 of Andrew predicting the 2026 recruiting class. We move on to the offensive line where Maxwell Riley’s and Sam Greer and Tucker Smith are already committed. So they’re adding two more guys, according to Andrew Gillis, including a five star recruit, which what a way for Tyler Bowen get things kicked off. Ohio state has not landed a five star offensive lineman since the offensive lineman who just walked out the door, Donovan Jackson, and he was pretty good here. I don’t know. And so now

The reward is one five star out, another five star in, and Darius Gray, the number 29 overall player and the number two interior offensive lineman in the country.

Andrew Gillis (32:05.464)

Yeah, I think they’re going to Darius Gray. There’s a couple other offensive linemen that they are interested in that they are after, like that are highly rated. Felix Ojo is the number seven overall player in the class. Number two offensive tackle. As we do this, he’s interested. It sounds like it’s a Texas and Ohio State battle. So Ohio State’s got an option there.

They were in the running for a little bit with Jackson Cantwell. Obviously he’s going to commit on May 13th and that feels like, you know, an Oregon, Georgia battle at this point, maybe with Miami in third and Ohio state in fourth. doesn’t feel like Ohio state’s going to win that Cantwell battle, but they were in the mix with a lot of these five stars and that is Steven, how many times have one of our lovely textures texted us and said,

Why are they not in the mix for more of these guys? Why are they not at least in the conversation for more of these guys? And that was our David Sanders Jr. conversation last year. Now, I know it was August when he committed, but he commits to Tennessee and it was, okay, well, where do you go? What do you do? Who do you look for? What do you look for? So people were just saying, Andrew, why don’t they have this? Guys, what are they doing? Well, guess what? When you’re in the mix,

You can land guys like Darius Gray. Darius Gray really likes Ohio State. And one of the things that, you know, I think I’ve learned and I think is very clear in recruiting to try to monitor is visits. He has been on campus a lot. Now, granted, he is going to take a ton of official visits. He’s going to take an official visit to South Carolina, Penn State, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Clemson, Georgia, Virginia, Virginia Tech. Kids are allowed unlimited official visits now.

Schools are limited on how many they can give, but kids can take as many as they want. He’s certainly taking advantage of that.

Stephen Means (34:10.102)

Yeah, I would take advantage of somebody paying for me to come to their

Andrew Gillis (34:12.812)

100%. I’m not saying he’s doing anything wrong. But he is is definitely taking advantage of that. And I don’t know like how much Virginia is in the mix. I don’t know how much Virginia takes in the mix for him. I don’t know how much Clemson’s in the mix for him. I really think Ohio State is in a decent spot with with Darius Gray. I mentioned Lachlan was down there. I know Tyler Bowen is.

Stephen Means (34:15.707)

no.

Andrew Gillis (34:38.746)

you know, really, really interested in him and really, really trying to push, push on Darius Gray here. I think they’re going to land him. Like he has showed up when Justin Fry was the line coach. He has showed up when Tyler Bowen has been the line coach. He very clearly likes Ohio state. He likes coming out here. Whenever he shows up, they roll the red carpet out for him. Like another prospect we’re going to talk about another five star prospect we’re going to talk about later in this pod. I think Darius Gray is going to be part of this class. I

I just have a hunch at this point that they like where they’re at, that he likes Ohio State enough to where he gives you, you know, punch. while Sam Greer and Maxwell Riley and Tucker Smith were good ads, especially, know, when you like Riley and Greer, the in-state guys you needed to land, Darius Gray is a whole other ballgame. This is an out of state five-star offensive lineman that Tyler Bowen would land.

That would be very, very impressive and I think they’re gonna get it done.

Stephen Means (35:39.214)

So question for you.

Sam Griz a tackle. Can Maxwell Riley, Tucker Smith or Chancellor Campbell who you also have in this class as the number 574 player, he’s as a tackle 48 tackle. Can any of those guys play center?

Andrew Gillis (35:45.477)

Yes.

Andrew Gillis (35:52.773)

Yes.

Andrew Gillis (36:00.454)

Yeah, they have told Ohio State, I know for a fact, has told Tucker Smith to be ready to play both to be ready to play guard or center. Maxwell Riley has played a little bit of center as well. So, you know, you have him in the mix. But Greer is a tackle. Chancellor Campbell, number five, 74 overall prospect, number 48 tackle. He’s he’s number he’s six foot eight. Like this is a massive human being that’s a tackle.

Stephen Means (36:06.69)

Okay.

Stephen Means (36:25.26)

Yeah, he’s not plans.

Andrew Gillis (36:29.784)

I think what Ohio State has done here is with my class that I’ve projected out, land Greer and Campbell as their tackles, Darius Gray comes in as a guard, and then you look at Tucker Smith and Maxwell Riley and say, somebody’s going to be a guard, somebody’s going to be a center, and we’ll figure it out.

Stephen Means (36:49.217)

That’s what an offensive line class should look like. Go get a starting five. Every year, go get a starting five.

Andrew Gillis (36:52.442)

You have, you load up, you have positions. Yep. Yep.

Stephen Means (37:03.202)

And that like you see how we just did that. You said we just projected if they’re all and that doesn’t mean things can change right down with Jackson to being the starting left tackle for a national championship team. But when they got him it was with the idea that he was going to play left or right guard.

Okay, go get the other four positions then. And if you’re telling me that Darius Gray is Donovan Jackson in this class where he’s gonna play guard, but if history repeats itself and the starting left tackle gets hurt, they run out of options and they gotta play a guard, maybe he can get swung out there. But for the most part, you have two guards, you three interior guys, two tackles, and one of the interior guys can play center for you. That’s what it should look like every year.

Andrew Gillis (37:41.99)

Yeah. So this is exactly a hundred percent it because there was a class I was looking back at Iowa, Michigan, Notre Dame, offensive line classes for the last couple of years because I wanted to see what they look like. And I landed on Notre Dame in 2022. Listen, Emil Wagner was their best offensive line recruit. He’s a kid from Wayne High School, from Dayton, four star prospect. Tackle.

Stephen Means (38:09.944)

But culture will fit at Notre Dame, warden.

Andrew Gillis (38:12.614)

Culture fit at Notre Dame, 100%. Billy Shroud, interior offensive lineman, he’s a guard. Joey Tanoa, he’s a tackle. So you have two tackles and an interior guy. Then you land Tai Chan. You have three tackles and an interior guy. And then you land, there was one more, Ashton Craig, an interior guy. So you have three tackles and two interior guys. Ashton Craig’s gonna be Notre Dame’s starting center this year. Billy Shroud is gonna be their guard. Emil Watt, or I think they’re one of their guys.

Emile Wagner is their right tackle. Billy Trout started the natural championship game. So did Emile Wagner. Ashton Craig was hurt. And then you got to build it in. Joey Tonona, he did not work out. I don’t think he’s on the team anymore. Ty Chan. I don’t know if he’s even on the team anymore, but he’s not like starting or part of the rotation. But you work that in and guess what? You get three starters out of the group that we just named because you got to be realistic about it.

Stephen Means (38:44.23)

He started the national championship game for them. Hold on. Yeah.

Stephen Means (39:12.728)

Yeah. Yeah. That’s why you can be five.

Andrew Gillis (39:12.74)

That’s really good. Like, like, like, we just finished the NFL draft and we for all the people that are listening to this, I’m guessing a lot of Browns fans, I’m guessing a lot of Bengals fans, probably a lot of Steelers fans, you know, let’s say your team makes nine picks. If you think you get nine all pros out of that group, you’re probably you probably should stop drinking the Kool-Aid a little bit, but it’s. Exactly. So it’s like.

Stephen Means (39:36.098)

Regenium is a hall of famer if you get old.

Andrew Gillis (39:41.734)

You look at your recruiting class a little bit of the same way. Yeah, you think all these guys are going to work out. But when you land five guys like this, guess what? If two of them don’t work out and you land three starters, that’s great, especially because we’re talking about Notre Dame right now being like, I think they’re going to have the best time in the line of the country in 2020 or 2025. That’s exactly what this should look like at Ohio State. Tyler Bowen.

If you land Darius Gray and Chancellor Campbell, hang on to your other three guys. Take a bow. Ohio State fans throw the roses on the theater stage. Take, take your time waving everybody, shaking hands and kissing babies because you deserve a lot of praise for this class if this is what you land. And frankly, it’s impressive that I even think it’s possible to land this class.

Stephen Means (40:35.576)

Now, with that being said, I’m gonna speak for the greedy fan, because it’s never enough. There are four five-star offensive linemen in this class. Jackson Cantwell was never a real option here. Okay, that’s just, he was never real option. Emmanuel Iannaccio is from Maryland. Right now he’s got crystal balls to Maryland. Maybe that is a real option, maybe it’s not. But it sounds like Felix Ojo and then Cody Green.

Number 22 point number four off the line. He’s committed to Washington, California. So that’s a hey, can you see your organ? I don’t know if Tyler Bowen’s even interested in that one. But Felix Ojo of the three who are uncommitted seems like the most likely if Ohio State is going to get one of these five star tackles. Their best shot is that Felix Ojo. You don’t have him in the class. I do not think he has an official visit with Ohio. No, he does. He does have an official. It’s May 30th.

What are the chances? I’m not saying that, yo, on May 31st, you would actually sit down and record a pod, say, hey, Felix Ojo is in the class now. No, What are the chances, though, that Ohio State comes out of that visit and it can start building momentum towards some, even if they’re playing the long game with Felix Ojo versus that visit happens and like the Jackson can’t well visit. And it was like everybody came out of that going, OK, this is not like a real thing. He respects the program, but it was never going to be a real thing.

Can Felix Ojo be a who’s visit for May 30th leaves that visit and it’s like, hey, hey, hey, this is now interesting and now you got six guys.

Andrew Gillis (42:19.736)

I think so. I absolutely think so. Because he was he was on hand, I believe, like right before the spring game. He was here April 10th and 11th. So the interest is real. Like this is I also think a David Sanders conference like David Sanders, like when we remember he was on campus for like the Student Appreciation Day, like when a kid visits a couple of different times, you can kind of look at it say, I think this is real. I think Felix Ojo is real. And frankly, I think

Ohio State and Texas are his top two schools right now. So yeah, it’s absolutely possible. you know, we could get to that day. And I’ve said this on this pod before, if you’re not leading for a recruit when they leave campus, you’re not going to get them. If you are, if you have an official visit for a kid over the summer and Felix Ojo visits and he goes, I don’t know, I still think Texas is number one for me after he leaves Columbus. He’s not going to Ohio State.

Much like we debate these rankings going, how could a player drop or rise when they haven’t played football in six months? How could a player leave campus, not be on a campus of a particular school and go, I actually think I want to go there now that I think about it, that I’m gone, that I’m not on the, you know, on the practice facility football field or I’m not in the locker room. So I think it’s absolutely possible that we get to that point and Felix Ojo.

is like, man, Ohio State’s in the lead. And Texas, who has official visit two weeks after Ohio State, Texas goes, man, we got to rally here.

Stephen Means (43:56.27)

So that’s offensive line. That’s what it should look like. Five guys. And you’ve got a good mixture of some highly rated guys, some quality Ohio guys, and then some developmental guys. This is what an Ohio State offensive line class should look like every year. That’s the standard. We should be having conversations like I just had where it’s like, hey, this class is good. What about a cherry on top? The cherry on top shouldn’t be the entire milkshake.

And that’s what David Sanders turned into. Hey, can you be the milkshake? Because if not, we don’t have a drink. And now we’re hot outside. It’s 95 degrees where everybody else has a cool bed.

Andrew Gillis (44:34.01)

David Sanders was the lynchpin and you are not requiring a guy that you don’t know if you’re going to get to be the lynchpin. If you don’t get him, it’s okay. If you, if you, didn’t get David Sanders last year and it felt like the offensive line class kind of what it could be fell apart. If you don’t get Felix Ojo or Jackson Cantwell or you know, any of these other, you know, five star tackles, the class is not going to fall.

Stephen Means (44:56.3)

Defensive line. I want to start with PR Dean because it seems like he is Trending just as a he is trending in an Ohio State direction in a way that seems like an Official visit is more of a punctuator than anything else

Andrew Gillis (45:13.198)

Yeah, I believe he had his list scheduled. You know, he had his final three before he even took a visit to Ohio State. You know, I know he’s getting recruited offensive line, defensive line, like he’s getting recruited in a couple of different ways. I think he ends up on defense and this is one of those kids where you look at and you see the official visit. He’s got three scheduled right now, South Carolina, Georgia, and then Ohio State.

which I believe is also just his final three. It’s one of those visits to where you start to go, well, maybe going last is best. There are some kids where it’s good, like Kayden Dixon Wyatt. I’ll agree with you, Steven, that it’s good to go first for a kid like that. Get him in the mix. Get him away from these campuses. You remember Quincy Porter last year, like right before he was about to go to Michigan. That that’s a good situation.

Pierre Dean is one of those kids where you look at and go, maybe it’s good that they’re getting him at the very end. Maybe it’s good that they’re getting him last.

Stephen Means (46:17.752)

I think it depends on the assistant coach we’re talking about because Larry works at his own pace.

which is why it was so interesting that he had so many defensive linemen committed in June. He typically has gone slower route, closer, build the long-term relationship, play the long game. And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. To be fair, there’s been some cycles where it didn’t work out. Brian Hartline is an elite recruiter who sometimes it feels like he doesn’t actually want to recruit. He’s very much, know who I want. I know who wants me. Let’s lock in and let’s move on with our lives.

So I, with wide receivers, that’s why my pitch was, it makes sense why Kate and Dixon Wyatt is coming here first to see if Brian Hartline can shut the door on everybody else. I do think it for Larry Johnson and the way he goes about things, it probably is best that he is going last and can be more of a closer.

Stephen Means (47:21.294)

And with that said, Pierre Dean, the composite has him as an interior offensive lineman. He’s number four amongst them. He’d be number six amongst the defensive lineman because it does seem like he’s going to be playing defensive tackle wherever he goes. Okay. Next here is you’ve got Derek Coleman, Bruce, uh, out of Washington, the number one 61 player, the number 18 defensive in edge rusher. And you’ve got.

Kashawn Alizar, the number 475 player, number 44 edge rusher, he’s a three-star recruit. And then Jameer Perez as the first Glenville guy we’re talking about. I’m assuming that Kashawn and Jameer are kind of developmental guys. So I want to focus on Derek Coleman, bruiser, the Washington kid. You’re saying Ohio State is going to pull a kid from Washington into Ohio. How are they going to do that? Why, why’d you go there?

Andrew Gillis (48:16.55)

This was the group that I stared at for 30 minutes, putting names in, taking names out. This is the most unsettled position of Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class. This is the most nobody really knows position that is left. And the reason

They don’t have a quarterback committed. They don’t have a running back committed and they don’t have any defensive lineman committed. So it’s kind of hard to see where they’re headed defensive line wise because once you get a quarterback committed, you’re done. Once you get a run, like running backs a little bit different with defensive line, you know, they just brought in a host of defensive tackles in 2025. So, you know, this is one of those groups where it’s like, all right, if they get, you know, let’s say PJ Dean, PR Dean.

Let’s say he’s already committed. Let’s say he committed last week and he commits to Ohio State. We could probably look at this and go, okay, maybe they’re done at defensive tackle. Maybe they’re just after two or three more ends and then they’ll be okay. Coleman Bruce is one where I think, you know, he’s visited campus a couple of times. I know Ohio State really likes him. They’ve got their second, they’ve got the second to last visit. You know,

This is a kid that Ohio State is going to have to try to pull out of the Pacific Northwest. You look at his other schools that he’s taken official visits to Washington, UCLA, USC, Oregon. If you go look him up right now on 247, he’s got a lot of crystal balls and predictions and everything in. Those were all given last summer, summer of twenty twenty four. So sometimes those crystal balls can can kind of fade out, right? They can you know, they can kind of change over time. And that’s what I’m kind of betting on with him.

But again, this is a bet. This is a long shot bet because there’s a lot of other really good edge rushers in this class. Carter Meadows is a player that Ohio State is really interested in. He’s out of Gonzaga in the DC area. I know they really like Zion Ely who committed to Maryland and then shut down his recruitment. Jake Kruehl, a from IMG Academy, is a kid that they’re after. Luke Waifel goes to the Hunton School in Princeton, New Jersey.

Andrew Gillis (50:37.606)

Like there are other edge rushers that they’re after. But you don’t really have a good sense of where they are on a lot of these guys. And the reason I went with Coleman Bruce is that I think he likes Ohio State and I think Ohio State likes him. This is the one that I feel least confident. and Kisan Alizar from the North Carolina Raleigh area, believe, is a three star edge rusher and

This is another guy where, you know, Ohio State, they have an official visit with him on June 13th, and are they gonna land him? Maybe? I do not feel great about where they’re at with much of their defensive line rate.

Stephen Means (51:24.622)

Welcome to covering Ohio State football recruiting. Nobody knows what they’re on a defensive line and Larry Johnson loves it that way. Okay, let’s take.

Andrew Gillis (51:31.472)

Well, just real quick to Jameer Perez. He’s a kid out of Glenville. He’s currently unrated by the 247 Composite.

Stephen Means (51:41.102)

a little shocking because he’s got a pretty quality offer on this.

Andrew Gillis (51:43.366)

He’s got a yeah, he’s got official visits scheduled to Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Cincinnati, and then Ohio State is on June 20. I mean, look, a kid from Glenville gets an offer to Ohio State, you kind of turn your head and then you look at the schools involved and you kind of turn your head. He’s six foot four, 330 pounds. So that’s a big boy. So you start to think like, you are states going to run the three four.

Stephen Means (52:03.159)

Really?

Stephen Means (52:08.622)

I’m just saying, man, it’s right there.

Andrew Gillis (52:11.076)

If Ohio State runs the three four, he sure knows tackle. Maybe, maybe. He’s a he’s a massive human being. And so maybe you look at him and go, you know what, if if that, you know, because obviously we talk about committable offers and all these other things. If. Yeah, I was going to say, like us, like if that is the case, if that is true, assuming that is true, I think.

Stephen Means (52:15.502)

I’m just saying, it’s right there. It’s right there. The three was right.

Stephen Means (52:29.164)

It’s committable, house that doesn’t do the non-committable.

Andrew Gillis (52:39.544)

Jameer Perez is going to end up with Ohio State. And I think the Buckeyes are going to get a massive body in the middle of that defense. So he is the one actually that I think of a defensive line group that is very uncertain. I think Jameer Perez is probably

Stephen Means (52:54.126)

And that’s one of two Glenville guys you have in this class. Let’s take a break and then we’ll move into the back seven defense where we’ll be talking about the other Glenville player that Andrew Gillis has in Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class here on Buckeye Talk.

We’re back on Buckeye Talk. Stephen Means, Andrew Gillis for predicting Ohio State 2026 recruiting class, the first of three times we’re to try to do this. We try to do this three times a year. We did it with 25. This is the third time Andrew’s going through this exercise. He did it with the 24 class, which I know was very difficult because he got here in July and was like, I just know Jeremiah Smith exists. I don’t know these other people. And then we went to go see my other grandma and he went, Whoa, that guy’s pretty good too. 24 commits.

294.77 total points for five star recruits, two kids from Glenville. The first we talked about before the break of the Jermere Perez, the defensive tackle. He’s underrated though. An offer list. I’m not saying he should be like the 22nd best player in the country, but I don’t know what’s content, Ohio State, Vanderbilt. That’s not a bad offer list. CJ Santa, Santa. Cool, thank you. Number 333 player, number 25 overall.

Andrew Gillis (54:00.742)

Correct.

Stephen Means (54:05.386)

linebacker in the class. is already in the class and so the player you’re adding is the higher rated one of the bunch and that is Sincere Johnson the number 101 player number six linebacker also from Glenville High School. Tell me why he isn’t younger Arvel Reiss.

Andrew Gillis (54:25.254)

Dang it, Steven. I wanted to invoke Arvel Reese’s name. I wanted to talk about it because I think Sincere might be Sincere Johnson might be my Arvel Reese. I watched that kid play at a playoff game when I’ve only seen him play one. I mean, I look I’ve watched his tape 800 times on, you know, 247 and huddle and all that other stuff. I’ve read about him. I’ve done all I’ve done my duty as a reporter.

Stephen Means (54:29.74)

I was not here, so I, well, so as far as I’m here, it was up for grabs.

Stephen Means (54:39.278)

You

Andrew Gillis (54:54.95)

covering recruiting. And then I saw him play and I went, Oh, good heavens. He is my drive the bus member of Ohio State’s 2026 class. Sincere Johnson is physical. He’s fast. He’s smart. He plays with an edge. Like there are times where like an

You know, the play’s gone and offensive lineman would try to block him. You know, the play’s gone. It’s like, what’s the offensive lineman doing? And Sincere Johnson would just give him a shove. It’s like, you need that mean streak and linebacker. And maybe I’m just a sucker for that, like kind of old school football, like, you know, that just rough and tumble kind of game. I love Sincere Johnson’s game. I think Sincere Johnson is a great player. I think Ohio State is going to land him. I know, I know Penn State was really high on his list.

Stephen Means (55:30.798)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (55:51.206)

They seem to have fallen off. He’s got four official visits, Alabama, Oklahoma, then Ohio State, then USC to finish it off. But I do think Sincere Johnson ends up in Ohio State’s class. And I think he is one of those kids where sometimes like you hear high school coaches say, you know, this kid is the best kid we’ve had here in years. They could play him at corner and they’d be successful. Right. Like you have those kind of kids and those kind of coaches that will talk about him.

Sincere Johnson could genuinely play defensive end in Ohio State and I think he could grow into that. He could play an outside linebacker and like a three, four, think he could grow into that. He could play an inside linebacker and a three, four, a four, three. He could do whatever you want. Sincere Johnson is gonna be a huge ad for James Laurinaitis. And frankly, I think with Santa and Sincere Johnson in the class, I don’t think you need three. I think you can settle with two.

You know, there’s another Tyler Atkinson is kind of a, you know, move around edge rusher linebacker guy. I know I don’t have him. He’s a five star kid in this class. I think he’s going to go to Georgia. maybe I’m wrong and maybe people can point and laugh at me and I could say it was just a prediction. So don’t take me seriously. but I do think Atkinson is going to end up at Georgia. which look, he’s from Grayson high school in Georgia. Like that. It’s okay to lose those kids.

especially when you have Sincere Johnson coming in. So Ohio State James Laurinius does another really great job. Sincere Johnson’s a borderline top 100 kid, number one on one in the class. Santa number 333. I think you add them and you look at where this linebacker room is going to be next year. Sonny Stiles is going to be gone. But I guess technically Arville Reese could leave. And if Arville Reese is as good as we kind of talk about him, maybe it’s an option for him. But Peyton Pierce will still be here. TJ Alford, Eli Lee.

Riley Pettigon, Garrett Stover. This linebacker room is going to be loaded when you add these two and I think they’re going to.

Stephen Means (57:53.676)

Forgetting his name right now, Ohio kid that ended up in Alabama.

Andrew Gillis (58:00.262)

what position

Stephen Means (58:03.29)

edge.

Andrew Gillis (58:05.44)

Justin Hill.

Stephen Means (58:07.192)

Yeah, Justin Hill. Tyler Atkinson is like Justin Hill in reverse because he already lives that

I remember the first time I saw Tyler Atkinson. He got offered as an eighth grader. I’m actually I’m pretty positive he got offered at the same day camp that Chris Henry Jr got offered at a couple years ago and both of those guys were eighth graders. I am. Fascinated by Tyler Atkinson. Sincere Johnson, I mean him and Arvo Reese Reese never the same number they both were number eight. He’s gonna be.

We do this with Ohio kids all the time. They got an Ohio State offer and we go, they’re going to be Buckeyes and that’s not always true. It is true 99.9 % of the time with clinical kids. They’re going to be Buckeyes and he’s going to be awesome. You don’t have Tyler Atkinson in the class and the reason I think you don’t have Tyler Atkinson in the class is the reason why Justin Hill didn’t come to Ohio State. Because you got to see it before you believe that your skill set is going to be used. So I do wonder Tyler Atkinson hasn’t scheduled any official visits yet.

And I feel like Ohio State’s fight for him, whether he commits to Georgia at some point in the next couple of months here, or he waits all the way up till signing day to sign with somebody.

I need to see Ohio State play football before I know if Tyler Atkinson has a real shot at the other bug eye. Because if they are going to even do close to the idea of what we’re talking about here, where CJ Hicks is kind of this hybrid outside blindback or edge rusher, maybe you do the same thing with Arvo reset times. Maybe even Bo Atkinson can be a part of that mix too, but it is, you see more three down lineman stuff than maybe a guy like Tyler Atkinson who his skillset

Stephen Means (59:56.34)

And the fact that he’s from Georgia screen, you should go be a bulldog because they do that with their players already. They already do what you’re wondering if Ohio State is going to do. But if Ohio State with the Natty monkey off their back, if they’re going to start doing some of that stuff, then I do think players with Tyler Atkinson skill set become a little bit more intriguing. I understand why you didn’t consider him right now, because you just can’t. can’t say, hey, a dude who plays a role that Ohio State has never really used is going to commit to Ohio State.

based off of the idea that they might use it when there was an Ohio kid who didn’t commit here because he didn’t want to play for a school who showed them the idea but never had actually really used it. But he’s the one where I’m with you, Santa and Sincere Johnson as in-state guys, both of which are pretty quality guys. I think that’s a really good class for Jane Flournitis. But if we start seeing them in fall camp do stuff that seems like Tyler Atkinson could fit into that role because CJ Hicks is doing it.

because Arvel Reese is doing it, then we might have to revisit Tyler Atkinson if we do this again.

Andrew Gillis (01:00:56.356)

Yeah, that’s 100 % an option. The only thing that I would like to say too though is imagine there was a five star receiver from Cleveland.

Stephen Means (01:01:08.76)

For sure.

Andrew Gillis (01:01:09.55)

That is the equivalent to Georgia and Ohio State right now, where it’s this kid is going to come off the edge probably for Georgia. And what team in the last five, six, seven, eight years has been better at producing NFL ready, NFL defensive lineman, edge rushers than Georgia? There hasn’t been one. And so, you know, I think with Justin Hill in Ohio State, you know, yeah, you need to see it. And yeah.

Stephen Means (01:01:14.605)

Yeah.

Stephen Means (01:01:29.624)

No, that’s too.

Andrew Gillis (01:01:40.112)

You you got to you got to prove it and whatever. But that was I think that’s the difference. It’s you know, like if Justin Hill was a receiver and was out of Wynton Woods and decided to go to Alabama, then it’s much more of a conversation because wait a minute, Ohio State was really pushed for you and you went to Alabama. That’s kind of crazy. The Tyler Atkinson thing is he’s from Georgia. And if anybody goes to there’s no shame in losing that fight.

Stephen Means (01:02:00.878)

for sure.

Andrew Gillis (01:02:08.803)

If Ohio State pushes for him, they do everything right and they just lose it. There’s no shame in losing.

Stephen Means (01:02:14.188)

No, you’re right. Except Edric Houston’s also from Georgia. And he was a five-star recruit and he’s here. That’s why. There’s steps have been taken that have made this more realistic than...

Andrew Gillis (01:02:23.844)

That is fair.

Stephen Means (01:02:31.54)

even the day they offered him it was. And I’m not even saying that to say that it is going to happen. I’m saying that I think it’s, can have a re if we start seeing real signs other than just CJ Hicks moving positions that Ohio state might start doing some stuff that people who fit the Michael Parsons, Abdul Carter, Justin Hill, Tyler Atkinson skillset, skillset. Doesn’t mean they’re all going to be as good as Michael Parsons isn’t as Abdul Carter is.

but the skills that they have as these hybrid guys. If we start seeing signs of that in fall camp, we can have a realistic conversation about it in a way that right now it’s just a pipe dream. Right now that idea is no different than the bullet was with Court Williams, then the Jack was. It’s an idea, but not a real thing. If we see tangible evidence, we can have the conversation then. okay, cornerback, Jacob Weatherspoon, 177, let me see, 171 overall player.

He is already committed number 14 cornerback as an Ohio kid. You’ve got Ohio State adding two more cornerbacks, one of which is not Albert Hill. Which we kind of mentioned this last week, Andrew though the idea of.

It’s not, you don’t want to lose highly rated Ohio guys, especially the other potential big 10 schools. But if Ohio state is recruiting at the level it’s supposed to be, it’s not a gaping hole missing. And that could be the case with Elbert Hill while also you just landed Devin Sanchez. So you think is a three year contributor for you two of those years. He’ll probably be a lockdown starter. And this year he’s at best a rotational piece alongside the Davison, the most.

Jermaine Matthews and Aaron Scott. So you’ve got Jordan Thomas joining Jacob Weatherspoon, the number 176 player, number 16 cornerback, and then Donovan Webb, the number 33, 337 player, number 27 cornerback. Those are two guys where this is a class of guys that shouldn’t be looking at 2026 and going, I’m trying to win a job. They should be looking at 2027 and saying, I might be trying to win a job at earliest.

Andrew Gillis (01:04:38.052)

Yeah, because Davidson will be gone. But you know, is Jermaine Matthews going to go pro after three years? Maybe he made a, he might have a great year and leave. And if that’s the case, Aaron Scott and Devin Sanchez should still be here. And okay. Well, if, Jermaine Matthews is here, Aaron Scott, Devin Sanchez, Jermaine Matthews, your corners are going to be locked in. You are going to have three locked in corners going into 2026.

Aaron Scott will be draft eligible. Jermaine Matthews will be entering his last year. Devin Sanchez, his second year. So, you know, you don’t really need it. I think, I think this is a position much like receiver to where development might be okay. You know, if you have a development kid, it might be okay. Jordan Thomas, keep an eye on Notre Dame here. Notre Dame is also very interested in him. And I think he is very interested in Notre Dame. You know, the weird thing with

Um, you know, Notre Dame is like sometimes they recruit and it’s like, have to be a culture fit at Notre Dame. Like he is, doesn’t mean he’s a culture fitter, you know, nowhere else. But I do think Notre Dame, you know, he fits there. So Ohio State’s really interested in him. I think Ohio State’s probably in the lead right now, which is why I have them getting him. Um, but Notre Dame is interested in Michigan, Michigan too. Michigan is the other school. like this is a Midwest. I mean, he’s from, uh, Bergen Catholic.

He’s former teammate of Quincy Porter out in New Jersey. So Jordan Thomas to me feels like a guy that Ohio State’s going to have to battle for and they’re probably going to have to keep battling for, but I do think they’re going to get him in this class. I mean, he’s, you know, top one 25 player. He’s number one 25 right now in the class. I think Donovan Webb is your third corner. think where you’re, I think we were talking about the corner numbers being a little low.

I think you probably want three. So I think you get Webb. And I think if you end up with Weatherspoon, Webb, and Thomas, I think you’re feeling really good about it. The Elbert Hill thing.

Stephen Means (01:06:46.594)

He has scheduled an official visit as of last week.

Andrew Gillis (01:06:46.714)

Where there’s smoke there’s... What’s that?

Right, right. So I will say though, the Elbert Hill thing, it’s May 30th. It definitely feels a little bit where there’s smoke, there’s fire to me. know, Elbert Hill is a really, really talented prospect who has just kind of taken

his tour around the country, which is fine. He’s allowed to do that. He should do that. and I think frankly, if he were to commit to Ohio state, I think he’d be the best prospect in their cornerback class. think he’s better than weather spoon. think you, you know, I think, I think not just what the rankings say, I think this kid is really elite. His athleticism is off the charts. really, really great football player. just, I’m

I’m curious to see how this plays out because this was one of those kids where I debated putting him in the class for a little bit and I’m, I just thought about it and thought about it and thought about it. And maybe we get to a Trey McNutt situation where, you know, forget maybe how it went down, but just sometimes kids just want to blaze their own trail. Kids just want to

Stephen Means (01:08:09.486)

Mm-hmm.

Andrew Gillis (01:08:20.262)

do their own thing. that’s okay. Kids can do that. That’s okay. Kids just want to have their own path. And I’m starting to wonder if that is it for Albert Hill. Again, really, really good football player. And frankly, a really, really good kid. I’ve talked to him a couple of times when I’ve seen Archbishop Hoban. I really, really enjoy speaking with him. He’s well spoken. He knows how to handle media.

You know, he’s great to talk to. He always gives you your time. So it’s like, you know, this is not, you know, I know people don’t like kids that, you know, they’re in Ohio that leave the state of Ohio, but this is a really good kid and a really good football player. And they go high state would love to have him. But I just, I don’t know. I, I have seen a lot of, you know, smoke about him visiting USC in Oregon and Bama and all these other schools.

to where it feels like they’re making a lot of noise right now and you start to wonder, okay, maybe should I start to listen to that? And I think I did a little

Stephen Means (01:09:22.958)

And then you close things out with some fireworks. Ohio State’s already got two safety commits in this class. Blaine Bradford, the number 25 player, number two safety in the country out of Louisiana. That was a really big pool for Matt Guerrero. And they’ve also got Simeon Caldwell out of Florida, who was the nephew of Tim Walton. He’s the number one or two player, number seven safety. He’s Sonny Stiles. He’s he’s going to be a nickel Sam. Maybe he turned into a linebacker. Maybe he does it. But

You think Matt Guerrero is going to have the best safety recruiting class Ohio State has ever had because you are not just giving them Blaine Bradford. You are giving them Braylon Wombach, Wombach, excuse me, out of Mississippi, the number 21 player in the top safety in the country. Ohio State flirted with this last year when they got Paheem Delaney and if Trey Bignut had stayed home, that had been interesting. But you are saying there are

Of the seven top safeties in the country, you are saying Ohio State is going to get three of them. Am I reading that correctly?

Andrew Gillis (01:10:31.942)

Yep.

Yep. Bradford, I think they’re going to hang on, man. I think I think you don’t make that decision if you’re playing Bradford that early without. You know, being locked in and one of the things, you know, if you saw his dad on social media right after he committed saying, no, no, this is it like like Ohio State’s like locked in and look, things can change.

I remember talking to Nahim Offord’s dad last year and people around Nahim Offord. And one of the things that should have maybe triggered more alarm bells was that Ohio State’s the front runner right now.

That was what I heard. And I believe I said that on the podcast, like that should have been maybe a little bit more of an alarm than it was. And, I didn’t get that. I don’t get that sense with Bradford. So I think they hang on a Bradford.

Stephen Means (01:11:36.568)

Are those other two visits happening? The June 20th visit to LSU? Okay.

Andrew Gillis (01:11:40.026)

I’m working on figuring that out. I’m trying to figure that out if he’s going to take those visits, because I think that’s going to be pretty indicative of what’s going on. Because like, look, you could take those visits and it, you know, and obviously Ohio State would probably prefer those not to happen. but especially because if LSU is going to get his last visit, mean, he freaking goes to school in Baton Rouge. Like it’s not hard for him to get there. If LSU

Stephen Means (01:12:03.416)

Well, no, it’s more of if he is still here, let’s use the last two five star woe commitments Ohio State has gotten the last two years, right?

Jeremiah Smith felt like it was, whether it was true or not, that he was actually ever considering flipping. The fact that he still continued to visit other schools.

Andrew Gillis (01:12:27.162)

Mm-hmm.

Stephen Means (01:12:32.896)

allowed that fire to keep burning. So no matter how many times it feels like his messaging from him and his camp to Brian Heartland in Ohio State was as long as Ryan Day and Brian Heartland are in Columbus, I’ll be in Columbus. And I’m just taking these visits as insurance to make sure that, you know, I might ducks are in order if that does change. Cause my heart is a solid after dude. So I get that. But also we live in this world where there’s a lot of weird stuff happening. Kids are getting paid to just simply go on a visit.

versus Devin Sanchez the following year, who committed in December, came on his official visit and went, I’m done.

The only place he went was Columbus.

There’s your scale. Where is Blayne Bradford on that scale? And I guess we’ll find out after June 13th.

Andrew Gillis (01:13:32.718)

more towards the side that would make you feel good for Ohio State, I think. I don’t think he’s more towards the, this is, he’s actively shopping. I think this is, he’s looking around, but like I visited Jamir Brown and Jamir Brown the next day was at Notre Dame. Like these schools are not necessarily sometimes thrilled that these kids leave. Now, Jamir Brown is a different example.

Stephen Means (01:13:54.456)

Was he sorry, that’s well, was he was he had no, but the thing he’s playing seven on seven. So some of these schools, he, he legit was visiting. Okay. Cause that’s what there’s a thing happening right now where a kid is doing is on seven on seven teams and they’re playing on different campuses and people go, that kid’s visiting the school. No, he’s playing football. Yeah. He’s playing football.

Andrew Gillis (01:14:02.276)

No, he was at Notre Dame for a visit. He legit, yes.

Andrew Gillis (01:14:15.108)

happened to Taylor Brown. I wrote about that.

Stephen Means (01:14:19.566)

But if Jameer Brown was actually out of the school, that’s an intriguing thing and that’s a choice. But with Blaine Bradford, I just feel like, okay, fine. His father’s come out and said this is over with all that stuff. Let’s see what happens after June 13th.

Andrew Gillis (01:14:35.066)

Yeah. Let’s see what happens after June 13th. Let’s see what happens after May 13th. Like, let’s see what happens after May 10th and May 25th. I don’t know. Like, let’s see if that if that visit to Texas is going to happen. Because again, LSU feels like the biggest contender here. But like Texas is obviously going to keep poking and LSU is obviously going to walk down the street and keep poking. So, you know, we’ll see with Bradford. But I do think I do think they’re going to hang on to him and

If you remember, we did a class prediction in 25 and I think our last one, we did it in like November. I did not have Nahim offered in it. I took, I took offered out right now. I’m keeping Bradford in. so whatever you value that at, value it at that level.

Stephen Means (01:15:20.834)

But it’s because Naeem Alford never did anything that made you feel like he was going to stay. You can tweet random, but you never did anything that made it seem like you were going to stay. You know who else has shut down their commitment? Their recruitment, Chris Henry Jr. We’re not having conversations about whether or Chris Henry Jr. is gonna flip the organ or USC or anywhere else, because he came out and shut down his commitment.

Andrew Gillis (01:15:25.328)

Right.

Andrew Gillis (01:15:39.812)

Mm-hmm.

Stephen Means (01:15:46.958)

If Blaine wants to wait till after his official visit, that’s cool. There’s nothing wrong with it. He doesn’t live here. So that’s perfectly fine. I just feel Devin Sanchez after his official visit shut down his recruitment. Let’s see if Blaine Bradford does the same thing. I think Simi, Simi Caldwell, this isn’t as noisy around him because he’s not from a place that kids don’t necessarily leave. People leave Florida all the time. And then Braylon Wombach, Wombach. I don’t know why he’s saying that.

Andrew Gillis (01:16:13.414)

Well, so yeah, so I want to talk about Caldwell and Womack. The reason I feel comfortable taking two linebackers and three safeties is because Caldwell might be both. Caldwell might be someone that Matt, Patricia, or, you know, maybe, you know, in a couple of years, there’s different defensive coordinator. Patricia goes back to the NFL or something like that is somebody that you can kind of have as a hybrid, you know, is kind of have as a guy that can maybe

Stephen Means (01:16:22.158)

as he might be one.

Andrew Gillis (01:16:42.456)

Maybe you don’t make, maybe it’s a sunny style situation, but it’s not a full-time linebacker. Maybe he’s just a big linebacker, right? Like a dime backer type of player where, you know, you have him come in on certain situations. There’s a lot of different ways to do it. There’s a lot of different ways to, to bake that cake. So I think with Caldwell we’ll see, but I think the reason why they’re going to push for another safety really hard. And I think the safety right now that they’re really after is Braylon Womack.

Stephen Means (01:16:48.91)

and

Andrew Gillis (01:17:10.202)

Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Mississippi. Four visits, Florida A Auburn, Ohio State in that order. Ohio State gets the last visit on June 20th. That is a big visit weekend for Ohio State. That is a big mammoth of a weekend for Ohio State. Other visitors that weekend, scheduled right now, Chris Henry Jr. Shut down his commitment. Five star running back, Derek Cooper, Simeon Caldwell, who’s in the class.

Four star Ed Russia, Cam Brooks, JB Shabazz, four star offensive tackle, J’quadin Guilford, receiver from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Jameer Perez, a guy who I have in that class. that’s the weekend that you start to map out and go, hey, maybe this is, maybe this is going to work. Maybe this is going to happen. I like where Womack is at with Ohio State. He made that swing last year. I’ve talked about that a lot with his recruiting visits.

Ohio State, believe Michigan, Notre Dame, he did all that kind of grouping together. I know his family was absolutely not worried about him going north. I always laugh sometimes at these prediction crystal ball type things because right after he visited Notre Dame, there was a crystal ball in to go to Notre Dame. And I was like, well, that seems premature. Ohio State hasn’t gotten their hands on him yet. And they did the next day. And now that crystal ball is gone.

for Braylon Womack. His other three schools are Auburn A in Florida, but they rolled out the red carpet. I said at the beginning of this podcast that like Darius Gray, they roll out the red carpet for certain kids. Every time Braylon Womack shows up, Matt Guerrero, Tim Walton, Matt Patricia, they all run over and talk to Braylon Womack. They all really let Braylon Womack know how appreciated he is at Ohio State and how much he’s wanted at Ohio State.

So this to me is a kid where, mean, you just, you look at what he can give you and he’s so much bigger and stockier than he was a summer ago going into his senior year. I mean, this is a really big physical transformation for this kid. And I think Ohio State’s got a good shot of landing him. So I’m put him in my class right now. And I think this helps you bridge that gap of what could have been maybe some safety troubles.

Andrew Gillis (01:19:34.628)

down the line and down the horizon, getting kids like Fahim Delane in this class and then bringing in Blaine Bradford and Braylon Womack and Simeon Caldwell, this changes things. This puts you in a different light and this puts you in a different position. And I think it is very reasonable that some of Ryan Day’s most recent coaching hires, Carlos Loughlin, Tyler Bowen, Matt Guerrero,

I think it is very reasonable to say those three have elevated their recruiting and elevated Ohio State’s recruiting to a different level.

Stephen Means (01:20:15.374)

It also helps that you just had the best safety tandem in the country that can help you go get the top two safeties in the country. I’m a little shocked that they don’t bring one Mac and Bradford at the same time. Cause it seems like a chance for Guerrero to sit down with both of them, turn on some film of Lathan and Caleb and go, this is how you guys fit in this defense playing together. But I get it. You want to have each guy feel like they’re getting on your undivided attention. Okay. So here’s the class first time at this where Andrew first of three cracks at it.

Andrew Gillis (01:20:19.75)

100%.

Stephen Means (01:20:44.334)

Chris Henry Jr., the number 11 player, number two wide receiver. Brailen Womack, the number 21 player in the top safety. Blaine Bradford, the number 25 player, number two safety. Darius Gray, the number 29 player, number two interior offensive lineman. Pierre Dean, number 59 player, number six defensive lineman. Sincere Johnson, number 101 player, number six linebacker. Simeon Caldwell, number 102 player, number seven safety. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, number 107 player, number 15 wide receiver.

Maxwell Raleigh, the number 128 player, number eight interior office alignment. Sam Greer, number 148 player and 13 offensive tackle. Derek Coleman, Bruce, the number 161 player, number 18 defensive end favor key, the number 167 player, number 14 running back. Jacob Weatherspoon, the number 171 player, number 14 cornerback. Carson Baker, the number 177 player, number 15 running back. Jane Ricketts, number 264 number 45 wide receiver.

CJ Santa, number three, 33 player, the 25th best linebacker, Donovan Webb, 337 overall, 27th amongst safeties, Brock board, 373 overall, 59th amongst wide receivers, Corbin Fordham, 460 overall, 22nd among tight ends, Chancellor Campbell, the number 574 player, 48th amongst offensive tackles, Tucker Smith, 743rd overall, 65th amongst interior offensive linemen.

Casson, Aliza, 475 overall, 44 defensive in edge rusher and Jamir Perez as a six foot three, 330 pound defensive live in from Glenville high school in Cleveland. 24 commits, four or five star recruits. That’s the first of three times Andrew and I will do this. We’re in the

dog days of the off season where recruiting takes over and there will be pretty of recruiting news over the next couple of months or get the text 6 1 4 4 0 3 0 0 8 9 2 week free trial 3 99 after that all news all analysis everything you should possibly ever want as an Ohio State football plant fan for Andrew Gillis I’m Stephen Means that was what I talk.