Four-star defensive lineman Karlos May has made his choice, and it lands with Ohio State.
The Birmingham, Alabama native committed to the Buckeyes on Saturday, closing out a recruiting fight that also included Auburn, Georgia and Florida State.
May checks in as the No. 7 defensive line prospect, the No. 2 player in Alabama and the No. 78 overall prospect in the Rivals 300 for the class of 2027. At 6-foot-2 and 330 pounds, he finished his 2025 season at Ramsay High School with 43 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks. He also competes in shot put and discus for Ramsay’s track and field team.
Rivals analyst Greg Biggins described May this way in an April evaluation: "has one of the best get-offs among all interior defensive linemen and should develop into a solid pass rusher as he adds more counters to the tool kit"
For Ohio State, May is another big piece in a class that’s loading up at the line of scrimmage. He becomes the Buckeyes’ second top-10 defensive line commit, joining Marcus Fakatou, the No. 5 defensive lineman in the Rivals 300, who pledged on June 29.
The Buckeyes are also building out the edges with the No. 1 and No. 7 defensive ends in DJ Jacobs and Wyatt Smith already committed. On the offensive side, Ohio State has also landed interior linemen Kellen Wymer and Caden Moss, both top-10 prospects at their position.
Auburn may have missed on an in-state target, but the Tigers still bring the strongest defensive line group among May’s other finalists. Their class includes four-star Birmingham-area defenders Donivan Moore and Marquis Evans, plus another four-star lineman in Nate Kamba from Charlotte.
Georgia had spent plenty of energy on both May and Fakatou before each chose Ohio State. Right now, the Bulldogs’ defensive line class features top-40 commit Antwan McKoy and in-state pledge Marcellus Young Casario, though they were clearly aiming for more.
Florida State enters this one with the lightest blue-chip defensive line group of the four finalists, but it does have six blue-chip commitments overall. One of them is Sam LeJeune, the No. 25 defensive lineman in the class, and three-star defensive lineman Eric Vaulx Jr. joined the Seminoles on May 31.
In Other News...
Buckeyes Finally Have Real O-Line Hope With One Huge Catch
Ohio States offensive line finally has the look of a group that could settle in and grow together, which is a welcome development for a program that has spent too much time trying to piece that unit together on the fly. The 2026 outlook includes several returning starters, and the Buckeyes also have enough young talent in the pipeline to make the front look sturdy if the pieces keep progressing the way they should.
The catch, of course, is that the best version of this plan depends on continuity, and that is never a given in Columbus. If Arthur Smith stays in place long enough to keep building the line and the offense around it, Ohio State could be looking at a real run of stability up front, but the possibility of key departures after the season hangs over everything and leaves the long-term picture a little less certain than it first appears. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States 2027 Five Star Picture May Not Stay This Simple
DJ Jacobs gives Ohio State an early anchor in the 2027 class, and the Buckeyes have to like the shape of that commitment. The EDGE rusher brings the kind of physical profile that plays in Columbus, with the ability to get after the passer while also holding up against the run, which is exactly the sort of versatility the staff keeps chasing on the defensive front.
For now, the picture looks simple enough with one five-star already in the fold, but recruiting rarely stays that way for long. Ohio State has positioned itself well with another top target in the same cycle, and the next few days could determine whether this class starts to look like a one-headline story or something a lot more imposing. [Read more 🡒]
Julian Sayin Faces The Real Test Of His Heisman Hype
Julian Sayins first season as Ohio States starter already put him in rare air. The freshman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-Big Ten passer in 2025, then guided the Buckeyes through an undefeated regular season and all the way into the Heisman conversation as a finalist. He did not win the trophy, but the buzz has carried over into the offseason, where he is already sitting among the betting favorites for 2026.
The next step, though, looks a lot harder than the last one. Ohio States schedule gives Sayin little room to coast, with Texas arriving early and road trips to Iowa, Indiana and USC mixed in with home dates against Oregon and Michigan. For Sayin to stay in the Heisman race, the Buckeyes likely need him still in the mix deep into the fall, with the kind of steady production and late-season momentum that keeps voters looking his way when the biggest games arrive. [Read more 🡒]