Tennessee is making a push for Ohio State five-star 2027 edge recruit DJ Jacobs, but the Buckeyes appear to be in solid shape as the season unfolds.
According to Steve Wiltfong of Rivals, what Tennessee does on the field this year will matter in its attempt to flip Jacobs.
"They're shooting their shot with DJ Jacobs. Jacobs' father played for Coach (Rodney) Garner at Georgia.
He's like a second father to him... We know the Buckeyes, their track record, what they do for their players.
They didn't land this commitment by accident. They check a lot of boxes.
Tennessee's performance on the field this year is pivotal as they make a push to flip David DJ Jacobs."
Wiltfong also noted that Jacobs is expected to be back in Columbus several more times during the season, which points to Ohio State staying in a strong position. While he has not completely closed the door on other schools, Tennessee’s effort looks like a long shot right now.
That is especially true because Jacobs has been helping recruit other players to Ohio State over the last few months. He also looks like a natural fit for Larry Johnson’s system up front, which is part of what brought him to Columbus in the first place.
The Buckeyes, though, still have work to do. Like every program with commitments in the 2027 class, Ohio State has to keep recruiting its own pledges all the way through the fall. Other schools will keep coming after its top targets, and Jacobs will be one of them.
Ohio State has also shown it is willing to pay its top recruits well enough to keep them interested, but it is not going to go beyond its limits. That was the case with David Gabriel Georges, who chose Tennessee over the Buckeyes. Ohio State let that one go rather than overextend itself.
Even so, Jacobs is viewed as highly unlikely to end up elsewhere. Tennessee may be trying to build momentum around the idea of a flip, but Ohio State feels confident it can hold onto him.
The Buckeyes currently have the seventh-best recruiting class in the country. They probably will not add much more to that total before December, but the Transfer Portal could become a much bigger factor in January than it has been in past years because of the amount of older talent they are expected to lose.
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