Ohio State’s recruiting work is still paying off, even as the calendar starts to tilt toward football season.
The Buckeyes have spent the summer stacking commitments in the 2027 class, landing some of the country’s top talent, including five-star offensive tackle Marcus Fakatou and four-star offensive lineman Karlos May. They also took a swing at one of their biggest targets, five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, but he chose Tennessee instead. Ohio State is expected to keep pushing for him during the regular season, and if the Volunteers stumble, the door could open again.
For now, though, the attention will soon shift away from the nonstop pace of summer recruiting. Late fall is set to become the next major checkpoint, when the Ohio State staff finishes its senior evaluations and starts narrowing down the remaining names it wants to add to a 2027 class that already has 19 verbal commitments.
Even with that focus coming later, the Buckeyes are already making noise in the 2028 cycle.
One of the biggest reasons is four-star safety CJ Craig-James of Birmingham, Alabama, Parker. Ohio State made his top 12 last week, and that alone mattered. But the latest update from his conversation with TJ Warner of BuckeyeHuddle.com suggests the Buckeyes may be in a much better spot than some expected.
That’s a meaningful development for Ohio State, because Craig-James had looked like the kind of recruit who might be tough to pull out of SEC territory. He still has plenty of heavyweight competition, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia, but Ohio State now looks like a real player in the race.
The next step is obvious: get him to Columbus.
Craig-James does not yet have a visit date set with the Buckeyes, but that’s the kind of thing Ohio State will keep working on. A game day trip would give the staff a chance to make its case in person and keep building momentum with one of the top defensive backs in the class.
Craig-James is ranked as the No. 7 safety in the 247Sports Composite, the No. 77 overall recruit and the No. 6 prospect in Alabama.
On the basketball side, Ohio State is also making some recruiting noise.
Jake Diebler and his staff have been active on the trail, and that effort has started to show up in the form of multiple top-school lists. One of the names in that mix is 4-star point guard Jaxson Davis.
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Ohio State Just Landed The Kind Of Trenches Momentum Titles Need
Ohio States latest recruiting surge in the trenches is the kind of development that tends to matter most when the calendar turns cold and the games get bigger. The Buckeyes have long built title teams around line play, and the current staff is clearly treating the offensive and defensive fronts as a priority again, stacking commitments in the 2026 and 2027 classes with high-end linemen who fit the programs usual blueprint.
Tyler Bowens offensive line work has been especially notable, with a deep 2027 group already taking shape, while the defensive front is drawing its own share of elite talent. The broader picture is simple enough: Ohio State is trying to make sure the next championship push starts where so many of its best ones have, in the trenches, even if the final piece of that class still has to be filled in. [Read more 🡒]
Paul Finebaum Just Said What Ohio State Fans Love About Michigan
Paul Finebaum has never been shy about poking at Michigan, and his latest round of criticism landed in a place Buckeyes fans are likely to appreciate. During an interview on The Film Guy podcast, Finebaum took aim at the Wolverines place in the modern college football conversation, questioning how much weight their recent success should really carry and suggesting the programs rise has been clouded by scandal.
For Ohio State fans, the timing makes the barbs feel even sharper after the Buckeyes own national championship run, which came without the kind of baggage that has followed Michigan. The rivalry has always thrived on fuel like this, and with more big games ahead, Finebaums comments only add another layer to a matchup that already carries plenty of history, pride and unresolved tension. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Hartline Finally Addressed His Ohio State Exit And Fans Will Notice
Brian Hartlines move from Columbus to South Florida has been one of the more closely watched coaching transitions in the sport, and he finally gave a measured public take on leaving Ohio State during the 2026 American Kickoff media event. The former Buckeyes offensive coordinator and receivers coach spoke with obvious respect for the people he worked with in Columbus, including Urban Meyer and Ryan Day, and framed his time there as part of the foundation that helped get him to this point.
Hartline also made clear that the next step is about growth, not a finished product. Now in his first year running USF, he said he understands how much he still has to learn as a head coach, which is why his exit from Ohio State feels less like an ending than another stage in the same climb. For Buckeyes fans, the interesting part is not just what he said about the program he left, but how carefully he left the door open to whatever comes next. [Read more 🡒]