Ohio State’s 2027 recruiting class still looks loaded on paper, but the summer surge around the country has pushed the Buckeyes backward in the rankings.
Ryan Day’s program began June with real momentum after landing five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou and four-star offensive tackle Caden Moss, a pair of top-50 commitments that strengthened a class already headlined by the nation’s No. 1 edge rusher, David Jacobs. But a fast-moving first week of July changed the picture, and Ohio State slid from No. 5 to No. 7 in the latest Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.
That drop came with Oregon and Texas moving ahead of the Buckeyes after both programs stacked up blue-chip additions. It is not a sign that Ohio State’s class has fallen apart. It is more a reminder of how quickly the leaderboard can flip when other staffs start landing big names in bunches.
The Ducks made the loudest move. Dan Lanning’s group added five-star cornerback Hayden Stepp, four-star athlete Tae Walden Jr. and five-star wide receiver Xavier Sabb over a three-day stretch from July 1 through July 3. That run lifted Oregon from No. 9 to No. 3 and put the Ducks ahead of Ohio State in the Big Ten race.
Sabb, the No. 5 receiver in the class, picked Oregon over UCLA, LSU and Tennessee. He told ESPN that his relationship with Lanning and wide receivers coach Ross Douglas played a major role.
"I've had a great relationship with them since my freshman year," Sabb said. "They're going to develop me for the pros."
Texas also kept climbing. The Longhorns landed five-star cornerback John Meredith III, the No. 2 overall prospect in the Rivals Industry player rankings, on June 19, and Steve Sarkisian’s staff added eight blue-chip commitments in June. On July 1, four-star cornerback Brandon Sherrard joined the class during the Rivals Summer Signing Day broadcast, helping Texas move past Ohio State as well.
At the top of the rankings, Texas A&M remains alone at No. 1 with six five-stars, led by top-five prospect Mark Matthews. Notre Dame holds No. 2 with three five-stars, including offensive tackle Oluwasemiloe Olubobola. Miami checks in at No. 4 and Oklahoma at No. 6, both boosted by summer pushes that included multiple flips from other programs.
Ohio State still has plenty of firepower in its own class. Jacobs is the No. 4 overall prospect in the Rivals Industry player rankings and the consensus No. 1 edge rusher in the country. Five-star wide receiver Jamier Brown is also among the top 20 overall prospects nationally.
The Buckeyes’ June additions of Fakatou and Moss gave them two top-50 linemen in the same week, reinforcing a trench-heavy approach that was aimed at correcting the issues that surfaced in last season’s postseason losses.
Even with that talent, Ohio State’s class has not separated itself by sheer numbers. Its average rating per commit is among the best in the top seven, but the Buckeyes have 18 pledges, while most of the teams ahead of them are sitting in the low-to-mid 20s.
There are a couple of pressure points, too. Four-star quarterback Brady Edmunds has been committed since December 2024, but UCLA has been pushing hard to flip him. Miami is also still pursuing Jacobs, Ohio State’s highest-rated pledge.
The Buckeyes still have time to climb before December. Five-star wide receiver Monshun Sales is expected to decide soon, with Ohio State in the mix alongside Alabama, Indiana and Miami. Five-star running back David Gabriel Georges is scheduled to commit on July 22, and Ohio State is battling Tennessee for him.
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Ohio States 2027 recruiting class already has three committed five-stars in Marcus Fakatou, DJ Jacobs and Jamier Brown, and the early buzz around that group is less about long-term upside than how quickly each player can help. The Buckeyes are expected to give all three freshmen a real chance to get on the field early, which is hardly a surprise for a program that has never been shy about trusting elite talent when it arrives.
Among that trio, Jacobs stands out as the one most likely to matter first on defense. The defensive end brings the kind of edge presence Ohio State values, and his path to snaps looks cleaner because he plays a position where the depth chart is less crowded. Fakatou is in a similar spot, which makes the first year of that class worth watching closely as the Buckeyes sort out who can turn recruiting hype into immediate production. [Read more 🡒]
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Michigan simply made a stronger push to land him, and that mattered in a race that had been tight enough to go either way. Ohio State is not likely to let the matter rest, either, with plenty of reason to keep working on Torbert down the line if the Buckeyes want to turn this into more than just another frustrating miss in a rivalry that always seems to carry extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Players Say Ryan Day Takes Lateness To Another Level
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The point, McGuire said, is that players are motivated to avoid the embarrassment and extra work that can come with being late, especially when the punishment can spill beyond one player and land on the whole unit. In a program that prizes detail, even something as simple as arriving on time becomes part of the culture Day is trying to reinforce. [Read more 🡒]