Ohio State’s 2027 recruiting class still sits at No. 6 nationally, but the Buckeyes have hit a wall at one spot that matters a lot: running back.
That issue only got sharper on Saturday when Jordan Hall chose Penn State over Ohio State. The Cincinnati prospect, ranked as the No. 60 running back in the country and the No. 32 player in Ohio, had looked like a likely Buckeye target at one point. Instead, he joined the Nittany Lions’ 20th-ranked class and left Ohio State without a single running back committed in the cycle.
For Ryan Day’s program, that’s a rough place to be with less than two months left before National Signing Day.
The trouble really started on July 22, when five-star back David Gabriel Georges picked Tennessee instead of Ohio State. The Buckeyes had made him their top - really, their only - priority at the position, pouring serious time into the recruitment. Gabriel Georges is ranked No. 2 among running backs nationally and No. 9 overall, the kind of prospect who could walk in and change a backfield quickly.
Losing that battle would have hurt no matter when it happened, but the timing made it sting even more. Ohio State had put so much into landing Gabriel Georges that other options had been pushed aside, and his summer decision left Carlos Locklyn with a mess to clean up.
Gabriel Georges pointed to the relationships he built with Tennessee’s coaching staff and the chance to make an immediate impact as major reasons for his choice, and there was likely a sizable NIL piece involved as well. Either way, the Buckeyes were forced to pivot, and by then much of the elite running back board was already spoken for.
Hall became the next obvious name. He visited Columbus for the season opener against Ball State and returned for an official visit in September. During that later trip, he picked up an Ohio State offer, and with his de-commitment from Miami (OH) coming right before that, it looked like the Buckeyes might have found their answer.
Instead, Penn State won out. Reports pointed to a faster path to playing time as part of the appeal. Whatever the exact mix, the result was another swing and miss for Ohio State, this time on an in-state prospect who seemed to be the natural fallback after the Gabriel Georges miss.
Now the Buckeyes are running out of time and staring at a short list of possible fixes. The most realistic path appears to be flipping someone already committed elsewhere.
At the top of that group is Wisconsin pledge Kingston Allen. The No. 7 running back in the class and No. 150 player nationally, Allen has been committed to the Badgers since April.
That makes him a very difficult get, especially with Wisconsin in the middle of a resurgent season. Still, he did visit Ohio State for the Maryland game earlier this year and left with an offer, which at least leaves open a sliver of mutual interest.
Florida State commit Jayden Miles is another name to watch. Ranked No. 28 among running backs and No. 14 in Louisiana, Miles was on Ohio State’s radar before the staff went all-in on Gabriel Georges. There was belief that the Buckeyes might have landed him earlier in the cycle if they hadn’t shifted their focus, so there may still be a narrow opening.
Then there’s Alabama commit Nigel Newkirk, who looks like the toughest pull of the bunch. The Georgia native is ranked No. 16 at running back and No. 226 overall, and he committed to the Crimson Tide in May just before he was supposed to visit Ohio State. Locklyn would need to make a serious push to create any real momentum there.
The only uncommitted option still squarely on the board is Tranard Roberts, a three-star prospect from Florida. Ranked No. 38 among running backs, Roberts is set to announce Monday with Ohio State, Georgia, Miami and UNC in his final four. UNC is considered the favorite, though the Buckeyes could still make a late push if things break their way.
However this finishes, the picture at running back has become a mess for Ohio State. For a program that has produced star after star at the position, this class has turned into a glaring blemish for the current staff.
The Buckeyes could turn back to the transfer portal this offseason, and that route has worked for them before. But that can’t become the plan every year. At a place like Ohio State, there’s no good reason to be this far behind at running back.
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The transfer pipeline from Oxford to Columbus has already worked once for Ohio State, and it could be a path worth watching again if Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy decides his future is elsewhere. Quinshon Judkins made the jump from Ole Miss to Ohio State in 2023 and quickly became part of the Buckeyes productive backfield rotation, giving the program a clear example of how a proven SEC runner can fit into its system.
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Jay Timmons and Kenyatta Jackson are the names that now hang over the matchup, with Day offering only an update that leaves their status up in the air. For a Buckeyes team that is still trying to keep its focus on the next opponent, the timing matters because USC is the kind of game where every available body on defense matters, and Ohio State may not know its full plan until later in the week. [Read more 🡒]