Losing David Gabriel Georges was a costly miss for Ohio State, but a recent comment tied to his camp also makes the Buckeyes’ side of the story look a lot clearer. After spending the better part of two years pushing hard for the five-star running back, Ohio State watched him choose Tennessee instead - and now the program is left with the sense that he was never fully built for Columbus anyway.
The clearest window into that comes from a quote shared with Stephen Hargas of The Chattanooga Times Free Press. Someone close to Gabriel Georges said that the Ohio State experience never felt right to him.
“David loves the game, but at Ohio State, it felt more like football was a chore he had to do, not something he gets to enjoy playing.”
That kind of sentiment says plenty. Ohio State has no shortage of players who embrace the Scarlet and Gray, and the idea of treating life in Columbus like a burden doesn’t fit what the program expects. If that’s how a prospect sees it, he probably isn’t the right fit for the roster.
Gabriel Georges also landed a major payday at Tennessee, and while he continues to deny that the Volunteers’ reported $2 million-a-year offer was a major factor, it’s hard to ignore. Money clearly played a part in where he ended up.
Still, the bigger issue for Ohio State is how long it invested in a player who apparently didn’t view the Buckeyes the way the staff wanted him to. Going all-in on someone who thought playing there would be a chore is a rough recruiting miss, and it’s the kind of thing Ryan Day, Carlos Locklyn, and the rest of the staff should have seen coming.
Ohio State has never been a program that needs to chase players who aren’t eager to be there. It sells itself. Day has said more than once over the years that being a Buckeye isn’t for everybody, and this recruitment seems to fit that idea perfectly.
That doesn’t erase the coaching staff’s responsibility, though. The Buckeyes need to get better at identifying the prospects who truly want to be in Columbus before they spend two years chasing the wrong one. If they don’t, they’ll keep running into situations like this as they turn toward the 2028 recruiting class.
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Houstons praise also fits the larger picture around Johnsons work on the trail. Rival programs have long recognized his value, and Ohio States 2027 defensive line class already reflects the kind of pull he still has with top prospects. With Johnson continuing to stack talent and earn trust, the Buckeyes are getting more than a position coach. They are getting a recruiter and developer whose influence still reaches far beyond his meeting room. [Read more 🡒]