A-Deck: Recruiting buzz from Ohio State spring game
Welcome to “A-Deck” at Lettermen Row, where I’ll bring you inside scoop, what I’m hearing, tidbits, thoughts, and more on Ohio State recruiting and team coverage every week.
Last week’s A-Deck provided 10 recruiting efforts from Ohio State that fans should be watching at this weekend’s spring game.
In this week’s edition, I share some of the buzz and scoop I’m hearing from the past weekend and the Buckeyes’ spring game.
Buckeyes land two new commitments
Ohio State landed two new commitments on Saturday, when 2025 tight end Nate Roberts pledged to the Buckeyes in the morning, and 2025 safety Cody Haddad did the same a couple hours later.
Roberts actually committed to the staff last Friday while on his visit, but decided to wait the week or so to make it public. The Oklahoma-native has been tight end target number one for this staff since the 2025 board came into existence, and the Buckeyes had to endure a pledge to Notre Dame and a reopening of the recruitment before finally being able to reel the big fish in. Keenan Bailey put a ton of work into this one to the point where I joked he probably has an apartment in Washington, Oklahoma at this point. Huge win for the program and for Bailey in his young career.
As for Haddad, the writing was on the wall for this one back in January when he landed the offer just days after committing to Wisconsin. They key to this one, though, was Matt Guerrieri being hired. If he wasn’t I am not sure that Haddad would be a Buckeye, not only today, but maybe for the entire cycle. Haddad actually backed off his pledge to the Badgers privately a couple weeks before it went public from my understanding, which led to two visits to Columbus in three days just a few weeks back. The return to the spring game was just the formal pledge to the program, but this one was in the works for a while.
Ohio State reinforces position with existing commits
The Buckeyes hosted 10 current commitments in their 2025 class, including QB Tavien St. Clair, WR De’zie Jones, OL Carter Lowe, DE Zahir Mathis, LB TJ Alford, CB Blake Woodby, CB Na’eem Offord, CB Devin Sanchez, S DeShawn Stewart, and Haddad.
Ohio State felt good about all of these guys coming into the trip, but it’s always good to get your commits on campus, especially on a big weekend like this where they can help talk to some other guys.
I think if you were going to identify one prospect that it was best they got back on campus, it was Offord, who recently started talking about visiting a few other programs, including Georgia and Oregon. Right now I would say there’s nothing to worry about with Offord, and this weekend was big for reaffirming his feelings about the program, but I would continue to watch this one closely, as I do think visits will happen.
Another big positive with the aforementioned group is that Sanchez is apparently “all-in”. Not that it was really questioned before, but always great to see a Tweet like this:
In addition to their 2025 pledges, Ohio State also hosted their lone 2026 commitment in Chris Henry Jr. The former Ohio-native, now living in California and playing at Mater Dei, was back on campus for the first time since moving out west. The trip served as a great way for OSU to reaffirm Henry’s commitment to the program.
“It was great,” Henry told Lettermen Row. “The spring game was good. I enjoyed it. Being back in Columbus and meeting Coach Kelly were the highlights for me. I think Coach Kelly is great. My commitment is still 1000% locked in. I’ll most likely be back in June.”
In addition to doubling down on his own pledge, Henry was busy doing some recruiting for the Buckeyes.
“I was trying to recruit a few guys in my class, such as Jahkeem (Stewart), Deuce (Geralds), Dorian (Barney), Anthony (Davis), and Bryce (Perry-Wright).
From what I know, as long as Ryan Day and Brian Hartline are still at Ohio State, there’s nothing to worry about with Henry, even with him in California and visiting other programs.
Key 2025 targets on campus
In addition to current commitments, Ohio State hosted a number of key Class of 2025 targets, including OL Douglas Utu, OL Jayvon McFadden, and S/LB Jonah Williams.
Utu was last on campus in the fall for the Michigan State game in November, so it was great to get him back on campus. While many have assumed it would be somewhere on the West Coast for the Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman star, the Buckeyes have been quietly near the top in this recruitment for some time. I think official visits this summer are going to be huge, but I definitely think Ohio State continues to be where they need to in order to potentially win this one. Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Miami, Washington, Utah, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Oregon are the other programs in top consideration for the On3 Industry’s 40th ranked talent.
McFadden is someone I projected into Ohio State’s 2025 class not too long ago, but I started to wonder why he hadn’t been back on campus since the fall. Turns out he showed up on Saturday, which I think was a huge step forward in the two sides potentially ending up together. Penn State, Colorado, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, and Miami are just a handful of others also in this thing, but I think the Buckeyes are probably in the top three (if not better) with the Nittany Lions and Hurricanes right now. Official visits will be key.
As for Williams, I still think it will be Texas or Oklahoma for the Lone Star State native, but if he goes out of region, it seems Ohio State is of high interest. He has made multiple visits to campus during his recruitment and by all accounts this visit went really well once again. I just am not sure he’s going to venture too far from Galveston (TX) Ball when it’s all said and done. Williams is also a baseball star, which has to be factored into the equation (MLB Draft).
Another interesting 2025 prospect on campus was K/P Scott Starzyk. The Buckeyes have hosted a couple of specialists this spring, and it seems they very much could be interested in adding one to this class, ideally after seeing top targets kick at camp this summer. Starzyk, from The Woodlands (TX), holds an offers from Memphis, UTSA, Army, Air Force, and Cornell, but is getting significant interest from many many others as Kohl’s Kicking’s top-rated kicker and number two ranked punter.
“It was awesome,” Starzyk said. “I absolutely loved the place and how the fans packed The Shoe. Coach Gunner (Daniels) is the real deal. The coaches told me they want to bring in the top guys in the country and they need the best guys on the field to beat the team up north. I don’t want to give away too much about what I spoke about with them (regarding a scholarship). Some of that isn’t for me to tell until it happens. I’ll likely be back in June, nothing is set up yet, though.”
Stock is up with a number of 2026 prospects
Ohio State hosted quarterback Brady Palmer out of San Diego (CA) St. Augustine for a multi-day visit over the weekend and offered the 2026 gunslinger. I’m told the Scarlet and Gray now sit at the top of the list for Palmer, who also holds scholarships from Arizona, Washington, Washington State, San Diego State, and Colorado State. I am not sure Palmer is a taker for the Buckeyes just yet (Chip Kelly did see him throw live while in California), but it seems as if they decided to push here, they’d have a great shot. Long way until NSD 2026, so let’s see what happens.
The Buckeyes hosted in-state prospect, Painesville (OH) Harvey’s Shahn Alston, who I had on offer watch this weekend. The visit was strong, but there was no offer yet, as Alston and new OSU running backs coach Carlos Locklyn are just getting to know each other.
“My time in Columbus was great!,” he said. “I got a chance to talk to Coach Locklyn for a little bit before the game. It was nice to see them go out and compete with each other, and the support from the fans was amazing. Today was my first time meeting Coach Locklyn in person. He took the time before the game to come to the recruiting lounge and introduce himself and talk to me. He seems to be a great person and coach, and I looking forward to building a relationship. As far as an offer goes, it’s just a matter of building that relationship with Coach Lock. It’s not likely for a coach to offer a player without building somewhat of a relationship. With Coach Alford leaving (someone who I have a tight relationship with), that definitely delayed it. Now I will go through the process with Coach Lock, which allow us to get to know each other more, and I hope one will roll through soon.”
Ohio State also hosted in-state tight end Sam Hamilton, who was back on campus for the second time this spring at the request of the staff.
“It was really good,” he told LR. “It was a great atmosphere. The game was awesome. Getting to see the best players in college football go head to head was great to see and what it would be like as an Ohio State football player. The highlight for me was getting see my old friend Paris Johnson and getting to talk to him about OSU and just football. I talked to Coach Day and Coach Bailey for a little as well. I really just introduced myself to Coach Day and with Coach Bailey I just talked football and how the day was going. I can’t wait to be back up for camp.”
A teammate of 2025 commit TJ Alford’s at Vero Beach (FL), 2026 OL Micah “Champ” Smith was back on campus for the Buckeyes (Matt wrote about him HERE). I have Ohio State as the team to beat right now for the 6-foot-6, 300-pounder who has offers from many top programs around the country and plans to commit in December of 2024.
“It was awesome, I loved the atmosphere,” Smith said. “The spring game was awesome and I believe there was almost 90,000 fans in attendance. It was a live atmosphere. The highlight of the visit for me, though, was getting to see the actual campus instead of just the football facilities. I spoke to a lot of coaches, but one who stood out to me was Coach Laurinaitis. He told me that coming into a room with guys who are about to make their dreams come true (NFL) is good because you can learn from them and they are kind of where you are trying to be in a few years. Ohio State is at the top of the list. It’s going to be hard for me to picking another school when it comes to committing, but, hey, you never know. I’ll be back in Columbus in early June.”
Other than Smith, Ohio State hosted two other big time offensive line targets in in-state prospects Will Conroy and Maxwell Riley. I have RPM picks in for the Buckeyes to land both prospects and am holding on those after this most recent visit.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Conroy said. “The highlight of the game for me was Egbuka’s one-handed catch. Also, just the fans there and Coach Mike (Sollenne), gotta love that dude. I feel good about Ohio State. I’ll probably be back in June.”
“I really enjoyed it,” Riley told me. “The fans showed out for sure. I loved getting to see my guys, the Armstrong brothers, and getting to meet Coach Kelly. I feel great about them. The trip definitely checked a lot of boxes for me personally. I’ll probably get back some time this summer.”
Steve Wiltfong wrote about the number one overall prospect in 2026, DL Jahkeem Stewart, and it seems like Ohio State really set the bar when it comes to visits. I still would take the field over OSU in this recruitment after doing some digging around, but I do think the Buckeyes are a major contender and have to be taken seriously as a potential landing spot in this one.
Another elite defensive line prospect who was on campus was Buford (GA) standout Bryce Perry-Wright. Matt wrote in detail about Perry-Wright HERE, but I am hearing some very positive things coming from the 6-foot-2, 240-pounder. The Buckeyes landed Eddrick Houston from Buford last cycle and have history there via Harry Miller, both of which definitely help here. As of now, Georgia isn’t really in the mix, and I think Ohio State has a great shot for the On3 Industry’s No. 104 overall player.
Fellow Peach State native, linebacker Xavier Griffin, made his first visit to campus as well. Good first visit for the No. 35 nationally ranked talent, but long way to go here. Early visits are a necessity to land talents like this, though.
“It was awesome!,” he said. “They showed me and my family nothing but love from the beginning. We had a really great time and 80K-plus for the spring game was insane. It let me know how much they really love Buckeyes football up here.”
Another linebacker, Ohioan Cincere Johnson was on campus as well. The Cleveland Glenville product didn’t land an offer from the Buckeyes yet, but I think it could come this summer.
“Ohio State was great,” Johnson said. “The spring game was great. This is most definitely going to be a great year for OSU. The highlight of the day for me was just getting the game day feeling with the team and seeing how they run things. I got to speak with Coach Laurinaitis and Coach Knowles. They were just telling me they were glad and excited for me to be back down and that it’s a big year ahead. I’ll be back for camp. They told me I have all the tools, I just have to display to them that I can run just as good as I play. So that’s the plan!”
Moving to defensive back, another Georgia-native in the No. 63 overall player, CB Dorian Barney, was in The Horseshoe on Saturday. Like with Griffin, great first step for the Peachtree Ridge (same HS as Bradley Roby and Cam Heyward), but there’s going to be a long way to go in this recruitment. Georgia is involved in this one, which will absolutely make things tougher, with South Carolina, Alabama, Florida State, Clemson, LSU, USC, and others are heavily in this thing.
“It was great,” he said of the visit. “The game was really intense, the crowd was crazy. Eighty-thoudand is a lot of fans for a spring game. But my highlight from the game was probably the interception from Jaylen McClain. I really enjoyed my time there. It feels like home.”
Another defensive back who was in attendance, but who does not hold an offer yet was Jakob Weatherspoon of Avon (OH). Weatherspoon, who holds offers from Michigan and Cincinnati, among others, has been on OSU’s radar for a while and continues to remain firmly in the mix to possibly land an offer.
“It was great to be back,” he said. “I had a nice time seeing them use the pads and get active a little bit. I talked to OG (Tim Walton) and (Matt) Guerrieri for a little bit pregame and after too. It’s nothing but love with those two. They were happy to see me again and we just talked about track and just them getting ready to see how the season is going to go. It was just a good day in general. My favorite part of the game was when the defense would get a pick and everyone would run on the field with them. That’s just how they get down and it’s the only way to do it. BIA forever.
“As far as an offer, they said they saw what they already needed to see in the film, but just want to make sure I got it like that in person. So I’ll be at camp on June 5. If they offered I would feel real good. That’s my main goal right now, is to get a offer from them.”
Last, but not least, in the defensive backfield was Braylon Edwards out of Duncanville in Texas. This was the first trip to Columbus for Edwards and the start of the relationship between the two sides. It seems like Edwards will be back in June to try and earn an offer.
“It was awesome,” Edwards said. The staff showed me some serious love. I got a chance to meet Coach Walton in person and Coach Duhart as well. The fans were outrageous and I signed a ton of autographs. I watched the secondary, they have a lot of depth, and I can see myself fitting in because I play every defensive back position. The coaches told me they’ll look at me for an offer this summer at camp. It could possibly happen during the spring, though. I get to guard the number one receiver in the country (Dakorien Moore) every day, so they’ll get to see my HUDL vs him. Also, the number one receiver in Texas for 2026 (Zachery Turner) attends my school too, so they can see that as well.”
More to come on Lettermen Row–DISCUSS THE LATEST IN BUCKEYES’ RECRUITING ON THE LETTERMEN LOUNGE
The post A-Deck: Recruiting buzz from Ohio State spring game appeared first on On3.
