Ohio State football’s battle with Michigan for an elite defender just got an added wrinkle to make the job even more tough
Ohio State is batting Michigan for a big time in-state recruit. Another school has entered the mix that’s going to make it even tougher for the Buckeyes to land him.
We’re heading into another key Ohio State football recruiting weekend over the next couple of days.
Ohio State has had important visitors in town every weekend in June, and they’ve been able to pick up a couple of commitments in the class of 2027.
The Buckeyes are battling Michigan for a recent visitor who is an in-state must-get recruit, but there has now been another school to enter the mix.
Buckeyes are battling Michigan and Louisville for a commitment they really want
2027 Princeton (OH) Monsanna Torbert Jr. took his official visit to Columbus on June 12 and will see Michigan this weekend. Torbert was committed to the Indiana Hoosiers at one time, and another nearby school has entered the race to land the four-star recruit.
“Multiple sources have indicated that Louisville has emerged as a contender, recently hosted Torbert, and have put an exciting NIL opportunity on the table,” Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong wrote recently.
Getting Torbert’s commitment before the Michigan visit would have been the best outcome. But it seems the star cornerback recruit will indeed be heading to Ann Arbor. Louisville entering the race with a notable NIL play is important here because we know the Buckeyes are going to have a limit on what they’ll spend on an incoming freshman cornerback who isn’t at the top of his class, like Devin Sanchez was a couple of years ago.
Ohio State needs this key commitment this summer
Cornerback recruiting has picked up for the Buckeyes lately with a commitment from in-state CB Deontay Malone and Florida CB Jaden Carey earlier this week. Tim Walton’s group will take at least three cornerbacks in this class, and Torbert would potentially be the most important of them all.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound cornerback is the No. 13 cornerback and No. 102 player nationally, according to 247 Sports Composite. It’s Ohio State and Michigan at the top of this recruitment, but it’s certainly not good news with Louisville looking to make a push.
In today’s era of recruiting, this one could end up going either way. Ohio State would much rather lose the player to Louisville than to Michigan in this case.