The Tennessee Vols and the Ohio State Buckeyes are locked into a head-to-head battle for 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges.

Tennessee is the team that’s “trending” for Gabriel Georges ahead of his commitment announcement, but Ohio State, a juggernaut in college football, can never be ruled out.

Some Buckeyes fans and analysts are still confident that Ohio State will land Gabriel Georges, despite the intel that’s pointing toward Tennessee.

One big reason is because of Buckeyes running backs coach Carlos Locklyn’s relationship with Gabriel Georges.

Many believe that Locklyn has the best relationship with Gabriel Georges of any coach in this recruiting battle.

“Every couple days, Coach Locklyn sends a text message with the newest additions to the o-line,” said Gabriel Georges’ uncle to On3 earlier this month. “We know Ohio State has what it takes in surrounding him with the right pieces. Coach Lock is a great human being and a great coach. He was first to offer him when he was at Oregon. He was very, very consistent throughout the years.”

It may be true that Gabriel Georges’ best relationship is with Locklyn — though it’s believed he also has a solid relationship with Vols running backs coach De’Rail Sims — but I don’t think that’s going to have nearly as big of an impact on this battle as Ohio State fans think it will.

Locklyn has never been at a school at any level longer than three seasons (he’s entering his third season at Ohio State in 2026).

Now, that doesn’t mean that he’s for sure going to be coaching elsewhere in 2027, but it’s certainly not crazy to suggest that he might be.

I’m sure Locklyn has aspirations of moving up the coaching chain. And assistants from Ohio State are often at the top of the wish lists for head coaches.

If a program offers Locklyn an offensive coordinator gig, would he say no? What about if an NFL team offers him a running backs coach job after the 2026 season? Or what if he gets an offer to be a head coach (former Vols running backs coach Jerry Mack, for example, is the head coach at Kennesaw State)? Would he turn any of those opportunities down?

I know Gabriel Georges is a big fan of Locklyn, but I don’t think he will make his decision based on a position coach who might not even be at Ohio State in 2027.