The Ohio State Buckeyes have been heating up on the recruiting trail, and now they’re officially on fire following some Monday news. 

Ohio State has earned a five-star commitment for its defense in the class of 2027 to begin the week, and it’s one we knew could be coming. 

Larry Johnson lands a five-star defender for Ohio State’s defense 

Ohio State has beat out the likes of Georgia and Texas to land Sierra Canyon (CA) five-star DL Marcus Fakatou. The newest Buckeye is one of the very best defensive linemen in the class of 2027, and he’s a huge addition for the future of Ohio State’s defense. 

The Buckeyes offered Fakatou in May of 2025 and they’ve recruited him hard since. The California native was considering Notre Dame and Oregon as well, but ended up canceling official visits to both schools. Texas had multiple defensive tackle commitments already, including Fakatou’s high school teammate and former Buckeyes target Kasi Currie. Georgia has been a top contender as of late, as well. 

As a junior in high school, Fakatou had 28 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and five sacks when he was at Orange Lutheran. Fakatou is listed at 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, and has some flexibility to play both inside and out. The five-star defender’s frame can add or lose weight as needed. 

Ohio State’s 2027 class is becoming scary along the defensive line 

According to 247 Sports Composite Rankings, Fakatou is the No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 24 overall player in the class. Ohio State’s newest commitment joins No. 1 EDGE DJ Jacobs and No. 11 EDGE Wyatt Smith as current commitments along the defensive line. 

Ohio State is working on landing No. 14 DL Karlos May and sits in a good spot to do so. That’s four top 125 players in the class of 2027 for Larry Johnson to coach up along the defensive line. 

Johnson is 74 years old and still recruiting and developing defensive linemen potentially better than anyone else in college football. The addition of Fakatou is his latest work, and it’s a big win.