Ohio State stands in a tough position with two recruits who are trending toward heading south from the Buckeye state
Ohio State took a big swing to land 2025 five-star OT David Sanders Jr. but it was not enough and he ended up signing with Tennessee. The Buckeyes came away with bringing in freshmen Carter Lowe, Jake Cook, and Jayvon McFadden in that class. There is a good opportunity for Ohio State to capitalize on […]
Ohio State took a big swing to land 2025 five-star OT David Sanders Jr. but it was not enough and he ended up signing with Tennessee. The Buckeyes came away with bringing in freshmen Carter Lowe, Jake Cook, and Jayvon McFadden in that class.
There is a good opportunity for Ohio State to capitalize on the offensive line talent in the state for the class of 2026. However, things are not trending in the right direction for a pair of offensive tackles that would be a great fit in Columbus.
According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, it is Clemson and Dabo Swinney who are seen as the favorites to land four-star offensive tackles Maxwell Riley and Adam Guthrie. Both players are ranked inside the top 160 players in the country and in the top five of Ohio.
Riley has already narrowed down his list to just the Buckeyes and Tigers as the final schools. The talented offensive tackle is ranked No. 9 at the position, per 247 Sports Composite. Riley attends Avon Lake High School and would be a great addition to the Buckeyes. Riley could potentially be a multi-year starter in college.
The Buckeyes will receive a visit from Guthrie in June and will battle Clemson along with Penn State to get his commitment. Guthrie is a 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive tackle that is at Miami Trace in Ohio. Guthrie is ranked the No. 13 OT in the class and the No. 155 overall player.
Losing any player would be a blow to Ohio State’s recruiting for 2026. Ryan Day’s staff has already lost three-star guard Will Conroy to Oklahoma, who the Buckeyes will likely recruit up until they can’t.
Ohio State is going to take big swings for five-star players like Jackson Cantwell and Immanuel Iheanacho, which they absolutely should. Landing either player makes it easy to lose an in-state player. However, losing your top targets and missing on in-state players is where it becomes an issue. Ohio State can’t allow that to happen because it would force them to continue living in the transfer portal for offensive tackles.
New offensive line coach Tyler Bowen is going to attempt to re-shape both recruitments for the Buckeyes and put Ohio State in a better position to land Riley and Guthrie.
Ohio State takes key step in huge recruitment that has other powerhouse programs in pursuit
Can’t let him get away.
