Ohio State fans are convinced that Tennessee just pulled off a sneaky move that guarantees the Vols will land David Gabriel Georges
The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Tennessee Volunteers are currently locked into an intense recruiting battle for 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, one of the top-rated players in the nation.
The Tennessee Vols and the Ohio State Buckeyes are currently locked into a head-to-head battle for a highly coveted recruit.
Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.
Ohio State and Tennessee are no strangers to battling it out on the recruiting trail. The Buckeyes and the Vols are often in the mix for the same recruits, and several times the decisions have come down to Ohio State or Tennessee.
The Buckeyes usually win — Vonn Bell, Carnell Tate, transfer Davison Igbinosun, Legend Bey, for example.
But the Vols have won some battles, too (five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr in the 2025 recruiting cycle).
Ohio State and Tennessee are currently the top two contenders for five-star running back David Gabriel Georges.
The coveted running back took his official visit to Ohio State last weekend. He’ll take his official visit to Tennessee this weekend.
Ohio State fans think the Vols pulled off a sneaky move to help land David Gabriel Georges
Some Ohio State fans are convinced that Tennessee pulled off a sneaky move to land Gabriel Georges.
On Thursday, news broke that Tennessee received a $130 million investment from Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam.
Some Buckeyes fans, many of whom double as Browns fans, immediately went into panic mode thinking that the money is to help the football program, and by extension, to help land Gabriel Georges.
Unfortunately for Vols fans, and to the delight of Ohio State fans, that’s not what this money is for.
$100 million is “earmarked for the Haslam College of Business to attract distinguished faculty and further enhance its student success initiatives, graduate student scholarships and undergraduate honors program.”
The remaining $30 million will be “directed to a campus-wide effort to recruit world-renowned faculty across academic disciplines, supporting UT’s continued rise as a leader in research, innovation and discovery.”
NIL will obviously be a big part of the discussion with Gabriel Georges, but this isn’t a “highest bidder” situation. The five-star running back is expected to make his decision based on comfort, development, and relationships. The expectation is that Tennessee and Ohio State will make competitive offers in the same ballpark.
So you can rest easy for now, Ohio State fans — at least until the photos and video of Gabriel Georges’ official visit to Tennessee emerge later this weekend.