Ohio State’s shady recruiting move was more diabolical than fans realized, and it left Tennessee in a terrible spot
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes pulled off a recruiting move this past weekend that could severely hurt the Tennessee Vols in the David Gabriel Georges recruiting sweepstakes.
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes made quite the chess move this past weekend, and it left the Tennessee Vols in a tough spot.
Ohio State and Tennessee are in the midst of a head-to-head battle for 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, who is scheduled to announce his commitment on July 22.
It felt like Tennessee had the momentum for Gabriel Georges following his official visit to Knoxville earlier this month, but Ohio State may have flipped that momentum by offering a close friend and teammate of the five-star running back.
The Buckeyes offered 2027 defensive back Jordan Darren Djila over the weekend following his visit to Ohio State.
Darren Djila is “best friends” with Gabriel Georges (both players are natives of Canada and attend Baylor School in Chattanooga together).
Ohio State is obviously offering Darren Djila to help in their pursuit of Gabriel Georges (Darren Djila’s other offers are from programs like UT-Martin and Kennesaw State).
The timing of Ohio State’s offer puts Tennessee in a tough spot
If Gabriel Georges is truly torn between Ohio State and Tennessee, then the option of having Darren Djila as a teammate could certainly be the tiebreaker.
That’s why I immediately suggested that Tennessee should also offer Darren Djila.
But here’s the problem. The recruiting dead period starts this week and runs until the end of July. Tennessee could still offer Darren Djila, but they can’t have any in-person contact with him, which means they can’t bring him to campus for a visit like Ohio State did this past weekend.
While everyone can see that the offer from Ohio State is a ploy to help them land Gabriel Georges, their offer to Darren Djila would feel a bit more “genuine” since they beat Tennessee to the punch. The Buckeyes went through the effort of getting Darren Djila to Columbus and hosting him in person. If Tennessee were to offer, it would be very obvious it was in response to Ohio State’s offer.
There’s no doubt that it’s a tough spot for Tennessee. Because here’s the thing: if Gabriel Georges decides he wants to go to Tennessee, would Ohio State pull the offer to Darren Djila? I’d say there’s a good chance that’s the case. And Gabriel Georges is probably smart enough to know that’s the case. So would he commit to Ohio State over Tennessee to make sure his best friend has a spot with the Buckeyes?
I obviously can’t answer that, but I bet Tennessee may be asking itself that very question right now.
The Vols need to make a move here. But they need to be careful about the optics of the move. I think the best thing may be for Josh Heupel to quietly tell Gabriel Georges that Darren Djila will have a spot at Tennessee (if Gabriel Georges chooses Tennessee).
This may all seem like much ado about nothing to some fans, but this battle is close enough that something like this could determine where Gabriel Georges plays college football in 2027.
You just gotta tip your cap to Ohio State if you’re a Vols fan. This was a brilliant move, even if it’s just a little bit shady and disingenuous.