By Alec Nederveld
Ohio State is a mainstay in the top 10 of the recruiting rankings. They consistently land the Midwest’s best players and supplement it with additional talent from the South. Per the 247 Sports Composite, the Buckeyes finished #5 in 2024 and currently have the #2 class with 11 total commits for 2025. To add to this class, Ryan Day can’t miss on these three recruits.
RB Bo Jackson
Cleveland, OH (Villa Angela-St. Joseph)
#77 NAT, #3 RB, #4 OH
The best in Ohio stay in Ohio. With that, the Buckeyes should be confident in landing Bo Jackson. He’s a very physical runner, sized at 6’0”, 205 pounds and likely would make an impact as a freshman. Assuming Quinshon Judkins leaves for the draft, Ohio State would only have two RBs on scholarship in 2025, Sam Williams-Dixon, and James Peoples. In addition, Ohio State currently has no running back commits in 2025.
Jackson named Ohio State, alongside Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Tennessee, and West Virginia in his Top 12. He’s still scheduling Official Visits, but they will be limited, due to commitments with his high school team. That bodes well for the in-state school that has been visited six times so far, more than any other school.
I trust Coach Day to close on Jackson. The loss of Tony Alford, RB coach and once primary recruiter to Michigan could complicate the recruitment, but it looks to only be delaying the inevitable.
https://twitter.com/Bill_Kurelic/status/1707923112895885347
S Trey McNutt
Cleveland, OH (Shaker Heights)
#26 NAT, #1 S, #2 OH
Everything I said about Jackson applies to Trey McNutt, except to a larger extent. Recruiting services think he’s a better player, but more importantly, McNutt has a family connection to the Buckeyes. Father Richard McNutt was a CB between 1999-2002, capping his career off with a National Championship. He’s currently the DB coach at Tennessee State and his knowledge and athleticism have passed on to his son.
More Sports News
Also like Jackson, McNutt recently put Ohio State in a top schools list. Ohio State is listed alongside Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC. Unlike him, McNutt was in the news for protesting a ban on 7-on-7 games for Ohio athletes. He initially received a four-game suspension for this but protested the rule. The restriction on 7-on-7s was banned, and the suspension was dropped. By doing that, McNutt showed great leadership skills, which will only carry on the field. There’s a reason why he has 36 offers from some of the country’s best programs.
Alongside the top two CBs in 2025 and Buckeye commits, Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Olford, Ohio State could create a legendary DB class with McNutt. It’s another commit that makes too much sense for OSU to get, but could ring alarms if he gets away.
https://twitter.com/TheSG_Podcast/status/1775339035965153302
WR Jaime Ffrench
Jacksonville, FL (Mandarin)
#17 NAT, #3 WR, #3 FL
No school does receivers like Ohio State. You could argue that they recruit WRs better than any other team’s best position. Jaime Ffrench has the makings of being another elite Buckeye receiver. First, he’s learned from big brother Maurice Ffrench, the Pittsburgh school recorder holder for receptions (96) in a season. In addition, the younger brother projects to be an elite technician. He has great route running and open-field movement and can play anywhere on the field.
Ffrench could follow a similar story to fellow OSU WR and the top recruit in 2024, Jeremiah Smith. He was committed to Ohio State for a few months by now, but his commitment went down to the stretch with the Big Three Florida schools each trying to flip him. Those same schools, alongside USC, Tennessee, and Texas, will all attempt to get Ffrench’s services. He has scheduled official visits with the last two in June.
Ohio State has averaged 4-5 receiver commits over the past few years, but only sit at one in 2025 after Jayvan Boggs decommitted in March. De’zie Jones, a four-star from Wayne, NJ (DePaul Catholic) is a very good player, but more receivers need to commit. Ffrench, a former commit of Alabama himself could become the headliner for a weaker (relatively speaking) OSU receiver class.
