Ohio State secondary coach Tim Walton is hoping to land his second cornerback commitment in the 2026 class next week.
Four-star New Jersey cornerback Jordan Thomas announced Wednesday he’s ready to make his college decision and will choose from one of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas A&M and Auburn at 2:30 p.m. Monday.
The Buckeyes have positioned themselves well for Thomas, as the 6-foot-1, 185-pound cornerback visited Columbus twice this spring. Thomas is the top target on Walton’s board at the moment, and currently, there’s a good bit of optimism he’ll don scarlet and gray colors. OSU will have to wait until Monday to know for sure, though.
Bergen Catholic (NJ) blue-chip CB Jordan Thomas will announce his college decision next Monday. He talks about some of the programs in the mix and what he's looking for in a school here: https://t.co/PeOAg5pvnz pic.twitter.com/uapAiMzZ0u
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong_) May 7, 2025
Should the Buckeyes land Thomas, he’ll join Jakob Weatherspoon as a strong one-two punch in OSU’s 2026 class.
“Ohio State is recruiting me as a defensive back that can play outside or inside,” Thomas told Eleven Warriors this spring. “Starting out as a cornerback is the plan for my comfortability and eventually being able to move inside at star or nickel.”
Cincere Johnson down to three teams
Ohio State’s top linebacker target in the 2026 cycle has narrowed his college decision down to three teams.
Four-star Ohio linebacker Cincere Johnson released a top three on Tuesday consisting of the Buckeyes, Penn State and Alabama. The Glenville product has consistently shown interest in the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide throughout his recruitment and the Penn State connection has a lot to do with former OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who started recruiting Johnson when he was an eighth grader.
Johnson has set up official visits to all three schools, with his Buckeyes visit scheduled for June 13. That’ll be the same weekend OSU commit CJ Sanna takes his official visit, as the Columbus product told Eleven Warriors last month he’ll attempt to peer recruit Johnson to join the Buckeyes on that trip. Additionally, former Glenville linebacker Arvell Reese is one of Johnson’s best friends and has communicated with him what it’s like being a Buckeye.
Johnson will likely commit to a school following his official visits and as it stands, we like where the Buckeyes currently sit.
Jamir Perez sets an official visit to OSU
Johnson won’t be the only Glenville product taking an official visit to Columbus this summer. Three-star defensive tackle Jamir Perez has confirmed he’ll also take a trip to OSU on June 13, as the Buckeyes have shown a vested interest in the Cleveland product in the past month.
Locked In @R2X_Rushmen1 @CoachDubb_Drick @AllenTrieu pic.twitter.com/OPF9BbHW7T
— Jamir JJ Perez 3 (@DabigRootJJ) May 7, 2025
The 6-foot-4, 360-pound Perez picked up an Ohio State offer from Larry Johnson during his visit to Columbus for the Buckeyes’ spring game last month. OSU has instantly climbed to the forefront of Perez’s recruitment, so it’s possible two Tarblooders end up in the Buckeyes’ 2026 recruiting class, though Perez will also take official visits to Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and Iowa State this summer.
Should Perez or Johnson commit to OSU, they’d join Damarion Witten, Bryce West and Reese as recent Tarblooders to become Buckeyes.
Samuel Roseborough includes Buckeyes in his top five
A top-130 prospect in the 2026 class has trimmed his recruitment down to five teams.
Four-star Texas offensive tackle Samuel Roseborough put out a final five of Ohio State, Texas A&M, Texas, Florida State and LSU on Tuesday, as offensive line coach Tyler Bowen continues his search to supplement an already-strong 2026 class.
NEWS 4-star OT Samuel Roseborough is down to 5 schools, @Hayesfawcett3 reports.
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) May 6, 2025
Read: https://t.co/5X57pKEASY pic.twitter.com/GQik3dJrgq
Roseborough has official visits set up with Texas, Texas A&M and Florida State, but has not yet scheduled a visit with the Buckeyes. That could change soon, and it obviously would need to if the Buckeyes are going to be anything besides a hat on the table in this recruitment.
Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Roseborough is considered the No. 130 prospect and the No. 7 interior offensive lineman in the 2026 class, though he feasibly could play either inside or outside.
