The Hurry-Up: Five-star LB Xavier Griffin Schedules an Official Visit to Ohio State, OT Aaron Thomas Puts the Buckeyes in His Top Five

By Garrick Hodge on May 16, 2025 at 5:30 pm
Xavier Griffin
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A five-star linebacker in the 2026 recruiting class is back on the market. And Ohio State is in the running.

Georgia prospect Xavier Griffin decommitted from USC on Thursday, reopening his recruitment. He set official visits to Ohio State, Alabama, Florida and Texas immediately following his decommitment. He’ll be at OSU on May 30. 

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Griffin is considered the No. 27 prospect and No. 2 linebacker in the 2026 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings. In a shortened junior season due to injury, Griffin recorded 43 tackles and six sacks. 

As it stands, Alabama probably has the slight edge heading into official visit season, but we’ll see if anything changes following his visit to Columbus. Griffin is now among OSU’s top remaining OSU linebacker targets in the class along with Tyler Atkinson and Cincere Johnson. He last visited Columbus for the Buckeyes' spring game on April 12.

Aaron Thomas puts the Buckeyes in his top five, sets OV

Three-star Arizona offensive tackle Aaron Thomas has narrowed down his recruitment to five schools and the Buckeyes have made the cut. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound prospect released a top five of Ohio State, Washington, Florida State, Texas and Texas A&M and will take official visits to each school. His visit to Columbus will be on May 30. 

Thomas earned an OSU offer on March 19 following a spring visit to OSU. His father, Eric, played for Florida State from 1995 to 1999. At his size, Thomas is a true offensive tackle prospect and likely will stay outside at the collegiate level.

Buckeyes offer No. 1 DT in 2026

Larry Johnson has made a late entry into the recruitment of the No. 1 defensive tackle in the country for the 2026 class, as he offered five-star Louisiana product Lamar Brown on Friday. 

Brown is considered the No. 8 prospect in the nation and the No. 1 defensive lineman. The 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive lineman has official visits set up to LSU, Texas A&M, Florida State and Miami and has a commitment date set for July 4.

If the Buckeyes want to pull off a stunning late swoop and land the defensive tackle standout, they'll have to move quickly. Brown plays both ways at his high school and is also a formidable offensive lineman.

Jake Hildebrand picks up an OSU offer

OSU offensive line coach Tyler Bowen offered one of the top offensive tackles in the 2027 class on Wednesday. Bowen offered four-star Arizona prospect Jake Hildebrand, a former high school teammate of Ohio State cornerback Miles Lockhart, while visiting him in Arizona.

Hildebrand is considered the No. 80 prospect and No. 8 offensive tackle in 2027. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound prospect holds 35 Division I offers, including Alabama, Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mizzou, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, SMU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC and Washington. 

Carlos Locklyn visits Derrek Cooper

Ohio State coaches continue to make crucial stops on the recruiting trail for priority targets. Running backs coach Carlos Locklyn checked in on four-star running back Derrek Cooper, the former high school teammate of Jeremiah Smith, on Wednesday.

Cooper, rated the No. 30 prospect in 2026, visited OSU last spring and has an official visit set to Ohio State for June 20. Last season, Cooper ran for 905 yards on 124 carries while rushing for nine touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 156 yards and a touchdown and also played defense, recording 46 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. 

Mark Bowman puts Ohio State in his top 7

The No. 1 tight end in the 2026 class has cut his recruitment down to seven teams. Five-star California prospect Mark Bowman released a top seven on Thursday consisting of Ohio State, Miami, Oregon, Ole Miss, USC, Georgia and Texas.

So far, Bowman has set up official visits to Ole Miss, Texas, Georgia, USC and Oregon. OSU will need to get a visit scheduled with the 6-foot-5, 225-pound standout to have a chance to win his recruitment. 

Bowman reclassified from the 2027 class to 2026 earlier this spring. Last year, Bowman caught 32 passes for 435 yards and eight touchdowns.

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