Ohio State got some good news and some bad news from the recruiting trail on Thursday.
The afternoon started with a big win for the Buckeyes as they secured one of their highest-priority targets in the 2026 class, in-state linebacker and top-100 prospect Cincere Johnson, who could be the next star to come out of the Glenville-to-Ohio State pipeline.
The Buckeyes didn’t get the Double BOOM they were hoping for on Thursday, however, as coveted defensive end target Luke Wafle committed to USC. While it appeared on Wednesday as though Ohio State had done enough to secure the standout edge defender from New Jersey, he ultimately chose the Trojans after they made a late push to land the top prospect.
Ohio State doesn‘t like getting into bidding wars for recruits, but their reported efforts to land Wafle with a lucrative NIL package showed just how badly Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes wanted him. In the end, though, it seems USC was a little more desperate to land Wafle than Ohio State, and the Buckeyes came up short in his recruitment as a result.
That stings, as it’s far from the first time Ohio State has lost a tight battle for a top defensive line target over the past few years, but the Buckeyes are still in the running for several other elite defensive ends such as Carter Meadows, KJ Ford, Landon Barnes and Jackson Ford who could now become bigger priorities with Wafle off the board.
As for today, the loss of Wafle shouldn’t overshadow the victory of landing Johnson. While Ohio State was always the frontrunner for Johnson given its track record of signing top prospects from Glenville, the Buckeyes still had to beat out the likes of Alabama and Penn State to secure his commitment. And Johnson’s commitment continues what’s been a very successful start as a recruiter for second-year Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis, who’s building a linebacker room that should be strong for years to come, even as the 2026 class’ top linebacker, Tyler Atkinson, is trending away from OSU.
We discuss all of that on a new episode of Press Coverage, which you can watch in the video at the top of the page.
