One of Ohio State’s top defensive end targets in the 2026 recruiting class will play for the Buckeyes’ biggest rival instead.
Carter Meadows, a four-star defensive end ranked as the No. 9 edge rusher and No. 72 overall prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2026 class, announced his commitment to Michigan on Sunday.
IM HOME!!#GoBlue https://t.co/yEc4jmDNGQ
— Carter Meadows (@CarterMeadows_) June 29, 2025
Ohio State made a strong push for Meadows, hosting the Washington, D.C. native on an official visit from June 13-15, but the Wolverines successfully closed the deal to land Meadows after hosting him for an official visit in Ann Arbor last weekend.
Meadows had been viewed as Ohio State’s top remaining defensive end target coming out of official visits, especially after another top-100 prospect at the position, Luke Wafle, committed to USC over Ohio State on June 19.
Ohio State, which beat out Michigan (and Penn State and Texas) to land defensive tackle Damari Simeon on Friday and followed that up with a commitment from defensive tackle Cameron Brickle on Saturday, will hope to rebound on Monday when four-star defensive end Landon Barnes makes his commitment. Barnes is set to decide between Ohio State, Ole Miss and Washington.
Ohio State is also targeting Barnes’ Duncanville High School teammate, fellow four-star defensive end KJ Ford, as it looks to add to a recruiting class that currently includes just one defensive end, Khary Wilder.
