Cross another defensive end target off the board for Ohio State.
On Friday, Duncanville (Texas) four-star defensive end KJ Ford committed to Florida over Ohio State and Texas A&M.
BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE KJ Ford has Committed to Florida, he tells me for @rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 12, 2025
The 64 245 EDGE from Duncanville, TX chose the Gators over Ohio State & Texas A&M
Going to make a statement in the SEChttps://t.co/vI9jwNpCnm pic.twitter.com/30H1WGKDSn
Ford’s recruitment reached a fever pitch this summer, culminating in three high-profile official visits: Gainesville on June 6, College Station on June 13 and Columbus on June 20. However, since four-star defensive end Trenton Henderson committed to LSU over Florida on July 2, Ford became the Gators’ top priority at edge rusher. Florida landed him nine days later, leaving Texas A&M and Ohio State as second and third-place finishers.
Ford’s pledge to Florida continues a disappointing trend of defensive end misses for Larry Johnson this offseason, as the Ohio State defensive end coach has seen four-stars Luke Wafle (USC on June 19), Carter Meadows (Michigan on June 29) and Landon Barnes (Ole Miss on June 30) commit elsewhere.
As it stands, Johnson has one defensive end committed in the 2026 class: California four-star Khary Wilder. He has also landed pledges from three-star defensive tackles Cameron Brickle of Florida and Jamir Perez of Cleveland.
Looking ahead, Johnson and the Buckeyes remain in the mix for Alabama four-star defensive lineman Emanuel Ruffin, as well as four-star Georgia defensive lineman Deuce Geralds. 247Sports sees Ohio State, Alabama and LSU sees the top contenders for Ruffin, and Ohio State, Michigan, Ole Miss and LSU as the top contenders for Geralds.
