Ohio State general manager Mark Pantoni has been given a big honor by his peers.
Pantoni was named the Executive of the Year at the Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday. The Symposium is a three-day professional development event dedicated to college football recruiting and personnel departments.
Congratulations to Ohio State GM Mark Pantoni for being named the Executive of the Year at the Personnel and Recruiting Symposium in Nashville pic.twitter.com/kcYDyB0bf3
— Ed Terwilliger (@etwill21) August 5, 2025
OSU agrees that Pantoni is one of the top general managers in the sport and awarded him with a new contract in April that makes him one of the highest-paid GMs in college football.
Pantoni is in his 14th season at Ohio State and leads the Buckeyes’ recruiting evaluation efforts in both the high school ranks and in the transfer portal.
Under Pantoni’s leadership, the Buckeyes have finished with a top-10 recruiting class in all but one of his 13 completed cycles.
Brock Williams visiting on Aug. 30
Arguably Ohio State’s top tight end target in the 2027 class has set a visit to Columbus for later this month. Five-star Illinois prospect Brock Williams will be one of many premier recruits in attendance at Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes’ season opener against Texas on Aug. 30.
It’ll be Williams’ first visit to Columbus since early June. Quarterback commit Brady Edmunds has publicly named Williams as a player he’d love to help peer recruit into the Buckeyes’ 2027 recruiting class.
Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Williams is considered the No. 32 prospect and No. 2 tight end in the 2027 class. In his sophomore season, he caught 35 passes for 608 yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
Other schools high in Williams’ recruitment are Texas and Georgia, so an OSU victory over the Longhorns to start the season could go a long way in the Buckeyes’ recruiting pitch.
Roman Igwebuike visiting OSU on Nov. 1
We’ve heard a lot about recruits planning on flocking to Columbus on Aug. 30 for the highly anticipated season opener against Texas. And deservedly so.
But one Ohio State target is eyeing a different gameday visit date this fall. Four-star Illinois linebacker Roman Igwebuike will visit OSU on Nov. 1 for the Penn State contest, in a matchup which could have massive stakes regarding the Big Ten conference race. Igwebuike earned his OSU offer in late April, then camped with the Buckeyes this summer.
He’s considered the No. 117 prospect and the No. 8 linebacker in the 2027 cycle.
Last season, Igwebuike recorded 90 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five sacks and a forced fumble.
Texas Tech throwing some cash around
Call this a case of things in the recruiting sphere I find interesting, but Texas Tech may be the only Big 12 school spending like an elite program.
The Red Raiders already splurged considerably in the transfer portal this offseason, landed five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo this summer and are the favorite to land 2027 five-star edge rusher LaDamion Guyton, the No. 1 defensive end prospect in the country and No. 2 overall player.
It helps to have a billionaire booster in Cody Campbell, of course. But Texas Tech general manager James Blanchard recently told Rivals he’s trying to identify under-recruited prospects and offer them more money in the new revenue-sharing model. He’s confident they’ll add more players to their 2026 class this fall.
“We’re going to poach some guys,” Blanchard told Rivals. “I’m going to do senior evals on the 2026 class across the country and if somebody is underpaying an elite guy that has senior tape he might be a four or five-star guy and people are only paying him 100, 200 thousand I’m going to give him three to 400 thousand and go steal somebody.”
