As Ohio State begins its preparation to face Penn State’s current team on the field, the Buckeyes are also looking to woo some of the Nittany Lions’ current and former commits to play at Ohio State.
James Franklin’s firing last week effectively reopened the recruitments of all of Penn State’s commits, giving the Buckeyes and other top programs around the country some new targets to fill out their 2026 recruiting classes and continue building their 2027 recruiting classes. Many of Penn State’s top commits in the 2026 class have already decommitted from Penn State or announced they’ll explore their options elsewhere even if they’re still committed to the Nittany Lions, while all four 2027 prospects who were committed to PSU quickly decommitted after the coaching change.
Ohio State immediately got to work attempting to flip some of those prospects away from their Big Ten foe.
“All over it,” Ryan Day said last week when asked about recruiting players that may become available during the season. “We're evaluating really heavy right now this class, and how things are going. The majority of their seasons are on film now, so it gives us a great chance to identify who we feel like is playing at a high level and who we want to target. Certainly we have our commits, and they're doing great. But there's also a bunch of pieces to the puzzle that we're working toward to get onto the team.”
In particular, the following nine players who were or are committed to Penn State are prospects worth monitoring for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has demonstrated interest in each of them, and each of them could be fits for Ohio State to either fill holes in the 2026 class or become building blocks of the 2027 class.
2026 OL Kevin Brown
While Ohio State has five offensive linemen in its 2026 recruiting class following last week’s commitment of Landry Brede, it could certainly still use another premier prospect in the trenches. As such, Brown might be the Penn State commit who would give the Buckeyes’ 2026 class the biggest boost if they can flip him.
Brown has been committed to Penn State since July 2024, but he’s entertaining interest from Ohio State in the wake of Franklin’s firing. The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania product told Rivals last week that he is looking to schedule visits to Ohio State and West Virginia.
Brown is ranked as the No. 4 offensive tackle and No. 59 overall prospect in the 2026 class. If Ohio State was successful in flipping him, Brown would be the highest-ranked out-of-state offensive lineman to sign with the Buckeyes since Donovan Jackson in 2021.
2026 LB Elijah Littlejohn
James Laurinaitis has clear interest in adding a third linebacker to Ohio State’s 2026 class, and Littlejohn may have vaulted to the top of the wish list with his announcement last week that his recruitment is “100% open.”
RECRUITMENT 100% OPEN pic.twitter.com/EFYXw8OPOf
— Elijah Littlejohn (@elijahthrowed) October 16, 2025
Ranked as the No. 386 overall prospect in the 2026 class, Littlejohn told 247Sports last week that Ohio State has stayed in contact with him throughout the recruiting process – even though he’s been committed to Penn State since June – and said he plans to visit Ohio State.
Being recruited by Ohio State as a linebacker even though he is ranked as an edge rusher by 247Sports, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Charlotte resident has the potential to be a versatile chess piece – much like Arvell Reese for the current Buckeyes – for whichever defense he ultimately plays for.
2026 DE Jackson Samuels Ford
The lone Penn State commit who made an official visit to Ohio State over the summer, Ford would address the Buckeyes’ biggest remaining need in the 2026 class, as they have just one defensive end (Khary Wilder) committed in the current cycle.
Ohio State was one of the runners-up in Ford’s initial recruitment, as Ford released a final four of Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin before committing to Penn State in June. The Phoenixville, Pennsylvania resident was impressed by OSU during his official visit, telling Eleven Warriors after the visit that Ohio State had “a bunch of dawgs who put in hard work and want to compete for a championship.”
Ford remains committed to Penn State and told 247Sports last week that he wasn’t in a rush to set up visits with other schools, but it would come as a surprise if Larry Johnson and Co. don’t make another run at the four-star DE given that the Buckeyes would still like to add multiple defensive ends to their 2026 class.
2026 RB Messiah Mickens
Ohio State offered Mickens all the way back in January 2023, and it’s re-engaged with the four-star running back following Franklin’s firing. While Mickens has been committed to Penn State since August 2023, he told On3 last week that he has reopened his recruitment and is keeping close contact with Ohio State as well as Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia, Miami, Rutgers and Syracuse.
Four-Star Penn State RB commit Messiah Mickens has re-opened his recruitment but remains committed, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 14, 2025
Mickens says hes keeping close contact with/setting OVs with these 7 schoolshttps://t.co/9sysnQK6zd pic.twitter.com/k3zqqixmT9
The Buckeyes have one running back committed for 2026, in-state four-star Favour Akih, and are making a strong push to flip four-star Georgia running back Amari Latimer from Wisconsin. Mickens, the No. 13 running back and No. 162 overall prospect in the class, is the caliber of prospect that would give Carlos Locklyn good reason to take three running backs in 2026 if he’s interested in becoming a Buckeye.
2026 CB Jaziel Hart
Unlike the other 2026 prospects on this list, Ohio State hasn’t yet offered Hart. But the Virginia cornerback told 247Sports last week that he heard from the Buckeyes following his decommitment last week, and they told Hart they were evaluating his senior-year film.
With just one cornerback commit in the 2026 class (Jordan Thomas), Ohio State is looking to make at least one late addition at the position over the next two months. Florida State commit Jay Timmons and Nebraska commit Danny Odem look like the Buckeyes’ top flip targets right now, but Hart could be another option if Ohio State deems him worthy of an offer.
Hart, who’s ranked as the No. 43 cornerback and 559th overall prospect in the 2026 class, told 247Sports that Indiana, Michigan State, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are the schools showing the most interest in him right now.
2027 RB Kemon Spell
The highest-ranked prospect who was committed to Penn State before Franklin’s firing, Spell was already being heavily courted by Ohio State even before the coaching change. The No. 1 running back and No. 7 overall prospect in the 2027 class, Spell ranks alongside fellow five-star recruit David Gabriel Georges as a crown-jewel target the Buckeyes would love to add to their backfield in two years.
Notre Dame has emerged as the frontrunner to land Spell’s second commitment after his visit to South Bend for the Fighting Irish’s win over USC last week. Fighting Irish running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider was the position coach he originally committed to at Penn State, giving Notre Dame a leg up in the race to land the blue-chip running back.
“I’m leaning toward Notre Dame a lot,” Spell told On3. “I like the program. I like being up there. And I can’t wait to get back up there again.”
That said, Spell told On3 he doesn’t plan on making another commitment until next year’s signing day for his recruiting class, giving Ohio State and other schools plenty of time to make up ground. He visited Ohio State for the Buckeyes’ season-opening win over Texas, and told 247Sports after that visit that he was impressed by Locklyn, describing his coaching as “elite.”
2027 OT Layton Von Brandt
Another five-star prospect who decommitted from Penn State after Franklin’s firing, Von Brandt could emerge as one of Ohio State’s top offensive line targets in the 2027 class now that he’s back on the open market. The Delaware resident, who’s ranked as the No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 33 overall prospect in the 2027 class, was offered by Ohio State in May even though he had been committed to Penn State since November.
As with Spell, Notre Dame is viewed as the early frontrunner to win Von Brandt’s second recruitment. But Von Brandt told On3 last week that he talks to Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen regularly and that he plans to make a visit to Ohio State next spring.
2027 LB/S Gabriel Jenkins
While Jenkins doesn’t have an offer from Ohio State yet, there’s mutual interest between Jenkins and the Buckeyes. Having already made multiple trips to Ohio State this offseason, Jenkins told On3 last week that he plans to return to campus for the Buckeyes’ Nov. 15 game against UCLA.
A versatile prospect who plays strong safety and running back for Pittsburgh’s Imani Christian Academy but could end up playing linebacker at the next level, Jenkins told Parker’s Edits that Florida State, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and USC were the schools standing out most to him at the time of his commitment. His upcoming visit to Ohio State suggests the Buckeyes could become a major player in his recruitment if they choose to offer him, though.
Jenkins is ranked as the 246th overall prospect in the 2027 class.
2027 WR Khalil Taylor
Like Jenkins, Taylor doesn’t yet have an offer from Ohio State, but there’s mutual interest between Taylor and the Buckeyes. After decommitting from Penn State last week, Taylor told 247Sports that he plans to visit Ohio State this fall along with Syracuse, Nebraska, Virginia, Georgia, Oregon and Michigan (for The Game).
Ohio State already has a commitment from the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2027 class, Jamier Brown, and is in hot pursuit of several other top receivers in the cycle including Indianapolis five-star Monshun Sales and Michigan four-star Dakota Guerrant, among others. Still, there’s good reason to believe Taylor will be on offer watch when he visits Ohio State for next week’s game against Penn State, as the 5-foot-11, 180-pound receiver from Pittsburgh is ranked as the No. 62 overall prospect and No. 12 wide receiver in his class.
