2026 Flip Targets, 2027 Prospects on Commitment Watch Among Ohio State’s Recruiting Visitors for UCLA

By Dan Hope on November 14, 2025 at 10:21 am
Dre Quinn
Dre Quinn
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Ohio State will look to keep flip season going as it hosts four official visitors from the 2026 recruiting class for Saturday’s game vs. UCLA.

Having landed four commitments since last Thursday from 2026 prospects who were previously committed to other schools, Ohio State is set to host four more 2026 prospects who either are or were committed elsewhere on official visits this weekend.

Ohio State will also host some top targets in the 2027 recruiting class – including two strong candidates to commit to the Buckeyes sooner than later – and early prospects of interest in the 2028 and 2029 recruiting classes. Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff time allows for more out-of-state talent to make the trip to Columbus for the Buckeyes’ final home night game of the season, and Ryan Day is excited for the weekend’s visitors to experience a great atmosphere at Ohio Stadium.

“Any time it's a night game, it's exciting. And I think we have some good recruits in, which is great,” Ryan Day said Wednesday. “We should have a great crowd. We've had great crowds this year, so it should be a great atmosphere.”

Four more flip prospects in town

As Ohio State looks to add a few more pieces to round out its defensive recruiting class of 2026, four prime targets to fill those spots will be at the Shoe on Saturday night.

The most consequential visit of the weekend may be that of four-star edge rusher Dre Quinn. Defensive end is the biggest lingering need for Ohio State in the 2026 class, as the Buckeyes still have just one defensive end commit in the cycle (Khary Wilder). Quinn has emerged as the top target to fill that spot since his decommitment from Clemson in September.

Ohio State faces plenty of competition for Quinn. Texas is viewed as a leading contender to land the Georgia native, and he told Rivals’ Chad Simmons earlier this week that Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Miami remain in the mix as well. But the fact that Quinn is returning to Ohio State for a second visit after attending the Minnesota game last month shows his interest in the Buckeyes is strong, and he told Simmons that he could make a commitment as soon as next week, seemingly leaving the door open for Ohio State to potentially win his second recruitment this weekend.

“I have an official visit to Ohio State on Nov. 15, then an unofficial visit to Texas on Nov. 22, and an official visit to Tennessee on Nov. 29. I’m not sure yet about my commitment timeline. It could be next week or closer to Signing Day. I’d like to commit sooner, but I’m not going to rush it,” Quinn told Simmons.

The Buckeyes will host two defensive linemen on official visits this weekend as Lettermen Row reported Friday that LSU commit Darryus McKinley will also make an official visit for this weekend’s game. McKinley, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman who could play either outside or inside, was offered by Ohio State on Oct. 30 – four days after LSU fired Brian Kelly – and will now make an official visit to OSU just over two weeks later.

The highest-ranked official visitor on campus this weekend will be four-star cornerback CJ Bronaugh, the No. 14 CB and No. 120 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite. Bronaugh has been committed to Florida since June, but Ohio State has emerged as a real threat to flip him since it offered him on Oct. 25, six days after Florida fired Billy Napier.

Ohio State already flipped one four-star cornerback from a Sunshine State school with last week’s commitment from former Florida State pledge Jay Timmons, but a spot remains open for Bronaugh if he wants it. If Tim Walton pulls off the flip, Ohio State would have three cornerbacks in the 2026 class – also including Jordan Thomas – who are all ranked among the top 150 overall prospects in the 247Sports composite.

The Buckeyes also want to add a third linebacker to the class, and they could soon have one if all goes well on this weekend’s visit with Wake Forest commit Braxton Rembert. While Rembert is ranked as just the No. 1,377 overall prospect in the composite rankings, Ohio State views him as a hidden gem and has made him a priority target since offering him last month. A product of Georgia’s Mill Creek High School – Caleb Downs’ alma mater – Rembert has expressed strong interest in Ohio State, the only Power 4 school other than Wake Forest that he’s announced an offer from.

Ohio State’s last couple of home games have brought surprise official visitors to town, including recent running back commit Legend Bey, so it’s still possible the list of official visitors could expand, but those are the only confirmed official visitors for this weekend as of now. Alabama defensive line commit JJ Finch had been scheduled to visit Ohio State this weekend, but that visit will no longer happen after defensive tackle Emanuel Ruffin’s commitment to OSU on Sunday.

Williams, Johnson headline 2027 visitors

No uncommitted prospect visiting Ohio State this weekend is more coveted by the Buckeyes than Brock Williams, the second-ranked tight end in the 2027 class. Evidence of that came Thursday when Ryan Day – who isn’t known for posting regularly on social media, especially during the season – retweeted Williams’ X post announcing his visit this weekend.

Williams has said he plans to make a commitment in December, and Ohio State is the frontrunner to land that commitment. While Williams has also named Georgia and Texas as finalists, it’s telling that Williams will be in the Shoe on Saturday night rather than watching the Bulldogs’ battle with the Longhorns in Athens.

Four-star Texas safety Eli Johnson is another top prospect on commitment watch this weekend. Rivals national recruiting analysts Steve Wiltfong and Sam Spiegelman both placed predictions on Thursday that Johnson, the No. 10 safety and No. 114 overall prospect in the 2027 class, will commit to Ohio State.

After landing commitments from in-state offensive linemen Kellen Wymer and Mason Wilt two weekends ago, Ohio State will look to continue building its 2027 offensive line class this weekend as it’s set to host three out-of-state four-star offensive linemen for the UCLA game: Michigan offensive tackle Dewey Young (No. 120 overall), Wisconsin offensive tackle Cole Reiter (No. 169 overall) and Colorado interior lineman Jackson Roper (No. 242 overall).

Ohio State will also host a pair of top prospects from Pennsylvania: Defensive end Abraham Sesay, the No. 79 overall prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2027 class, and Gabriel Jenkins, a linebacker/safety ranked 261st overall who decommitted from Penn State after James Franklin’s firing in October.

Top 2028 and 2029 prospects visiting, too

After hosting a pair of defensive ends ranked as top-100 overall prospects in the 2028 class for the Penn State game (Darieon Prescott and Jayden Bell), Ohio State will do so again this weekend as Pennsylvania defensive end George Parkinson IV (the No. 53 overall prospect in the class) and Maryland edge rusher Jermaine Smith Jr. (No. 99 overall) will be in Columbus.

They’ll be joined by another highly touted four-star defensive lineman in Tennessee defensive tackle Ayden Woodruff, the 121st-ranked overall prospect in the class.

In-state running back Cartae Ligon will be another visitor of note in the 2028 class. While Ligon doesn’t yet have a composite ranking or an Ohio State offer, he’s become a name to know in his class as he recently picked up offers from Indiana, Miami, North Carolina and Penn State, among others, coming off of a sophomore season in which he had 2,580 all-purpose yards and 27 touchdowns for Chillicothe.

If you’re already looking ahead to the recruiting class of 2029, a couple of early names to know in that class will be in attendance for the UCLA game as well. Pickerington Central running back Edmund McAllister III picked up his first Power 4 offer earlier this week from Louisville and is expected to be one of Ohio’s top prospects in his class. Coron Russell Jr., a safety from Philadelphia, was offered by South Carolina this summer.

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