The best in Ohio stay in Ohio.
On the first day of the Early Signing Period, three-star safety Kaden Gebhardt flipped his commitment from Clemson to Ohio State and signed with the Buckeyes.
Staying Home in the Scarlet & Gray! Welcome to BIA, @kaden_gebhardt#THE26 pic.twitter.com/bTNDSbHSUq
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 3, 2025
A Lewis Center native, Gebhardt and four-star linebacker commit/signee CJ Sanna were teammates at Olentangy High School. Gebhardt is now one of 11 Ohioans in the 2026 class, joining Cincere Johnson, Sam Greer, Maxwell Riley, Sanna, Favour Akih, Nick Lautar, Jaeden Ricketts, Mason Wilhelm, Jamir Perez and Landry Brede.
The Gebhardt File
- Class: 2026
- Size: 6-2/200
- Pos: S
- School: Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio)
- Composite Rating: ★★★
- Composite Rank: #546 (#44 S)
While Gebhardt manned the back end of Olentangy’s defense, he had a nose for the football across four varsity seasons, recording 418 total tackles. He also stuffed the stat sheet with 11 interceptions, 17 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Gebhardt earned All-OCC honors in all four years at Olentangy. He also received OCC Defensive Player of the Year recognition after his junior and senior seasons.
A Tigers commit since March 11, Gebhardt made official visits to Clemson (May 30), Ohio State (June 6) and Penn State (June 12). He remained locked in with Dabo Swinney’s program until November, when Mickey Conn’s future as the Tigers’ co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach came into question.
Now committed to Ohio State, Gebhardt is one of four safeties in the Buckeyes’ 2026 class, joining four-star prospects Blaine Bradford, Simeon Caldwell and Khmari Bing. At 6-foot-2 and 200-plus pounds, Gebhardt has the frame to also potentially play linebacker once he arrives on campus. Current redshirt freshman Garrett Stover made a similar move after playing safety in high school before joining James Laurinaitis’ room in college.
Gebhardt is Ohio State’s 28th commitment in the 2026 class. With plenty of recruits still set to sign their scholarship agreements between Wednesday and Friday, the Buckeyes’ class currently ranks No. 5 nationally behind USC, Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and Oregon.
| Pos | Name | Rating | Rank | Size | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | CHRIS HENRY JR. | ★★★★★ | #10 NATL | #1 WR | 6-5 | 205 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) |
| DE | KHARY WILDER | ★★★★ | #42 NATL | #2 DL | 6-4 | 260 | Junipero Serra (Gardena, California) |
| LB | CINCERE JOHNSON | ★★★★ | #50 NATL | #3 LB | 6-3 | 222 | Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| OT | SAM GREER | ★★★★ | #51 NATL | #6 OT | 6-8 | 315 | Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) |
| CB | JAY TIMMONS | ★★★★ | #64 NATL | #7 CB | 5-11 | 185 | Pine-Richland (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania) |
| S | BLAINE BRADFORD | ★★★★ | #71 NATL | #7 S | 6-1 | 207 | Catholic (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) |
| CB | JORDAN THOMAS | ★★★★ | #123 NATL | #15 CB | 6-1 | 185 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey) |
| WR | JERQUADEN GUILFORD | ★★★★ | #137 NATL | #22 WR | 6-3 | 190 | Northrop (Fort Wayne, Indiana) |
| OL | MAXWELL RILEY | ★★★★ | #171 NATL | #7 IOL | 6-5 | 280 | Avon Lake (Avon Lake, Ohio) |
| ATH | LEGEND BEY | ★★★★ | #175 NATL | #9 ATH | 5-11 | 175 | North Forney (Forney, Texas) |
| S | SIMEON CALDWELL | ★★★★ | #186 NATL | #10 LB | 6-3 | 185 | The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Florida) |
| DT | DAMARI SIMEON | ★★★★ | #194 NATL | #22 DL | 6-3 | 275 | St. Augustine Prep (Richland, New Jersey) |
| RB | FAVOUR AKIH | ★★★★ | #244 NATL | #17 RB | 6-0 | 190 | Rutherford B Hayes (Delaware, Ohio) |
| DT | EMANUEL RUFFIN | ★★★★ | #247 NATL | #29 DL | 6-4 | 295 | Bessemer City (Bessemer, Alabama) |
| LB | CJ SANNA | ★★★★ | #252 NATL| #15 LB | 6-3 | 225 | Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio) |
| LB | BRAXTON REMBERT | ★★★★ | #358 NATL | #22 ED | 6-5 | 200 | Mill Creek (Hoschton, Georgia) |
| DE | DRE QUINN | ★★★★ | #365 NATL | #36 EDGE | 6-4 | 228 | Buford (Buford, Georgia) |
| S | KHMARI BING | ★★★★ | #395 NATL | #35 CB | 6-0 | 190 | St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland) |
| WR | JAEDEN RICKETTS | ★★★★ | #424 NATL | #62 WR | 6-0 | 187 | Watkins Memorial (Pataskala, Ohio) |
| TE | NICK LAUTAR | ★★★ | #542 NATL | #29 TE | 6-5 | 230 | Lebanon (Lebanon, Ohio) |
| S | KADEN GEBHARDT | ★★★ | #546 NATL | #44 S | 6-2 | 200 | Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio) |
| OL | TUCKER SMITH | ★★★ | #572 NATL | #45 IOL | 6-5 | 280 | Sandra Day O'Connor (Phoenix, Arizona) |
| DL | DARRYUS MCKINLEY | ★★★ | #600 NATL | #72 DL | 6-3 | 270 | Acadiana (Lafayette, Louisiana) |
| WR | BROCK BOYD | ★★★ | #600 NATL | #84 WR | 6-1 | 180 | Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) |
| QB | LUKE FAHEY | ★★★ | #629 NATL | #37 QB | 6-0 | 185 | Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, California) |
| DT | JAMIR PEREZ | ★★★ | #768 NATL | #86 DL | 6-4 | 360 | Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| OT | LANDRY BREDE | ★★★ | #858 NATL | #77 OT | 6-5 | 280 | Mentor (Mentor, Ohio) |
| OL | MASON WILHELM | ★★★ | #1002 NATL | #81 IOL | 6-4 | 285 | St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) |
| Prospect Rating Data: 247Sports Composite | |||||
