Ohio State hasn’t yet landed a commitment from official visit season, but that looks likely to change soon.
While Ohio State’s third official visit weekend of the summer started Friday, two of Ohio State’s official visitors from the last two weekends also made announcements about their recruitments on Friday, and both of those announcements look like good news for the Buckeyes.
Five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou, Larry Johnson’s top uncommitted target in the 2027 class, narrowed his recruitment to three schools on Friday: Ohio State, Georgia and Texas. Fakatou had been scheduled to also make official visits to Oregon and Notre Dame, but canceled both of those visits, indicating he’s seen enough to make his college decision.
NEWS: Five-Star DL Marcus Fakatou is down to Georgia, Texas, and Ohio State, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 12, 2026
The No. 2 DL in the 2027 class has canceled his remaining official visits to Oregon and Notre Damehttps://t.co/uJVAahVKK3 pic.twitter.com/VjwGxznMRi
Georgia and Texas are also contenders for Fakatou – particularly Texas after the Longhorns landed a commitment from fellow Sierra Canyon defensive lineman and Ohio State target Kasi Currie earlier this week – but signs are pointing toward Friday’s announcement being a win for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has been considered the frontrunner for Fakatou since the start of official visit season, and five different recruiting insiders on Rivals have now placed predictions that Fakatou will be a Buckeye.
If Fakatou ultimately chooses the Buckeyes, he’ll form a star-studded trio along the defensive line in Ohio State’s 2027 class, joining five-star defensive end DJ Jacobs and fellow top-100 prospect Wyatt Smith.
Fakatou, who’s ranked as the No. 24 overall prospect in the 2027 class, is a versatile defensive lineman at 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds who could potentially play both defensive end and defensive tackle at the collegiate level.
While Fakatou hasn’t yet set a commitment date, another recent Ohio State official visitor did so on Friday. Four-star cornerback Jaden Carey announced Friday that he will announce his commitment at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday.
#OhioState cornerback target @JadenCarey22 is set to commit on Wednesday on the @CBSSportsCFB YouTube page.https://t.co/6VfXx7pIcD pic.twitter.com/m8ZxJbfeii
— Bucknuts (@Bucknuts247) June 12, 2026
Carey will choose from a final three of Ohio State, Miami and Auburn, but the Buckeyes have reason to feel good about where they stand entering Wednesday’s announcement. While Carey’s father played for Miami, the Buckeyes emerged as the favorite for Carey even before they hosted him for his official visit last week. Carey wasn’t scheduled to make his official visit to Auburn until next weekend, so his decision to announce his commitment on Wednesday suggests he won’t be a Tiger.
Tim Walton is hoping Carey will be just one of three cornerbacks to commit to the Buckeyes in the coming days, as Ohio State is hosting fellow four-star cornerbacks Monsanna Torbert Jr. and Deontay Malone on official visits this weekend. Ohio State is also viewed as the favorite for both of them, so while the Buckeyes don’t yet have any cornerbacks in their 2027 class, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they add multiple CBs in the next week or two.
