Correction: Although his signing with Ohio State was previously unreported, Isaiah Kema is a scholarship player for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State’s newest crop of walk-ons includes two sons of former Buckeye starters and a three-star recruit.
Ohio State’s 11 new walk-ons for the 2025 season include several players whose last names will be familiar to Buckeye fans. Stanley Jackson Jr., a redshirt sophomore running back who previously played at Marshall, is the son of former Buckeye quarterback Stanley Jackson. Jaystin Gwinn, a freshman safety from nearby Westerville Central High School, is the son of former Ohio State safety Anthony Gwinn; his uncle, Jayson Gwinn, was also a defensive end for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes’ new walk-ons also include another member of the Stover family, quarterback Kolton Stover, who joins his cousin Garrett Stover on Ohio State’s roster. Kolton becomes the third Stover to play for the Buckeyes, also joining their cousin Cade, a former Ohio State tight end who now plays for the Houston Texans.
Ohio State’s new walk-ons also include a pair of three-star recruits who are walking on with the Buckeyes despite scholarship offers from FBS programs.
Isaiah Kema, a three-star offensive lineman who had a dozen Power 4 offers out of high school, joins the Buckeyes after initially signing with Oklahoma State. Kema, who was originally a member of the 2023 recruiting class but went on a two-year Mormon mission to New Zealand, joins former Oklahoma State offensive line coach Charlie Dickey at Ohio State, as Dickey is now an assistant offensive line coach for the Buckeyes.
Omar Jah, a three-star cornerback from Olentangy High School, is walking on with the Buckeyes over offers from 10 FBS schools.
Jackson is one of three transfers in Ohio State’s 2025 walk-on class along with former Bucknell safety JJ Sebert and former North Carolina long snapper Grant Mills. Gwinn, Jah and Kema are joined as freshman walk-ons by Miami Trace quarterback Trey Robinette, Hilliard Bradley wide receiver Preston Wolfe, Bellbrook safety Gavin Thobe and Florida linebacker Dylan Furshman, who will also play lacrosse at Ohio State.
Ohio State’s 2025 walk-on class is rounded out by offensive lineman Ian Gecse, who spent last year playing for the Ohio State club football team. Gecse becomes the third club football alumnus on Ohio State’s 2025 roster, joining cornerback Glorien Gough and linebacker Zach Hayes.
| No. | Pos | Player | Year | High School (Hometown) | Previous School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | QB | Trey Robinette | FR | Miami Trace (Washington Court House, OH) | |
| 26 | QB | Kolton Stover | FR | Highland (Marengo, OH) | |
| 28 | RB | Stanley Jackson Jr. | RS SO | Westerville North (Westerville, OH) | Marshall |
| 30 | WR | Preston Wolfe | FR | Hilliard Bradley (Columbus, OH) | |
| 32 | S | JJ Sebert | RS FR | Pickerington North (Powell, OH) | Bucknell |
| 35 | S | Jaystin Gwinn | FR | Westerville Central (Westerville, OH) | |
| 36 | CB | Omar Jah | FR | Olentangy (Lewis Center, OH) | |
| 41 | LS | Grant Mills | RS FR | The Cannon School (Mooresville, NC) | North Carolina |
| 49 | S | Gavin Thobe | FR | Bellbrook (Dayton, OH) | |
| 54 | LB | Dylan Furshman | FR | The Benjamin School (Jupiter, FL) | |
| 57 | OL | Ian Gecse | JR | Grandview Heights (Columbus, OH) |
The 11 new walk-ons join 19 returning walk-ons and 91 scholarship players on Ohio State’s 2025 roster, giving the Buckeyes 121 players as preseason camp begins.
While the House v. NCAA settlement approved this summer set a roster limit of 105 players for college football, teams are allowed to have larger rosters for now thanks to the Designated Student-Athlete exception, which gives teams extra roster spots to account for players who were already with the team that would have lost their spots if a hard cap of 105 players had gone into effect this season. As such, Ohio State will have the same number of players in camp this year as it has in other recent seasons.
