Who’s Left? An in-depth look at Ohio State’s remaining targets in the 2025 class

COLUMBUS — Ohio State added commitment No. 23 to its top-ranked recruiting class on Friday when four-star McKinney (Texas) linebacker Riley Pettijohn committed to the Buckeyes over Texas A&M, Texas and USC.

Pettijohn, the No. 33 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings , gives Ohio State a third talented linebacker in the 2025 class to go along with four-star Port St. Lucie (Fla.) Vero Beach linebacker Tarvos Alford and three-star Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban linebacker Eli Lee .

The Buckeyes have the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country and only a handful of targets left on the board. Lettermen Row breaks down the prospects still on the board for Ohio State in the 2025 class.

Anthony Rogers

Ohio State wants to take a third running back in the 2025 class and four-star Montgomery (Ala.) Carver running back Anthony Rogers is a prospect running backs coach Carlos Locklyn is after.

The 5-foot-8 and 185-pound Rogers is committed to Alabama but took an unofficial visit to Ohio State in May. Carlos Locklyn was one of the first coaches to offer Rogers in 2021 when he was the running backs coach at Western Kentucky and the two have a long-standing relationship

The next step for Ohio State is getting Rogers back to campus for an official visit this fall.

Shekai Mills-Knight

Three-star Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School running back Shekai Mills-Knight is another prospect that Ohio State and Carlos Locklyn are recruiting for that third running back spot.

Mills-Knight told On3 Vice President of Recruiting and Transfer Portal Steve Wiltfong earlier this week that he will visit Ohio State for the first time on July 29 . He took official visits to Miami, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee and Ole Miss in June and an unofficial visit Michigan.

This will be a hotly contested recruitment but Mills-Knight was one of the first prospects that Locklyn offered after arriving at Ohio State. Locklyn has been recruiting Mills-Knight since he was at Oregon and the two are close.

Phillip Bell

Ohio State was not a school that was often mentioned for four-star Mission Viejo (Calif.) wide receiver Phillip Bell prior to his official visit to Columbus but the Buckeyes have seemingly taken the lead in his recruitment since that visit. Bell, the No. 173 prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings , officially visited Georgia and Washington in May then Penn State, Ohio State and USC in June.

The Buckeyes have a commanding 83.6% lead on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong both have On3 RPM picks in for Bell to Ohio State.

Bell does not have a decision date set but he told On3 after his Ohio State official visit that he wanted to decide on one after taking his final official to USC the weekend of June 21-23.

Jayvon McFadden

Ohio State only has a small number of targets remaining in the 2025 class and a few of them are along the offensive line. Four-star Washington D.C. Riverdale Baptist offensive lineman Jayvon McFadden is one of those targets.

McFadden only took one official visit in June and it was to Ohio State. The Buckeyes hold a commanding 95.9% lead the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine for the 6-foot-4 and 270-pound McFadden.

McFadden, the No. 388 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings, does not have commitment date set but he told Lettermen Row after his Ohio State official visit that he wanted to commit before his senior season.

David Sanders Jr.

Five-star Plus+ Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. took official visits to South Carolina, Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio State in June. Now the touted offensive tackle is in decision-making mode in hopes of announcing his commitment before the start of his senior season.

Ohio State and Tennessee have seemingly separated themselves from the pack in July. The Buckeyes and Volunteers have both hosted Sanders Jr. and his family for at least three visits this offseason. He is also close with both Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye and Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee .

Both programs have pulled out all of the stops for Sanders Jr., now they await for a decision from one of top prospects in the 2025 class.

Malik Autry

Ohio State has one talented defensive lineman out of Alabama committed in four-star Troy (Ala) Enterprise EDGE Zion Grady and now the Buckeyes are working to flip four-star Opelika (Ala.) defensive lineman Malik Autry .

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson has been recruiting Autry hard. Ohio State got Autry on campus the weekend of May 4 and Johnson attended the Opelika spring game a few weeks later. Assistant defensive line coach LaAllan Clark’s ties to the south have also helped Ohio State in this recruitment.

The Auburn commit took an official to Ohio State in June alongside Grady and Five-Star Plus+ cornerback Na’eem Offord . The two Alabama natives are working hard to get Autry to join them at Ohio State.

It won’t be easy for Ohio State to flip Autry from Auburn but the Buckeyes have his attention after his official visit.

Trey McNutt

The recruitment of five-star Cleveland (Ohio) Shaker Heights safety Trey McNutt has been an interesting one.

McNutt is an Ohio Sate legacy and the Buckeyes were considered the team to beat throughout most of his recruitment. That started to change this spring, however, as schools like Florida, Oregon and USC got him on campus. All three got him on campus for an official visit in June but Oregon has taken the lead in this recruitment. The Ducks hold a 78.1% lead for McNutt on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine and the aforementioned Steve Wiltfong has an On3 RPM pick in for Oregon.

Ohio State is still planning to host McNutt for an official visit this fall and he has a close relationship with the coaching staff. McNutt plans to take his recruitment the distance so there is still plenty of time for Ohio State to regain the momentum.

Messiah Delhomme

Ohio State already has three safeties committed in the 2025 class and is still in pursuit of the Trey McNutt but the Buckeyes are also in the mix for four-star Newport News (Va.) Warwick athlete Messiah Delhomme .

The 6-foot-1 and 200-pound Delhomme visited Ohio State in April and retuned to Columbus for an official visit in June. He also took official visits to Virginia Tech, Virginia and Maryland.

Ohio State holds a 54.0% lead for Delhomme, the No. 192 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings , on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with Michigan in second.

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