Five must-win recruiting battles for Ohio State in the class of 2026: Offense

While Ohio State is certainly not done in wrapping up an excellent class of 2025 recruiting class, with limited spots left you will see a focus of the staff shifting to start to recruit class of 2026 prospects.

The Buckeyes currently have just one commit in the class for next cycle at the moment, although it’s an excellent one in the On3 Industry’s number one overall talent, wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. , originally from Ohio and now playing at Mater Dei in California.

The program will be looking to add to Henry soon, though, and are in a number of battles for elite talent on both sides of the ball that they’ll try to win in the coming months and year. Today, we look at five must-win battles for Ohio State on the trail, starting with the offense, and following up with the defense later in the week.

Quarterback TBD

A little bit of a cop-out here not listing a specific player, but other than Jonas Williams , there aren’t many uncommitted 2026 quarterbacks that Ohio State wants and has a realistic shot of landing.

The Buckeyes did make the top four for Williams last week , which also includes Alabama, Oregon, and LSU. Right now, without Williams having returned this summer for a visit, I am not sure I would have OSU on top, so this is a recruitment the staff is hoping goes at least into the fall, and they can get the On3 Industry’s No. 89 overall talent and No. 9 signal caller back for a game day visit.

As far as other targets, Ohio State will evaluate junior film of prospects they have not offered (i.e. Semaj Beals ) to see if anyone takes a step forward, but more likely in their battle to land a 2026 QB is that they would look to flip a prospect from another school. The problem they are facing there is that not many want to sit behind Julian Sayin / Air Noland and Tavien St. Clair , but you never know what could happen over the next six months to a year.

Ohio State almost landed Jared Curtis back in January and they definitely won’t stop recruiting the Georgia pledge. Noah Grubbs , a Notre Dame commit, has publicly said he’ll make a visit to Columbus. Dia Bell was very fond of the Buckeyes before committing to Texas. And the list goes on.

The bottom line here is that Ohio State absolutely will be taking a high school quarterback in the 2026 class. While we don’t know who that will be just yet, the battle to land said player is critically important to the program.

WR Jabari Brady

Wide receiver Jabari Brady out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) Chaminade-Madonna is not only the On3 Industry’s 26th overall talent in America , but he’s an elite playmaker at a position of need for Ohio State.

Following the 2024 season, the Buckeyes will lose Emeka Egbuka at wide receiver, and following the 2025 campaign, they very well could lose Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss . Jeremiah Smith would be a junior ready to go pro in fall of 2026, and ultimately where I’m getting at is that with a “good not great” 2025 haul at receiver, the position is very critical for Brian Hartline when it comes to depth and talent in his room for this class.

Brady looks up to Smith, a former teammate, like an older brother, and Ohio State is an early favorite for the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder. Winning this recruiting battle won’t be easy, though, and similar to Smith you will see Florida, Miami, and Florida State, as well as other big time programs in the south, all try to keep Brady either in-state or in-region when he signs on the dotted line in December 2025.

OL Maxwell Riley

The best in Ohio stay in Ohio. That’s what the Ohio State staff always says, right?

Well, as things currently stand, it looks like 2026 OL Will Conroy may buck that trend, as the Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius star lineman did not list the Buckeyes in his top five that came out on Monday morning . There’s time for OSU to turn things around with Conroy, but if they can’t it makes keeping other top linemen in the state that much more important.

Enter Max Riley , a 6-foot-3.5, 265-pounder from Avon Lake (OH), who is ranked as the 62nd overall prospect in the country and the No. 6 interior lineman in America per the On3 Industry . Riley holds an early offer from the Buckeyes, and has Ohio State in pole position, but has been very thorough in making sure Columbus is the place for him, and has visited many schools over the past six months.

Riley recently released his top seven , which includes the Buckeyes, Oklahoma, Alabama, Missouri, Clemson, Michigan State, and Clemson. The talented lineman is taking an objective view at his recruitment, and the Sooners, Tigers (Clemson), and Crimson Tide are all legitimate threats to OSU in this one, even though I think the Scarlet and Gray have a strong hold on the one spot.

Ohio State has to finish this recruitment and close it out, though, as keeping a top national offensive lineman home has to be a top priority for the program in this cycle.

OL Sam Greer

Every thing I said about Riley above also applies to Akron (OH) Archbishop Hoban offensive lineman Sam Greer . The 6-foot-8, 290-pounder is still somewhat in a transition from hooper to football player, but Ohio State has offered early and made Greer a priority from day one.

This is a three-layered recruitment, though. This isn’t just about Ohio State landing a top in-state prospect. This isn’t just about the Buckeyes landing a top prospect at a position of need. This is also about who OSU is battling in this one, and right now it looks like rival Michigan is the top competition for the staff at the moment.

The battle for Greer won’t be easy, but it’s critically important for Ohio State on so many levels. They have a chance to land a top 150 prospect at a position of need that could go to the rival school if he doesn’t choose them. It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

OL Micah Smith

Yes, it’s another offensive lineman on this list, and if the importance of the position wasn’t apparent before this section, it should be now.

The difference here is that Micah Smith is not an Ohioan, but rather a Floridian, hailing from Vero Beach, the same program that Ohio State plucked linebacker TJ Alford out of in the 2025 class. The 6-foot-5.5, 300-pounder is on record as saying the Buckeyes are his top school at the moment , but there is a long way until December 2025 when LOIs are signed, and a lot can change until then.

Miami and UCF are the in-state programs that should give Ohio State the most trouble at the moment, with Texas A&M and Kentucky also high on Smith’s list. Alabama and South Carolina are making a charge, and should be watched as well.

It doesn’t seem like a decision is imminent for the No. 101 overall player and No. 10 offensive tackle , so Ohio State needs to keep doing what they’re doing here. It’s definitely going to be a battle to the finish, though, with a number of twists and turns to come.

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