Ohio State has missed out on the top safety in the 2024 recruiting class.
Although Ohio State was optimistic about its chances with five-star 2024 safety KJ Bolden coming out of his official visit in June, the Georgia prospect instead committed to Florida State on Saturday, choosing the Seminoles over Ohio State, Georgia, Auburn and Alabama.
Bolden, who is considered to be the top safety and the No. 7 overall prospect nationally in 247Sports’ composite rankings for the 2024 class, had long been Ohio State’s top target at the safety position in this recruiting cycle. It marks the second year that Ohio State has heavily pursued a top-ranked safety out of Georgia but lost that recruiting battle in the end; Caleb Downs, the No. 1 safety in the 2023 class, committed to Alabama over Ohio State.
Ohio State currently has one safety commitment, Jaylen McClain, in its 2024 class. The Buckeyes are hoping to add multiple safeties in the class, but of the other 13 safeties OSU has offered, only Zaquan Patterson and Jaylen Heyward (a former Georgia commit) remain uncommitted.
Despite Bolden committing elsewhere, OSU is still considered the favorite to land his high school teammate, five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston, who will announce his commitment on Aug. 22.
