New Ohio State running back coach Carlos Locklyn was busy on the recruiting trail on Tuesday.
Locklyn offered two new running backs in the 2026 cycle, both of whom are four-star prospects and top-five running backs in the class. We’ll break down each of them below.
Jonathan Hatton Jr.
Hatton committed to Oklahoma on Oct. 3, but that didn’t stop Ohio State from getting in the mix for the Cibolo, Texas product.
AGTG! After a great chat with @Locklyn33 Im blessed and grateful to receive an offer from @OhioStateFB. @Football_Steele @CKennedy247 @samspiegs @BDammone @DEFCONTX7v7 pic.twitter.com/iPHDKbJWbV
— Jonathan Hatton Jr (@Jonathan6Hatton) April 23, 2024
Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Hatton is considered the No. 52 prospect and the No. 4 running back in 2026. He’s earned 14 Division I offers, including Oklahoma, Alabama, Baylor, Houston, Nebraska, Oregon, SMU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Toledo, USC and Vanderbilt.
Hatton camped at Ohio State last June but left Columbus without an offer, so there’s some obvious interest in the program from him.
As a sophomore, Hatton ran for 1,232 yards on 242 carries with 21 rushing touchdowns. He added five catches for 34 yards as a receiver.
Deshonne Redeaux
Locklyn’s West Coast roots came into play for Ohio State's other running back offered Tuesday, with four-star California prospect Deshonne Redeaux picking up the offer. Locklyn had offered Redeaux at Oregon, so the two already had some familiarity with each other.
I am blessed to receive and offer from THE Ohio state university!! #gobuckeyes # @GregBiggins @ChadSimmons_ @BrandonHuffman @adamgorney @Locklyn33 @SWiltfong_ @BlairAngulo @Malikcyphers @alecsimpson5 @BarstoolOSU @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/qnAgOFFRhE
— Deshonne redeaux (@d_redeaux1) April 24, 2024
Redeaux is considered the No. 51 prospect and No. 3 running back in the 2026 class, just ahead of Hatton. He’s earned 27 Division I offers, including Michigan, Alabama, SMU, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Georgia, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Washington and Washington State.
In six games as a sophomore, Redeaux ran for 439 yards on 49 carries with five rushing touchdowns. He added six catches for 40 yards in the passing game and served as the team’s kick returner.
Avery Gach to commit on May 3
One of Ohio State’s top offensive line targets in the 2025 cycle is closing in on a decision. Four-star Michigan offensive tackle Avery Gach will announce his commitment on May 3 and choose from a final four of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Very excited! All are invited to attend in person at the Groves auditorium off of 13 mile and evergreen. Starts at 3:15 but would like to get people there at 3:05. https://t.co/m9mWP9In7s
— Avery Gach (@AveryGach) April 24, 2024
Gach is considered the 240th-best prospect and the 16th-best interior offensive lineman in the 2025 cycle. He’s visited Ohio State numerous times throughout his recruitment and has built a good relationship with Buckeyes offensive line coach Justin Frye.
“I love Frye, he’s a really good coach,” Gach told Eleven Warriors last summer. “He produces a ton of NFL talent and he’s a really good guy.”
With just more than a week before Gach announces his decision, Michigan is trending heavily for the 6-foot-5, 290-pound product. Barring a last-minute surprise, Gach will likely be suiting up for the Buckeyes’ rival in 2025.
Harmon, Brooks enter transfer portal
Two players with previous connections to Ohio State put their names in the transfer portal on Tuesday.
Junior cornerback Terrance Brooks was among the latest transfer portal entries after spending two seasons at Texas. Brooks, a one-time Ohio State commit who flipped on signing day in 2022, was part of a Longhorns secondary that served up coverage breakdowns to Arch Manning on a silver platter in Texas’ spring game, much to the delight of media companies and social media engagement alike. He played in 23 games for Texas the past two seasons and made 19 starts.
That’s all to say, there’s certainly no room for him at Ohio State at the moment, but it will be interesting to see where the former OSU commit ends up moving forward.
Meanwhile, there may not be a greater example of where the current climate of college football is at than Michigan State defensive tackle Derrick Harmon re-entering the transfer portal for a second straight transfer window.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound player initially opted to transfer in December and took visits to Ohio State, Oregon and Auburn before ultimately returning to East Lansing. For spring practice, at least.
Harmon is now back on the market after posting 40 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2023 for a Michigan State squad that finished 4-8 and failed to reach a bowl game. Per Pro Football Focus grades for the 2023 season, Harmon was the eighth-best defensive tackle in the Big Ten last year with a 78 overall grade (80.5 in run defense, 72.3 in pass rush). The only OSU defensive tackle graded higher was Tyleik Williams with an 81 overall grade.
That said, Ohio State loves where its defensive tackle depth is at following the spring with Williams, Ty Hamilton and a handful of promising other young players. It’s not impossible that OSU ultimately tries again for Harmon, but considering the Buckeyes like their current depth and there’s no shortage of defensive tackle depth concerns at other premier programs across the country, it’s hard to envision him ending up in Columbus this time around.
