After a tough week, Justin Frye has bounced back and won a pivotal recruitment.
Ohio State added much-needed depth to its offensive line for the class of 2025 on Saturday with the commitment of four-star Maryland prospect Jayvon McFadden.
The McFadden File
- Class: 2025
- Size: 6-5/300
- Pos: OL
- School: Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: #407 (#25 IOL)
McFadden took his official visit to Ohio State on June 6, the only official visit he took this summer. Momentum was surging toward McFadden joining the Buckeyes' 2025 class shortly after his trip to Columbus, but he opted to slow down his recruitment and re-evaluate his options. In the past few weeks, Frye and the rest of Ohio State's staff made a big push for McFadden, which worked in the Buckeyes' favor.
The Upper Marlboro, Maryland resident was a frequent visitor to Columbus over the past year, with the Buckeyes offering him in November while he was on a visit for the Michigan State game. He returned to campus in the spring for Ohio State's spring game and then again in June for his official visit. OSU was the only official visit McFadden scheduled in June because he felt a greater connection with the Buckeyes than with any other college team, even though it took him a little longer to pull the trigger than expected.
McFadden picked Ohio State over nearly 30 other teams including Colorado, Florida, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Boston College, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee. His finalists along with OSU included Colorado, South Carolina and Maryland.
With the addition of McFadden, Ohio State now has 25 commits total for the 2025 cycle. He's the third offensive lineman, joining Carter Lowe and Jake Cook. The Buckeyes would still like to make further additions to its offensive line corps, but there aren’t any remaining uncommitted targets who the Buckeyes are heavily pursuing at the moment. That could change in a few weeks once the Buckeyes evaluate senior film of different prospects around the country, though.
Beyond that, it's fair to expect Ohio State to be active in the transfer portal to recruit offensive tackles for next season if necessary.
| Pos | Name | Rating | Rank | Size | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | DEVIN SANCHEZ | ★★★★★ | #5 NATL | #1 CB | 6-2 | 170 | North Shore (Houston, Texas) |
| QB | TAVIEN ST. CLAIR | ★★★★★ | #6 NATL | #2 QB | 6-4 | 210 | Bellefontaine (Bellefontaine, Ohio) |
| CB | NA'EEM OFFORD | ★★★★★ | #9 NATL | #3 CB | 6-1 | 185 | Parker (Birmingham, Alabama) |
| LB | RILEY PETTIJOHN | ★★★★★ | #28 NATL | #3 LB | 6-1 | 215 | McKinney (McKinney, Texas) |
| S | FAHEEM DELANE | ★★★★ | #36 NATL | #2 S | 6-2 | 195 | Good Counsel (Olney, Maryland) |
| WR | QUINCY PORTER | ★★★★ | #49 NATL | #8 WR | 6-3 | 190 | Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey) |
| OT | CARTER LOWE | ★★★★ | #50 NATL | #6 OT | 6-5 | 290 | Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio) |
| LB | TARVOS ALFORD | ★★★★ | #55 NATL | #5 LB | 6-2 | 210 | Vero Beach (Vero Beach, Florida) |
| DE | ZAHIR MATHIS | ★★★★ | #64 NATL | #6 Edge | 6-6 | 225 | Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
| RB | BO JACKSON | ★★★★ | #86 NATL | #5 RB | 6-0 | 205 | Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| DE | ZION GRADY | ★★★★ | #89 NATL | #9 Edge | 6-4 | 235 | Enterprise (Enterprise, Alabama) |
| DE | LONDON MERRITT | ★★★★ | #112 NATL | #14 DL | 6-2 | 250 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) |
| TE | NATE ROBERTS | ★★★★ | #144 NATL | #7 TE | 6-4 | 235 | Washington (Washington, Oklahoma) |
| DT | MAXWELL ROY | ★★★★ | #240 NATL | #28 DL | 6-3 | 270 | St. Joseph's Prep School (Philadelphia, PA) |
| DT | JARQUEZ CARTER | ★★★★ | #273 NATL | #30 DL | 6-2 | 284 | Newberry (Newberry, Florida) |
| WR | DE'ZIE JONES | ★★★★ | #290 NATL | #40 WR | 6-0 | 180 | DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey) |
| S | DESHAWN STEWART | ★★★★ | #292 NATL | #26 S | 6-2 | 185 | DePaul Catholic (Wayne, New Jersey) |
| DT | TRAJEN ODOM | ★★★★ | #298 NATL | #35 DL | 6-4 | 285 | Weddington (Matthews, North Carolina) |
| TE | BRODY LENNON | ★★★★ | #317 NATL | #17 TE | 6-4 | 220 | Gates Mills (Gates Mills, OH) |
| S | CODY HADDAD | ★★★★ | #397 NATL | #21 ATH | 6-1 | 175 | St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) |
| OL | JAYVON MCFADDEN | ★★★★ | #407 NATL | #25 IOL | 6-5 | 300 | Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, MD) |
| OL | JAKE COOK | ★★★ | #428 NATL | #26 IOL | 6-5 | 295 | Westerville North (Westerville, OH) |
| LB | ELI LEE | ★★★★ | #459 NATL | #44 LB | 6-3 | 230 | Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) |
| WR | BODPEGN MILLER | ★★★ | #514 NATL | #79 WR | 6-4 | 180 | Ontario (Mansfield, OH) |
| RB | ISAIAH WEST | ★★★ | #528 NATL | #41 RB | 5-11 | 208 | St. Joseph's Prep School (Philadelphia, PA) |
| Prospect Rating Data: 247Sports Composite | |||||
McFadden brings much-needed boost to OSU's offensive line corps
Per 247Sports' composite rankings, McFadden is considered the No. 407 prospect and the No. 25 interior offensive lineman.
At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, McFadden was a standout left tackle for Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) in his junior season. At the next level, he's probably best suited to play an interior offensive line position, but there's an outside chance he could play offensive tackle if needed.
McFadden plays with a violent mean streak and has strong hands at the point of attack that will serve him well at the next level. He uses his length well to get leverage against opposing defensive linemen, and he gets to the second level quickly on running plays. He demonstrates a high motor and is often a relentless finisher.
He'll likely need at least one or two seasons of development before he’ll be ready to play for the Buckeyes, but McFadden profiles as a swing offensive lineman capable of playing several positions along Ohio State’s offensive front if need be.
