With a possible decision coming from five-star 2027 quarterback Brady Edmunds by the end of the year, Ohio State had to make a favorable impression on the talented signal-caller during his unofficial visit to Columbus last Saturday.
The Buckeyes met that standard and more in the team’s 35-7 win over the Hawkeyes.
Back in Columbus this weekend! #GoBucks @HBHSFootball @CoachDanny10 @GregBiggins @ChadSimmons_ @BrandonHuffman @adamgorney @SWiltfong_ @TomLoy247 @BlairAngulo @ryandaytime @CoachRLarkin pic.twitter.com/IZ7CsrIDMX
— Brady Edmunds 2027 (@bradyedmunds9) October 3, 2024
“It was awesome,” Edmunds told Eleven Warriors. “It was everything I expected and more. The Skull Session was awesome, because I had never been to an Ohio State game before. Even just the culture and everything like that. I remember going to see Ohio State play Utah in the Rose Bowl three years ago, and that was really cool. Just being in the environment, seeing the culture and the fanbase and everything like that while I was there, it was awesome.”
OSU quarterback recruiting is a bit murky for the 2026 class, but not so much regarding the 2027 cycle. Edmunds has emerged as the Buckeyes’ clear target at the top of their board since June, with Ryan Day and Chip Kelly each setting aside a good chunk of time to meet with the 6-foot-5, 200-pound quarterback and his family during his most recent visit even though it was a game weekend.
“Quite a bit,” Edmunds said on how much he spoke with Kelly and Day on the visit. “I even sat in on the quarterback meeting. Individually with my parents, I probably spoke with coach Kelly and coach Day each for about 45 minutes. I already know what I’m getting with Ohio State, so it’s not like they were really recruiting me or anything like that. We were talking about football, talking about their season, my season, life and stuff like that. It was pretty straightforward, simple stuff.”
Edmunds is serious about finding a winning program in his recruitment and believes he’d have that if he went to Ohio State.
“I’m getting a national championship contender,” Edmunds said in response to what he knows he’s getting from the Buckeyes. “I definitely fit into that offense. Especially this year. You have the balance of a run and your offense can easily go score or throw for 350, that year with C.J. Stroud especially. You have an explosive offense, the best receivers in the nation and the best running backs in the nation. It’s a family environment as well, that was the kind of thing that really stood out to me. You have good people around you, like-minded people and it was really great.”
Considering Edmunds resides in Huntington Beach, California, you wouldn’t think he’d have too much emotional attachment to Ohio State. But his family has a strong Ohio State connection, which made getting his OSU offer in June following an impressive recruiting camp a special moment.
“My family has been Ohio State fans forever,” Edmunds said. “My grandfather is actually from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, so he grew up an Ohio State fan and went to Ohio State for a short period of time, so that’s all my dad knew growing up and that’s all we knew growing up. That offer was definitely one where it was like ‘Holy S—,’ you know? It was a great feeling. I like envisioning things so I always thought I was going to get a chance to play at Ohio State and get that offer. Especially for my dad, my dad was really emotional and my grandfather was really emotional. So it was an awesome feeling for my family.”
After a great conversation with @ryandaytime Im grateful to have received an offer from THEE Ohio State University!#GoBucks @OhioStateFB @CoachRLarkin @HBHSFootball @CoachDanny10 @footballandlife @RickHagedorn @GregBiggins @ChadSimmons_ @adamgorney @BrandonHuffman pic.twitter.com/vVsiNz1qlk
— Brady Edmunds 2027 (@bradyedmunds9) June 6, 2024
Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Edmunds is the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 2 quarterback in the 2027 class. In his freshman season, he threw for 2,691 yards and 24 touchdowns.
“Some people might look at me like a pocket passer because I’m a 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6, 200-plus pound guy,” Edmunds said. “But this year I feel like I’ve taken the next step in being not necessarily a dual-threat, but having the threat of running the ball. My first game of the season I threw for a little under 200 yards and ran for 160 and had a couple rushing touchdowns and broke a 60-yard run.
“You’re getting a ballplayer, too. I’m not afraid to put my shoulder down. It’s almost a problem sometimes, I’ve had to get bribed to try and slide. I actually slid once and got my head taken off. But I’m not your typical quarterback, I’m a football player. I’m not here to just throw the ball around, I want to go put my shoulder down and put people and work hard. I’m always willing to do what it takes.”
It’s been no secret Edmunds would like to wrap up his decision sooner rather than later and that a decision could come soon. Well, maybe not too soon, but it could be on the horizon.
“I’m going to focus on that after the season,” Edmunds said. “That sounds like a long time from now but it’s really not, probably like a month or two months away. I’ll look at it more after the season but I’ll (commit) likely before the end of the year I’d say.”
Edmunds said his top four are OSU, Penn State, Texas and Michigan with his recruitment nearing its end. The standout California quarterback will take a quick trip to USC this weekend and watch the Trojans’ game against the Nittany Lions. He may visit Texas for the Longhorns’ game against Georgia in eight days but is unsure if he and his family will be able to make that trip.
“Right now the talks with schools are like, obviously I’m high on them but is it mutual? For the most part, I’m pretty sure it is,” Edmunds said. “I think Texas has offered two quarterbacks in 2027, Penn State has offered two and Ohio State has offered two and I’m not quite sure how many Michigan has offered. I feel like I’m pretty high on all of their radars, but relationships are what it comes down to at the end of the day. Everyone has their glamorous facilities and this and that, but how well do I get along with the staff, the quarterback coach and the head coach, stuff like that.”
