Update: Five-star defensive end Zion Elee, who was expected to headline Ohio State’s visitor list on Saturday, changed his visit plans late Friday night and announced he would visit Penn State for its “White Out” game against Washington instead.
The opponent may be lousy, but this weekend’s game will feature a pretty nice recruiting visitors list.
At least 20 highly touted recruits are expected to make their way to Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes’ contest against Purdue, a smaller group than other games but still one with plenty of premier talent.
As we wrote about in Wednesday’s Hurry-Up, Carlos Locklyn will have his hands full this weekend with three standout running backs, Anthony Rogers, Savion Hiter and Derrek Cooper, all expected to be on campus.
Rogers is the lone running back from the 2025 class visiting, so he’ll receive no shortage of attention from the entire OSU staff. Rogers’ visit is an official visit, so he’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet with the coaching staff before and after the contest. Ohio State is trying to flip Rogers from Alabama and is also battling Georgia for the Alabama product.
Hiter is the No. 1 running back in 2026 and Cooper is a top-30 prospect and the former high school teammate of Jeremiah Smith, so both of them are top targets for the Buckeyes in that cycle.
A five-star defensive end from the 2026 class will also be in Columbus. Maryland prospect Zion Elee, who was offered by the Buckeyes in the spring, is expected to be at Ohio State for the second time in his recruitment on Saturday. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound product was very complimentary of OSU after he worked out with Larry Johnson in June and the Buckeyes are in Elee’s top five along with Oregon, Penn State, Alabama and Georgia.
“It felt good being in Columbus finally,” Elee said after the camp in June. “I think it’s a great campus and Larry Johnson is a very good coach. I was working with him the whole day and he really got me right for one-on-ones. The biggest thing I learned was probably about my get-off and balance,” Elee said. “I worked on my balance in one of the individual drills and it showed in the one-on-ones.”
Four-star 2026 Florida tight end Corbyn Fordham was supposed to visit Columbus for the Buckeyes’ game against Nebraska in October, but couldn’t make it. He’s rescheduled a visit for this weekend, so Keenan Bailey will have a prime opportunity to recruit one of his top targets in the junior class.
Other key 2026 prospects with Ohio State offers that are expected to visit this weekend include wide receiver Madden Williams, offensive lineman Da’Ron Parks, cornerback Jordan Thomas and defensive lineman Jermaine Kinsler.
Looking further ahead to the future, linebackers coach James Laurinaitis has the opportunity to make a big impression with the No. 1 linebacker in the 2027 class, Kaden Henderson. Wide receiver Monshun Sales and cornerback Raylaun Henry are two 2027 standouts who haven’t yet received Ohio State offers but will be on offer watch this weekend as they visit OSU.
The expected recruiting visitors list for Saturday’s game is as follows (commits are bolded):
Class of 2025
- Five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair
- Four-star running back Anthony Rogers
- Three-star offensive lineman Jake Cook
- Three-star linebacker Charlie Christopher
- Kicker Sean Leonard
Class of 2026
- Five-star running back Savion Hiter
- Five-star defensive end Zion Elee
- Four-star running back Derrek Cooper
- Four-star wide receiver Madden Williams
- Four-star offensive lineman Da’Ron Parks
- Four-star cornerback Jordan Thomas
- Four-star defensive lineman Jermaine Kinsler
- Four-star tight end Corbyn Fordham
- Three-star linebacker Brayden Rouse
- Cornerback Laron Dues
- Quarterback Taylor Hasselbeck
Class of 2027
- Four-star linebacker Kaden Henderson
- Four-star wide receiver Monshun Sales
- Four-star cornerback Raylaun Henry
- Quarterback Bryce Backus
- Running back Elijah Kimble
