One of the top safeties in the 2026 class is expected to visit Columbus in the near future.
Four-star Florida safety Simeon Caldwell confirmed to Eleven Warriors he’s visiting Ohio State on Nov. 30 for Michigan game, which will be his first trip to campus since the summer. Caldwell, who picked up an offer from the Buckeyes in January, was impressive at a recruiting camp in June where he worked out with Tim Walton and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri.
Caldwell, considered the No. 70 prospect nationally in 2026 per 247Sports’ composite rankings, is Walton’s nephew.
“Me and him have a great bond,” Caldwell said of Walton in June. “And he's a great coach, one of the best coaches in the country. He coached in the league. So it's just a great opportunity. I'll know that he'll be able to coach me to the best of my ability. I know he has my best interests at heart, so it would be a great opportunity to play for him.”
Caldwell is the high school teammate of fellow OSU targets Corbyn Fordham and Naeem Burroughs, and the trio have discussed potentially playing together at the collegiate level someday. Fordham visited Ohio State for the Purdue game last week.
“It would be a great opportunity,” Caldwell said. “We always talk about, what if we just all go to the same school? But at the end of the day, we all got to make our own decisions and whoever us fits best. And if it ends up being all at the same school, then it'll be a great opportunity. I love Naeem and Corbyn. I know they’re some of the top athletes at their position also, so it would be a great opportunity to see where they go, to see where I go, and just to see just where the pieces fall.”
In his junior season, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Caldwell has recorded 60 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass deflections, one fumble recovery and two blocked field goals.
London Merritt visits Colorado
An Ohio State defensive end commit spent time at another school earlier this week. Four-star Florida prospect London Merritt visited Colorado on Tuesday with a group of his IMG Academy teammates, per 247Sports. This was Merritt’s second visit to Colorado, as he visited Boulder for a game earlier this fall.
The Buffs, who are in the midst of a surprising turnaround season, are making a push for Merritt and you can’t rule out anything in recruiting in 2024. But Merritt has long been enamored by the Buckeyes and is expected to return to campus on Nov. 30 for OSU’s game against Michigan, so Larry Johnson will have another opportunity to convey how much Merritt means to the Buckeyes’ future.
Michigan reportedly offering five-star QB Bryce Underwood $10.5 million
The Wolverines have had a very public pursuit of Michigan five-star quarterback prospect Bryce Underwood in the past few months. Michigan has pulled out all the stops from an NIL standpoint to get Underwood to stay home instead of honoring his LSU commitment, offering $10.5 million over a four-year period per On3. The reported $10.5 million is more than double what was originally reported a few weeks ago.
Underwood just took an official visit to LSU last week, and by all accounts, things seem to have gone well for the Tigers. We’ll likely not know for sure until National Signing Day comes and goes, but there’s plenty of optimism in Baton Rouge that Underwood spurns Michigan and signs with LSU.
And if you need more of an indicator of where things are headed, Underwood reposted a graphic on his social media account Thursday stating he was likely to decline the offer.
Five-Star Plus+ LSU QB commit Bryce Underwood just shared this to his Instagram story:
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 15, 2024
#1 QB Likely to Decline Michigans $10.5M Offer.https://t.co/grnjBpYorg pic.twitter.com/eQoNOMedJ2
