Ohio State is preparing for a major recruiting weekend.
We reviewed the visitors’ list in detail Friday morning, but there has been a big-time late addition to the guest list. Fiive-star 2026 linebacker Tyler Atkinson told Eleven Warriors Friday he’ll also be in attendance for the Buckeyes’ game in Columbus.
Atkinson was the first player Ohio State offered in the 2026 cycle and earned the opportunity when he was still an eighth grader. That offer has aged well, as the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Atkinson is the No. 7 prospect in the 2026 class and the top-rated linebacker per 247Sports’ composite rankings. This will be Atkinson’s third visit of the year to Ohio State, as he also took trips in March and June. Saturday will be Atkinson’s first Ohio State gameday visit of his recruitment.
Ohio State has certainly caught Atkinson’s eye so far in his recruitment, but there are plenty of other heavy hitters very much involved with this one. This will be a good opportunity for James Laurinaitis, Ryan Day and others to emphasize to Atkinson how much he means to the Buckeyes’ future plans.
In nine games this season, Atkinson has recorded 99 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, nine sacks, 32 quarterback hurries, an interception, a pass deflection and a blocked field goal.
Trae Taylor puts Ohio State in top 12
A top Ohio State quarterback target in the 2027 class has narrowed down his recruitment. Illinois prospect Trae Taylor released a top 12 on Thursday consisting of Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, NC State, Iowa, West Virginia, Illinois and LSU.
I have been many places and have enjoyed every place I have been. But I can only pick 1 at the end of this process. So here are my top 12 as I keep working through the process of figuring out home. @PlayBookAthlete @QBHitList @SWiltfong_ @AllenTrieu @TomLuginbill @netsportsmgmt pic.twitter.com/nnnerQxPqR
— Trae Taylor (@Qb6Trae) November 21, 2024
Taylor was offered by OSU in June following an impressive recruiting camp in front of Ryan Day and Chip Kelly.
“It was amazing,” Taylor said earlier this month of earning his offer. “I’ve always grown up loving Ohio State. So getting an offer and knowing they want me and just being able to get a look from a big school like that is truly amazing. Especially with coach Kelly being there, he was just a head coach last year. He obviously knows football and knows what he’s looking at. So it’s amazing that he would offer me.”
He visited Ohio State for the Nebraska game in October.
“My main takeaways were I was glad I was able to really sit down and talk with coach Chip Kelly,” Taylor told Eleven Warriors. “We’ve started to really build that relationship. Same with coach Ryan Day. I got to talk with him before the game a little bit. I really like Ohio State’s offense. They have a good combination of the run game and pass game. Their run game opened up the passing game and you look at a lot of their big plays, the big plays opened up because they were able to sell it off the play action. Ohio State is always going to have great receivers, you look at the room right now and it really doesn’t get much better. It was my first time seeing a game in The Shoe, so the experience was amazing.”
Pair of five-star flips happen on same day
If you follow recruiting closely enough, you probably already know by know Bryce Underwood and Julian Lewis have chosen different schools.
If Thursday happened to be busy for you, here’s a quick recap: Lewis chose to play for Colorado after previously being committed to USC, while Underwood stayed in-state and flipped from LSU to Michigan.
Underwood’s flip to Michigan was heavily influenced by NIL dollars, with one report citing the Wolverines offered $12 million over four years, which for context is more than the 33rd-pick in the NFL Draft makes over his rookie four-year deal.
It’s been an interesting cycle for quarterbacks, with five of the top six signal callers having flipped to a different school. The only one who hasn’t? Ohio State quarterback commit Tavien St. Clair.
