A top offensive tackle in the 2026 class is headed to Columbus next week.
Per 247Sports, four-star Idaho prospect Kelvin Obot will be visiting Ohio State, his first trip to OSU since picking up an offer from the Buckeyes last month. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound prospect is considered the No. 147 prospect nationally, the No. 13 offensive tackle and the top player from Idaho per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
He’s been offered by 22 Division I schools, primarily from the West Coast and Midwest. Some of those offers include Arizona, Auburn, Boise State, BYU, Cal, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee, USC, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
Obot will be at OSU on March 21 and stay through the weekend. He also has plans to visit Wisconsin, Michigan and Tennessee this spring. He’ll set up official visits after that and likely make a college choice before the start of his senior year.
Kevin Ford Jr. picks up an OSU offer
Larry Johnson has offered a top-105 prospect late in the 2026 cycle. On Friday, Johnson extended an offer to four-star defensive end Kevin Ford Jr., a 6-foot-3, 245-pound prospect from Texas. Ford is considered the No. 105 player and No. 13 edge prospect in the 2026 cycle.
Blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University
— Kevin KJ Ford Jr (@KJ4ord) March 13, 2025
@R2X_Rushmen1 pic.twitter.com/He0skptXbg
He’s picked up 38 Division I offers, including Oklahoma, Auburn, USC, Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Penn State, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UCLA.
Last year, Ford recorded 57 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, seven sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, two pass deflections, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
Jae Lamar puts Ohio State in top 10
An Ohio State running back target narrowed down his recruitment this week, as four-star 2026 Georgia product Jae Lamar included the Buckeyes in his top 10. Other schools making the cut are Georgia, Miami, Auburn, Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Lamar is ranked the No. 94 prospect and No. 7 running back in the 2026 class.
NEWS 4-star RB Jae Lamar is down to schools and has locked in a commitment date, he tells @ChadSimmons_
— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) March 12, 2025
Read: https://t.co/1mW9jdBhLd pic.twitter.com/D6IJOa4xkb
Things could change if he schedules an official visit to Columbus, but as of now, it’s probably safe to lean taking the field over OSU at the moment.
Bowe Bentley visiting Columbus Tuesday
A priority quarterback target for Ohio State in the 2026 cycle is taking his first visit to Columbus on Tuesday. Four-star Texas prospect Bowe Bentley will have an opportunity to speak with Ryan Day, Brian Hartline and Billy Fessler when he arrives on campus on Tuesday and will get a feel for campus life with the Buckeyes.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Bentley got offered by OSU in late January. He’ll also visit LSU, Georgia, Florida State and Georgia Tech this spring.
Bentley was a Navy All-American Game participant and led his high school team to a 16-0 season and state title last year while scoring 63 total touchdowns with 4,200 total yards. Bentley is a true dual-threat quarterback, especially considering his career started out as a skill player, as he ran for 933 yards in 2024. As a passer, he completed 171 of 245 passes for 3,211 yards with 47 touchdown passes to seven interceptions.
Brady Smigiel leaves OSU off top four
A OSU quarterback target in 2026 is moving in a different direction than Ohio State. Four-star California prospect Brady Smigiel released his top four schools on Friday, which included Washington, UCLA, Michigan and South Carolina. Smigiel had some conversations with OSU in early January when Chip Kelly went to visit him, but things had cooled off with Ohio State since then. Now, both parties are moving on.
NEWS: Elite 2026 QB Brady Smigiel is down to 4 Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) March 14, 2025
The 64 210 QB from Newbury Park, CA is ranked as a Top 8 QB in the 26 Class (per On3 Industry)
Where Should He Go?https://t.co/mwF0PRb8S2 pic.twitter.com/dHAGzINAIL
