The Hurry-Up: Ohio State Offers Five-star Defensive End Chris Whitehead, Running Back Carsyn Baker Puts the Buckeyes in His Top Five

By Garrick Hodge on April 4, 2025 at 5:30 pm
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Ohio State has offered one of the top prospects in the 2027 class.

The Buckeyes offered five-star defensive end Chris Whitehead on Thurdsay, as Larry Johnson enters the recruitment for a top-10 player in that cycle. 

Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Whitehead is considered the No. 8 player nationally and the No. 4 edge prospect in the 2027 class. He’s picked up 19 Division I offers, including Florida State, Georgia, Maryland, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. 

Whitehead earned his offer while visiting the Buckeyes for a spring practice and he hopes to return in June for a recruiting camp to have the opportunity to work out with Johnson.

Last year, the Virginia product recorded 30 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, an interception, three fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.

Carsyn Baker puts Ohio State in top five

A top running back target for Ohio State has narrowed down his recruitment. Four-star Georgia prospect Carsyn Baker released a top five this week consisting of Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida State.

Baker has set official visits to OSU, Florida State and Clemson so far, with his visit with the Buckeyes being scheduled for June 13.

Baker is considered the No. 175 prospect and the No. 14 running back in the 2026 class. The 6-foot, 195-pound running back ran for 1,282 yards on 145 carries with 14 rushing touchdowns and caught nine passes for 89 receiving yards.

Five-star LB Kaden Henderson visiting this weekend

The No. 1 rated linebacker in the 2027 class will be on campus this weekend. Five-star Florida linebacker Kaden Henderson announced Thursday he plans to visit Ohio State Saturday for the Buckeyes’ scrimmage, as James Laurinaitis continues to pursue the 2027 standout.

Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Henderson is considered the No. 16 prospect and No. 1 linebacker in the 2027 class. 

He’s far from the only intriguing prospect expected to be in Columbus this weekend, as several notable recruits from the 2026 class will also be in attendance. Some of those names include Jordan Thomas, Favour Akih, Darius Gray, Damari Simeon, Bralan Womack, Kannon Smith, Samuel Roseborough and CJ Sanna, who just committed to Ohio State on Friday.

Jalen Lott, Legend Bey include OSU in top 10s

An Ohio State wide receiver target for the 2026 class has (narrowly) trimmed down his recruitment. Four-star Texas prospect Jalen Lott released a top 10 on Thursday consisting of Texas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Colorado, LSU, USC and Miami.

Lott, considered the No. 66 prospect in the 2026 class, has set up official visits with LSU, Oregon, Texas and OSU. He’ll be in Columbus on June 6. 

In his junior season, Lott caught 85 passes for 1,111 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had 18 carries for 106 yards and four touchdowns and also threw a 55-yard touchdown pass.

Three-star 2026 quarterback Legend Bey also included the Buckeyes in an updated top schools list, as he released a final 10 of OSU, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas Tech, Duke, Boston College and West Virginia. He’s set up official visits to Duke, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Boston College so far.

Last season, Bey completed 79 of 156 passes for 1,424 yards and 13 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He’s far more advanced as a runner at this point, as he ran for 1,852 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns in 2024.

As a sophomore, Bey threw for 731 yards, nine touchdowns, five interceptions and ran for 673 yards and six touchdowns.

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