Does the Ohio State Football program have a recruiting problem?

The Ohio State football program was killing it in recruiting for the majority of the summer. They had the number one recruiting class in the country for 2023 and showed no signs of slowing down. Then the month of July happened and everything changed.

All of a sudden, the Buckeyes started losing out on top recruits. At first, it was on the defensive side of the ball. They lost out on their top linebacker recruit, a defensive lineman, and the top safety in the country. Now, they’re starting to lose their own recruits too.

Ohio State lost its top cornerback in the class, Dijon Johnson, after he de-committed. Today, Ty Lockwood, a four-star tight end, made his flip official by flipping to Alabama. So not only are the Buckeyes not the number one class anymore, they’ve slipped all the way to 4th.

Does the Ohio State football program have a recruiting problem right now? They’ve lost two recruits in the span of three days and still have a somewhat weak defensive class coming in. With Johnson gone, just one of their top six recruits for this class is on defense.

I’m not sure what’s happening over there in the Woody right now, but I don’t think there’s cause for alarm…yet. The Buckeyes still have room for 6-8 more guys in this class and there are still some solid guys out there for them to grab. Other current recruits have re-pledged their allegiance to the Buckeyes on social media too.

If Ohio State starts losing more recruits in the next few weeks, then sound the alarm. Right now, it just looks like a temporary blip. Ryan Day knows what he’s doing on the recruiting trail. He entrusts his defensive staff to do the same thing. He should be able to right the ship.

While this class no longer looks like it has the potential to be the best one in school history, it’s still the top class in the Big Ten. Their work is not done either. Signing Day isn’t until December, so the Buckeyes still have a few months to flip some kids to their side.

I’d keep a close eye on the recruiting trail for the next few weeks. Things are going to get very interesting.