Normally, the biggest game of the season comes late in the year, like when Ohio State plays The Team Up North, but for the Buckeyes this season, while The Game will always be huge, their Week 1 matchup could be their biggest this season.
Ohio State has the ability to make a big statement the first week of the season as they take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns, and they will have a lot of prospective recruits at the game to watch. Ohio State actually just added another big name to that list as 5-star EDGE rusher Anthony Sweeney from the Class of 2027 will be in attendance to see the Buckeyes.
Sweeney is ranked as the No. 17 player in the Class of 2027, the No. 4 EDGE rusher in the class, and the No. 1 player in the state of Maryland.
Ohio State will welcome five-star pass rusher Anthony 'Tank' Sweeney back to campus for the Texas game. Ryan Day personally involved in this one already:https://t.co/5RwmvLTnYt
— Marc Givler (@MarcGivler) August 12, 2025
The relationship between the Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Sweeney has already been established as the young rusher spoke with Day recently and said the conversation between him adn the program has already been positive.
Sweeney commented about how he is excited to see how Ohio State's defensive line matches up with Texas's offensive line and knows that both schools will certainly put on a good game for everyone to see.
The good thing is that Sweeney already made a visit to Ohio State back in the spring for the Buckeyes' spring game in April. He even spoke with the defensive line coach, Larry Johnson, and linebackers coach Tony Washington JR. during that visit.
Sweeney, also nicknamed the "Tank," is one of the most highly recruited pass rushers in 2027, so if the Buckeyes can impress him enough during the Ohio State-Texas matchup and land his commitment early, it would be a huge win for Day early in the class of 2027 recruiting cycle.