It's really a when, not an if, Brady Edmunds decommits from the Ohio State Buckeyes at this point. Not only has he kept his recruitment open, but Edmunds has taken an official visit to a fellow Big Ten school. The 4-star quarterback isn't moving like someone happy with his future plans to come to Columbus and sit behind Tavien St. Clair for at least two years. He is moving like someone who is trying to give a smaller school the Ohio State recruiting rub, though.
If/when Edmunds flips, the two main options will be the Northwestern Wildcats and UCLA Bruins. The Huntington Beach, California, native obviously has different incentives from both of those schools. Which decision would hurt Buckeye fans the most, though?
There's a clear answer. Let's break down both options and get to it.
Northwestern landing Brady Edmunds would be a sign of change in the Big Ten
The Wildcats have several living alumni who are billionaires. After watching the Indiana Hoosiers, previously the losingest program ever, until Curt Cignetti made Northwestern the new biggest loser by building a championship team in Bloomington, the Wildcats may be considering entering the competitive NIL space.
If the whole of Chicago could be wrapped up in college football, we're talking about a sleeping giant. NU has a vast, wealthy alumni base that translates well to the professional world. If they start seriously supporting the cause, especially with the Chicago Bears potentially moving to Hammond, Indiana, it could potentially produce Hoosier-like results.
To be clear: Edmunds isn't the most expensive player in the cycle, and any team landing him wouldn't be winning a true battle that the Buckeyes can't lose in any circumstance. Still, Edmunds would be the kind of investment that has Northwestern looking serious. The Wildcats aren't the program that's gotten a visit, though. Or the school that'd hurt more in an Edmunds flip.
UCLA landing Brady Edmunds would mean the QB's commitment to OSU was never serious
It'd be infinitely worse if Edmunds stayed on the West Coast and went to Westwood to be a Bruin. It'd mean that Edmunds played the Ohio State University, using the brand as a way to make his decision to stay home even more poignant to the public.
You know it's a true Hollywood production with Troy Aikman's video appearance during Edmunds' visit. An entire movie script was filmed and is being edited, and perhaps soon published as we speak, to make the Buckeyes look like the evil empire Edmunds is ditching for the hometown good guys.
Just as Northwestern has the power of Chicago, there's enormous untapped potential in the City of Angels. Obviously, there's a market share to compete with the USC Trojans, but UCLA has the means to be competitive in football and basketball if music mogul David Geffen and other powerful alumni get into the rat race. Hopefully, Mark Cuban made that more attractive after being a public-facing donor in IU's sudden rise to the top of the sport.
Perhaps the Bruins are making their move now for 2027. Bob Chesney could be a true culture-changer, and dramatically flipping a blue-chip Buckeyes QB could be the opening salvo to that.
If that's true, it'd be a shame to see the Scarlet and Gray used as nothing more than a PR prop by Edmunds.
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