4-star Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds may have just played the Ohio State University, using the Buckeyes as a prop to become a hometown hero for the UCLA Bruins. That's the vibe Edmunds' post-Westwood visit is giving off after saying it blew him out of the water.
Edmunds made it clear that he was essentially looking for a program to woo him away from Columbus. He was stressing that, despite committing to the Buckeyes, he was still playing the field and fielding offers.
“As of now, I don’t know, because I haven’t been shown it," Edmunds said when asked what'd draw him away from Ohio State. "That’s the hard part about it. I’ve just been so Ohio State all my life; it would be hard for another team to overturn it. But we’ll see.
"(UCLA and Northwestern are) kind of preaching to play early and this and that. Ultimately, I don’t know where it’s going to go as of now. College football is changing day by day. Just being able to hold on to some of those (offers) until the final decision comes. But as of now it’s Ohio State.”
Has he been shown it now? Has Bruins head coach Bob Chesney figured out the number he's allowed to give the QB and what the QB is willing to take to go from a bona fide contender to a team that's looking to reshape its identity after a rough transition to the Big Ten Conference? Maybe the hyperbole of Edmunds' statement was his way of saying "yes" before any official flip announcement. Because let's face it, we all know it's coming. He'd have a clearer path to starting in LA anyway.
Plus, Edmunds wouldn't have to leave what he's clearly comfortable with. His statement claiming that "California life is hard to beat" sounds like an off-ramp to no longer being in Ohio. He could claim his commitment is still open and that it'd be hard to say goodbye to the Buckeyes, but he's already risked his goodwill by entertaining UCLA and the Northwestern Wildcats.
Brady Edmunds' Elite 11 performance had Ohio State looking for the off-ramp
In reality, Edmunds' imminent de-commitment is going to sting. That it's to the Bruins or the Wildcats says a lot about those programs' specific team needs, but it may also speak to an Elite 11 performance that planted some seeds of doubt. Many in Buckeye Nation are comfortable moving on after average grades among some of his peers.
UCLA and Northwestern aren't known for getting into bidding wars for the top recruits in a given cycle. The Bruins notably got Nico Iamaleava at a significant discount from what he was being paid with the Tennessee Volunteers. Both are growing their programs' rev-share/NIL spend, but they're not equipped for a true bidding war with OSU. Few are. Clearly, something different was going on in this specific recruiting case.
Edmunds' case is in a bubble. A Golden State bubble, it seems. He happened not to want to leave the West Coast, likely knowing it'd be a long road to start in Cbus, if he ever was going to.
The planets were misaligned with Edmunds and the Buckeyes. On to the next.
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