Elbert Hill snubs Ohio State: Is Ohio State losing its grip on in-state talent?

Ohio State is one of the best programs in college football. One of the biggest reasons why Ohio State has been so dominant is its incredible consistency. Although Ohio State has done a great job hiring coaches and acquiring talent from across the country, the biggest constant of the program has been the stellar in-state talent. In 2024, the state of Ohio produced the fifth-most NFL players. However, recent recruiting news suggests that Ohio State might not be the destination school for Ohio prospects that it once was.

On Tuesday, Elbert Hill, the top recruit in Ohio for the class of 2026 and a top-30 national prospect, according to the On3 Industry rankings, left Ohio State off his official visit schedule for this summer. With Ohio State already losing out on commitments from a handful of top Ohio talent in the 2026 class, questions and murmurs about the stronghold Ohio State once had on Ohio recruiting are emerging.

Hill is a nationally coveted cornerback with scheduled official visits that reflect that. He will be visiting LSU from May 30-June 1, USC from June 6-8, Oregon from June 13-15, and Alabama from June 20-22. Those four schools make sense, but Ohio State finds itself on the outside looking in. Ohio State is a program built on securing the best in Ohio, stay in Ohio.

But Elbert Hill’s decision to leave Ohio State off his visit schedule has many wondering if that is still true. Two of the top five players in Ohio—Victor Singleton and Shahn Alston—have committed elsewhere, as have two of the top four offensive linemen, Adam Guthrie and Ben Congdon.

Additionally, the state’s top safety has also pledged to another program. While these losses are not detrimental, and some argue they were players Ohio State did not have interest in, Ohio State’s fans are on high alert to see what happens with Hill.

Due to the NCAA’s recruiting calendar for the 2024-2025 season, another layer of complexity is added to Ohio State’s pursuit of Hill. Ohio State can’t just convince Hill to come the weekend after his final visit because a recruiting dead period occurs from June 23 through July 31, 2025, during which no in-person recruiting contacts or visits are permitted.

Historically, this dead period has been a very popular time for recruits to commit to their schools. The concern is that if Ohio State does not get a visit before the dead period, Hill might choose to commit elsewhere.

Hill’s four visits are scheduled to occur during a quiet period that runs from May 29 through June 22, 2025. This allows recruits to visit campuses but restricts coaches from off-campus evaluations. By the time the contact period resumes in August, Hill may already be leaning toward one of his scheduled destinations, all of which are national powerhouses with strong recruiting momentum and a history of producing NFL talent.

Despite these setbacks, I remain optimistic that head coach Ryan Day and his staff will secure a visit from Hill before he makes his final decision. Fitting that visit into this summer might be difficult, but the Buckeyes can still have Hill visit during the week between visits or even in season.

However, the reality is this: Ohio kids have grown up seeing recruits from other states become national recruits. The old ways of relying on every Ohio prospect to come to Ohio State are not as strong as they once were. While Ohio State does still hold an advantage in Ohio, Ryan Day and his staff need to prioritize these kids and remind them how great Ohio State could be for them and how great they could be for Ohio State.

Thankfully, before Hill’s announced visits, Buckeye fans were reminded of an Ohio kid who wants to stay home on Monday. The fourth-best player in Ohio in the 2026 class, Maxwell Riley, committed to Ohio State. He is a four-star interior offensive lineman from Avon Lake, Ohio.

Riley projects as a guard now, but if he grows, he could become a tackle. The win gave new offensive line coach Tyler Bowen his first commitment in his time at Ohio State and the third player from the state of Ohio in the 2026 class to commit to Ohio State. A win like this can give Ohio State fans a chance to breathe and know that even when bad news breaks, this is still the state of Ohio, and Ohio State still runs it.