At this point in the 2026 recruiting cycle, the Ohio State football program is looking to add prospects. They are barely in the top ten of the recruiting rankings as it stands, and they are. on pace to have the worst recruiting class since Ryan Day took over, except for the transition year in 2019.
Having recruits visit campus for games and increasing NIL offers has them hopeful that they can get some recruits after NIL rules have changed. Still, the Ohio State Buckeyes haven't made much headway in the cycle. In fact, they are going in reverse at this point.
Instead of flipping recruits from other schools or landing prospects who haven't committed yet, the Buckeyes are being targeted by other schools. In fact, the Buckeyes have just had a recruit from the 2026 class flip to Florida State, reducing their class by one.
Ohio State football team loses three-star tight end recruit to Florida State
The day before they take on the Golden Gophers, the Buckeyes have lost out on three-star right end recruit Corbyn Fordham. Fordham has decided to flip to Florida State. As a Jacksonville native, it makes sense that's the school he would flip to if he's no longer headed to Columbus.
Fordham had been committed to the Buckeyes since last November, so this is a pretty significant flip. Ohio State probably thought that they had him wrapped up. Still, it's clear that FSU stepped up and offered him more of an NIL package than what Ryan Day and his staff could afford for him.
He's only a three-star recruit, so this isn't a massive loss for Ohio State. However, this leaves the Buckeyes without a tight end in the 2026 recruiting class. There's still time to land one, but it looks like Ohio State will have to flip one if they want to get a good one.
With how stingy Ross Bjork has been with NIL offers, that seems highly unlikely. Not exactly the news the Buckeyes wanted the night before a game.