Former Ohio State football recruiting target punches another player

The Ohio State football program had some problems earlier this year on the recruiting trail. NIL offers haven't been competitive compared to other programs. That led the Buckeyes to lose out on a lot of recruits in the spring and the early part of summer. Their class sits ninth in the rankings for the 2026 class.

One of the Ohio State Buckeyes' former recruiting targets is edge rusher KJ Ford. Ford is a four-star player who was someone that the Buckeyes pursued heavily. He committed to Florida in July, but Ohio State was rumored to still be in contact with him as they tried to flip him.

That strategy is likely completely off the board now after an incident that happened with him during his high school game on Friday night. In fact, a lot of other schools probably pulled him off their board after he attacked a player during a handshake line, including punching a non-uniformed player.

Former Ohio State football recruiting target KJ Ford attacks two players

Take a look at the video below, as Ford grabs another kid's facemask before punching another player in an unprovoked attack.

This is a bad look for a highly coveted recruit. Based on what happened, it wouldn't be shocking to see Florida revisit their relationship with him. It seems the Buckeyes may have dodged a bullet here, as this kind of action is completely unacceptable, no matter what was said.

Larry Johnson has been around the game long enough to be able to flesh out things like this. Perhaps he saw this coming and made sure that Ohio State's NIL offer wasn't as competitive as it could have been. In any case, Ford is likely off the Buckeyes' board moving forward.

Ohio State is trying to flip a few other recruits as the season goes along. Those recruits seem to be better equipped to handle the pressures of the college game, unlike Ford.