In the NIL era, you really need to persuade in-state kids to take a discount to stay home. The Ohio State Buckeyes couldn't get the job done with 3-star Glenville linebacker Kaylon Bailey because of an aggressive monetary push from Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes.
As Bucknuts' Garrett Hodge pointed out, the NIL offer from Coach Prime and Co. was stronger than that of the Ohio State University's, mainly because the Buckeyes were looking for depth, while the Buffs had more opportunities to offer more immediately.
"Traditionally, the Glenville to Ohio State pipeline is about as reliable as throwing a pass to Jeremiah Smith when in need of a crucial third-down conversion. But sometimes, modern recruiting leaves no prisoners," Hodge wrote. "Ohio 2027 linebacker Kaylon Bailey committed to Colorado on Thursday, spurning the Buckeyes for the Buffs, a sentence that would have been unthinkable five years ago.
"Yet, Bucknuts has been told Colorado was extremely aggressive in the modern recruiting element for Bailey and made a significant offer to the standout Tarblooder. Unless flip efforts are successful down the road this fall, he'll play his collegiate football for Deion Sanders in Boulder."
Ohio State fans can't be too upset that a Cleveland-area kid is exploring the best chance possible to play ball at the next level. Getting a bigger bag and a better opportunity is kind of a no-brainer. Even though the "Prime Time" spotlight in Boulder pales in comparison to what it used to be, playing for Sanders puts CU on the map for recruits like this. His son, Shedeur Sanders, was one of the most successful QBs in Buffs history and was a Pro Bowl QB for the Cleveland Browns in 2025.
Still, with OSU recently bringing in Arvell Reese, the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NFL draft and one of the most physically gifted players to ever pass through the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, to land him, Bailey's loss is a tough one.
Maybe Ohio State could pull a trick from others' playbooks with Kaylon Bailey
It would've been nice for the Buckeyes to keep Bailey home. Maybe that's still the plan, even if Hodge didn't leave the door open too much for that to happen. Perhaps Ohio State is simply stealing a page out of others' playbooks.
It seems like the Buckeyes are currently being used as a prop in 4-star Huntington Beach (CA) quarterback commit Brady Edmunds' recruitment. Edmunds has backed off the idea of a flip, but the UCLA Bruins still feel like a threat to get the West Coast kid.
Maybe it's time Ohio State does the same, this time using the cache of Coach Prime and Colorado to drive the hometown angle home upon a flip. The narrative that waiting your turn in Central Ohio is worth it to be part of something special could land.
Since the Buffs just saw a player flip from the Ole Miss Rebels and flip back the same day, Colorado's coaching staff is probably already on high alert for a flip. We'll see if Ryan Day and Co. can finish the job over the next six months on keeping Bailey home.
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