With spring football around the corner for Ohio State and Ryan Day, things are going to go into overdrive in terms of 2027 recruiting. Day is going to work hard in bringing in elite talent from all over the country for both unofficial and official visits.
Ohio State on the cusp of landing 5-star WR recruit without Brian Hartline
Earlier this week, it was revealed that 5-star safety Honor Fa'alave-Johnson was planning to take a visit to Columbus on April 4. Obviously, that was great news for the Buckeyes. However, it has since been revealed that the touted defensive back has trimmed his list to a Top 6 and Ohio State is nowhere to be seen:
NEWS » Elite two-way star Honor Fa'alave-Johnson, the top-ranked player in California, is down to six contenders, builds loaded spring visit schedule: https://t.co/3IyMdpIn1V pic.twitter.com/vi4IsIAXUF
— Blair Angulo (@BlairAngulo) February 11, 2026
Ohio State appears to be out of the hunt for 5-star safety Honor Fa'alave-Johnson
This just goes to show how quickly things can change with recruiting. Ohio State indeed was set to host him for an April visit, but now it's looking like he'll no longer take that trip and instead the defensive back is going to be focused on LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas and USC.
What changed so fast for him? That's a bit up in the air, but it's a bummer for the Ohio State faithful knowing that the Buckeyes are no longer going to be serious contenders to potentially land him. Things will be made worse if he ends up committing to Big Ten rival Oregon instead.
Per the 247Sports Composite, Fa'alave-Johnson is ranked five stars, the No. 1 safety in the country, No. 1 player out of California and No. 16 talent nationally for the 2027 class. He would have been a major get for Day, but it doesn't look like things are written in the stars here.
Things aren't all bad for the Buckeyes, though, as there are nine commits on board for '27, highlighted by 5-star playmakers David Jacobs and Jamier Brown. Day is also pushing for 5-star WR Monshun Sales and others. So, yes, likely missing out on Fa'alave-Johnson stings, but it doesn't take away from the fact that Ohio State has been on an early roll putting this new class together.