It has been a slow start to building the 2027 recruiting class for the Ohio State football program. Unlike last year, the Buckeyes are taking more of a methodical approach. In each of the last couple of seasons, the Buckeyes have seen a lot of kids who committed early flip their choice.
This summer, the Ohio State Buckeyes are focused on landing three recruits more than the rest. Of course, those recruits aren't the only three recruits they want to add between now and Signing Day. Yet, they are the most important recruits that are left on their board.
On Sunday afternoon, the Buckeyes were able to land a commitment from one of those important recruits. In fact, they were able to land him instead of letting him head off to a fellow Big Ten school or an SEC school where his father played over 25 years ago.
Ohio State football team lands commitment from Wyatt Smith
Four-star defensive end Wyatt Smith has pledged his commitment to the Buckeyes. Smith chose Ohio State over Indiana and Missouri. Smith is from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida, which sends players to Ohio State pretty much every single year.
Smith is the son of former NFL first-round pick Justin Smith. He actually played at Missouri, which makes it even more special that Ohio State was able to land his commitment. He is someone that Larry Johnson really wanted to add next to DJ Jacobs in this class.
Johnson just shows that he can continue to recruit. After a couple of years when fans were starting to complain about his lack of landing blue-chip recruits, Johnson has turned those opinions around. Now, the Buckeyes continue to bring in some really good defensive linemen.
The Ohio State football program will continue to be aggressive on the recruiting trail
Now that they have landed Smith, Ohio State will continue to go after the other top-rated recruits they have on their radar. The summer hasn't even fully started yet. That is when Ryan Day and his staff are expecting to do most of their damage on the recruiting trail.
By the time the summer is over, Ohio State will likely feel much better about its recruiting class. They have a ton of official visits scheduled for the end of May, as well. Those could yield some more commitments if things go well. That could be a big recruiting weekend for the team.
Ohio State is very pleased to land Smith. He is someone who can fight for playing time by the time he becomes a sophomore. It would be surprising to see him get real snaps as a freshman with the talent that is ahead of him on the depth chart. Still, he's a very good player.
Johnson has done a good job working his magic. Now, Ohio State needs to get some commitments in the secondary this summer. That is the biggest area of need as the spring turns into summer in the next few weeks.
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