The Ohio State football program had a lot going on Wednesday morning. The news that Brian Hartline is expected to be the new head coach at South Florida was surprising, especially because it came on Early Signing Day. The timing really couldn't have been much worse.
Still, the Buckeyes have been hard at work over the last few months on the recruiting trail. They knew that the work they had put in would help them land the right kind of players. In fact, they have been working on flipping a few recruits, as well. They have been dynamite at flipping recruits in the last month or so.
On Wednesday morning, the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to flip another recruit. They were able to land three-star safety Kaden Gebhardt, who is a local kid. Gebhardt is from Lewis Center, OH, and has been committed to Clemson since March. In the end, he couldn't resist staying home.
Ohio State flips Kaden Gebhardt from Clemson
Gebhardt plays at Olentangy High School and has grown up as an Ohio State football fan. He is going to stay home and play with the Buckeyes. He ends up being the second safety to sign with this class, alongside Blaine Bradford. A third safety, Simeon Caldwell, is expected to move to linebacker.
Flipping recruits this late in the process is always something that is tricky. Now that NIL is such an important part of why recruits are signing with a particular program, it's tougher to build meaningful relationships with high school prospects. Ryan Day has done a good job of navigating the modern world of college football.
Gebhardt looks like a nice depth piece to have. He has a lot of work to do if he's going to eventually land a starting spot, but that's what he wanted. Gebhardt flipped because he wanted great competition to push him to be the best player that he can be.
That's a common theme for a lot of prospects who signed with the Buckeyes. They all want to be surrounded by the best players and coaches.