The Ohio State football team started the 2026 recruiting class very strongly. It looked like a class that had the potential to be the best in school history. Much like last year, the Buckeyes have started strong but have started to slide. They have struggled to land the best recruits on their board.
They haven't been able to land enough defensive linemen, specifically defensive ends. They haven't gotten a win on the recruiting trail in quite a while, and now they have another loss. This time, the Buckeyes lost someone they had scored a commitment from for quite a while.
Jakob Weatherspoon is an in-state safety who has been committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes since the start of the year, committing to Ohio State on January 2nd. That commitment no longer stands, as he has flipped his commitment to North Carolina.
Four-star cornerback Jakob Weatherspoon flips from Ohio State football program to UNC
Weatherspoon is a four-star recruit from Avon, Ohio. This flip certainly comes as a surprise since he is from the state of Ohio. It's surprising to see him go so far away from his home state, but he has decided to play for Bill Belichick instead of Ryan Day.
This news might not be all bad for Ohio State. This de-commitment might signal that they will be bringing in five-star safety recruit Bralan Womack. Womack is a more talented recruit than Weatherspoon, so that would be a good trade if that's what ends up happening.
As things stand right now, the Buckeyes don't have that commitment from Womack, so this still counts as a loss. They now have just the seventh-best recruiting class in the country. Losses like this certainly won't help them get back to having a top-five class.
Ryan Day has had a top-five class every year he has been the head coach in Columbus. If things stay this way, that streak will end.