On Wednesday night, Ohio State learned that they were not going to be landing five-star recruit David Gabriel Georges. He decided to pick the Tennessee Volunteers instead. It's a crushing blow to the Buckeyes, as they had invested a lot of time and resources into his recruitment.
A few weeks ago, rumors of how much money Gabriel Georges was commanding from the Vols leaked out. He was rumored to have an offer of around $1 million per year from the Vols. The actual amount he got from the Volunteers doubled that, and Ohio State was right not to match it.
The Ohio State Buckeyes did the right thing by letting David Gabriel Georges go
According to Hayes Fawcett of Rivals, the five-star running back got an NIL deal worth around $2 million for three years. He was also able to get travel privileges for his family for games. That sounds like Tennessee offered up private jet access to his family, which is insane.
If that's what it was going to take for the Buckeyes to bring him to Columbus, they were right not to pay it. This is an insane amount of NIL funds to give to a single recruit. Running back is also a position that Ohio State has well-stocked right now. Gabriel Georges wouldn't have been the day-one starter.
Gabriel Georges also reportedly really wanted to wear #0. That would not have been possible for him had he played for Ohio State. That jersey is given to one of the best players on the team, and it is given to a senior leader. If he cares that much about his number, he can have it.
Spending $2 million on one player at a position that they don't have a glaring need at would have been supremely stupid. While this is a punch to the gut, at least it won't be a prohibitive cost that keeps them from landing other recruits. That could be the case for Tennessee.
Ryan Day has handled NIL in the 2027 class reasonably well
Just because the Scarlet and Gray didn't pony up to pay Gabriel Georges doesn't mean they have been cheap this cycle. They have landed three other five-star recruits this cycle, including two on the defensive line. All three of them surely got a hefty NIL deal.
Ryan Day has done a pretty good job of handling the finances of this recruiting class. Were there some failures? Sure. Ohio State probably shouldn't have put all of its eggs in this one basket. That leaves them without a fallback plan at running back who is anywhere close to the level of his talent.
The Buckeyes are still going to try to add a running back in this class. Who that is remains to be determined. Their best bet might be to try to flip a back who is already committed elsewhere. One thing is clear, however. This class no longer has the chance to be one of the best recruiting classes in Ohio State football history.
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