Ohio State football staff working hard to flip Alabama commit

Although he’s been committed to Alabama since early June of last year, the Ohio State coaching staff has continued to pursue Montgomery, Alabama running back Anthony Rogers. One recruiting expert feels the Buckeyes stand a good chance of getting him to flip his commitment.

Bill Kurelic, the longtime Ohio recruiting guru, said on Bucknuts that he believes Ohio State has made a lot of progress with Rogers and is a real player in his recruitment. A very big reason for that is Rogers’ relationship with OSU running backs coach Carlos Locklyn, who also hails from Montgomery. Kurelic says the two talk often and have a very good relationship.

With the way new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is using his running backs, the word is Rogers feels he is a good fit for the Buckeye offense. For his Carver High School team, he’s been used as a running back and in the slot and he can see himself playing the same positions for Ohio State. Locklyn is recruiting him with the idea that this is how he’d be used. At just 5’8” and 190 pounds, Rogers’ size fits nicely into that role.

If you look at the list of commitments Ohio State has for the 2025 recruiting class, you’ll wonder why they are trying to land Rogers when they already have two highly-rated players at the position. Right now, the Buckeyes have just four scholarship running backs. There is a very good chance two of them, TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, will leave for the NFL after this season. There is a real need to add another running back to this class to get the numbers up at the position.

Rogers is the nation’s sixth-ranked running back according to 247 Sports’ Composite Rankings. That fits nicely between the other two commits at this position. Cleveland’s Bo Jackson is ranked third, while Isaiah West of Philadelphia is 12th. Rogers has yet to take any official visits but has told Kurelic he will make the trip to Columbus to visit the Buckeyes at some point. He’s also expected to visit Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn.