The Ohio State football program does not like being used as leverage. It doesn't happen very often from recruits because they are usually able to lock them down once they make a visit to Columbus. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen, especially in the age of NIL.
NIL money has now changed how certain recruits approach the next step of their career. Some will use NIL as an added bonus to other things that they like from a program. Others will only take money from the highest bidder while using the threat of going to another school as leverage.
It looks like the Buckeyes were being used as the latter in the case of four-star cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick had committed to Georgia just last week, but was still going to take an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. That changed quickly, as now he has shut down his recruitment.
Four-star recruit seems to have used the Ohio State football program as leverage to up his NIL money
Shutting down a recruitment just a couple of days after saying you were going on an official visit to another school really only leads to one conclusion. Fitzpatrick seemingly used the threat of visiting the Ohio State Buckeyes as a way to leverage Georgia into upping their NIL offer.
That's fine with the Buckeyes. Na'eem Offord did that with Ohio State last year before committing to Oregon. The Buckeys then promptly ran the Ducks out of the Rose Bowl with a beatdown en route to winning the national championship. Not everyone wants to play in Columbus.
Ohio State also doesn't want recruits who just think of NIL as the most important thing. They want to use it as something supplemental. Perhaps Fitzpatrick wasn't the right fit if that was his mindset. Now, he likely won't be taking that visit with the Buckeyes after all.
There is still plenty of time for the Buckeyes to add more recruits in the 2026 recruiting class. They have the fourth-best class in the country, but they still feel that the class can get better. Losing Fitzpatrick isn't a massive problem.