4-star 2027 Huntington Beach (CA) quarterback Brady Edmunds opened up his recruitment beyond the Ohio State Buckeyes after committing, but it closed back up without a flip from Columbus. While the Northwestern Wildcats emerged as an option, the UCLA Bruins and staying home on the West Coast were really the only way Edmunds was about to abandon his family's favorite team.
Ultimately, that didn't happen. Not before the 2026 season began, anyway. Edmunds recently explained why his decision came down to Ohio State and UCLA, and why the Scarlet and Gray was too much of a pull to stray away.
“I feel like both opportunities were great opportunities for me. I think for me, the biggest thing I always thought all along was that I was gonna make the most out of whatever opportunity I end up at, and what ultimately came down to it was where I thought I was gonna be the happiest,” Edmunds told Eleven Warriors.
“I think it was an Eastern Washington coach my freshman year; he wasn't recruiting me or anything, but he just told me, like, ‘When you're making your decision, take away football and can you see yourself there?’ So I think that was kind of the biggest thing during my process. And you might think, like, oh, close to home, UCLA, 45 minutes away, but ultimately, I thought Columbus was the better fit for me.”
Brady Edmunds may have a shorter-than-expected road to be OSU's QB1
Something Edmunds can be thankful for is that Julian Sayin is getting major hype ahead of the 2026 season, and Tavien St. Clair is already generating nuclear hype ahead of his potential debut in 2027. The Buckeyes' QB room's next two men up are on a fast track to the NFL. Arthur Smith's presence accelerates that.
Sayin is a popular pick for Preseason All-Big Ten teams. He's not as popular as a pick as the Oregon Ducks' Dante Moore, but Sayin's efficient 2025 season is expected to produce even better results behind an offensive line that's expected to be improved.
Meanwhile, St. Clair is drawing comparisons to legendary dual-threat Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. Former Buckeyes receiver Chris Carter made that comparison, setting the expectations for St. Clair in the stratosphere.
Edmunds could hope, and perhaps realistically expect, Sayin to be NFL-bound after this fall, and St. Clair to follow within one to two years after that. It really might not take too long before he can compete for the QB1 job. Edmunds and his family know how valuable being QB1 in Central Ohio has been in recent years. In a few words, much more valuable than it has been in Westwood.
Edmunds made what many will call the right decision. Even if Edmunds never becomes the starter, becoming the next Lincoln Kienholz would be a great direction for his career. Or the next Kyle McCord.
We'll see how long it takes for him to be within serious proximity of the starting signal-caller spot at OSU. It'll be worth it, however long it takes.
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