For the last few months, Ohio State football fans have been hoping to land five-star tackle Felix Ojo. I have also been stumping for him, even saying that he might end up being the best tackle in this class when it's all said and done. Then, after Rivals camp, I backed down from those comments.
The performance that Ojo put on was not what anyone was expecting from a top-two tackle in the country. He consistently got worked by other players, including an Ohio State recruit. That was alarming to plenty of Buckeye fans. Still, Ohio State pursued.
On Friday afternoon, Ojo committed to Texas Tech. In fact, he did so right after saying he was committing to Texas, shaking his head, and then pulling out a Texas Tech hat from under the table. He did all of this on Instagram Live, proving one thing to fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Ohio State football team will be better off without someone who chases money
It's abundantly clear that Ojo is a bag-chaser. That's why he picked Texas Tech, a school that wasn't even in his final four schools, at the last second. He's more concerned with how much money he can make immediately instead of how good a player he can become.
Had he chosen the Buckeyes, he could have gotten developed by a team that is coming off a national championship. Even if he had chosen Texas, he would have been developed by one of the best teams in the country. Instead, he chose a large amount of money. According to his agent, that NIL deal is a three-year, fully guaranteed deal worth $5.1 million.
Ohio State fans can't begrudge anyone for trying to make as much money as possible, but they'll be better off without him. Ohio State has maintained the stance of not paying incoming recruits ridiculous amounts of money. Ryan Day has said that if a recruit's number-one factor is money, they don't want him.
After this saga, it's clear that's all Ojo is after. That's fine for him. The Buckeyes will move on as they continue their pursuit of winning back-to-back national championships. They also continue to develop more first-round picks than any other program in the country.