Ohio State Buckeyes Get Disappointing Recruiting News on Wednesday

Back in November 2024, Ohio State University hosted five-star linebacker recruit Tyler Atkinson out of Georgia for an official visit. The then–high school junior got to witness up close and personal as the Buckeyes put a 38-15 beatdown on the Indiana Hoosiers. Later that season, they'd go on to win it all in the College Football Playoff National Championship with a convincing 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

All of that turned out to be for naught, as Atkinson wound up making a national appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, only to rub salt in the wound for Ohio State. Instead of committing to Head Coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, he chose to don the hat for ESPN's current number-one ranked team, the Texas Longhorns.

Tyler Atkinson's commitment to the Texas Longhorns a huge blow for the Ohio State Buckeyes

This was a huge hit for the Buckeyes, who currently have 247Sports' sixth-best recruiting class for 2026. Atkinson could have been Ohio State's first five-star commit, but chose to join two others in quarterback Dia Bell and cornerback Jermaine Bishop at Texas instead. 247Sports still has OSU narrowly edging out the Longhorns, but this latest defeat has to be concerning for Coach Day and his recruiting staff.

On the bright side, Ohio State ultimately wasn’t even among Atkinson’s final choices, as he chose Texas over Clemson, Georgia, and Oregon. His decision to go with the Longhorns over his home state Bulldogs is a testament to Texas's rising star power, with Arch Manning leading the way.

Atkinson's commitment should have the Buckeyes scrambling to get any edge they can over Texas moving forward. Another huge battle in the front will be decided soon when ESPN's number-one running back in 2026, Derrek Cooper, will make his pick between Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Florida State, and Miami on Sunday, July 20. Hopefully, he'll choose to be the Buckeyes' first five-star recruit in the class of 2026 and become the next great ball-carrier for a program that's produced a lot of NFL-caliber backs lately. That would give Ohio State a huge leg up over the Longhorns.