Ohio State Primed To Compete With Michigan And Others For 5-star LB Xavier Griffin

The Ohio State Buckeyes once again have hope that they can pick up a commitment from the top linebacker in the 2026 class.

Xavier Griffin, a 5-star linebacker from Gainesville, Georgia, has been committed to the USC Trojans for almost a year now. That's a commitment that has now been broken, though, which means that Griffin is back on the market.

Steve Wiltfong of On3 is reporting that USC is moving on from Griffin as well, so this does appear to be a clean break and a new opportunity for several big-time programs across the country. Griffin has nearly 30 offers to his name, but Wiltfong is reporting that Ohio State is amongst the programs in the mix for him now that he's re-opened his recruitment.

Also in the running will be Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Florida State, Tennessee and Michigan, per Wiltfong.

The reason Griffin and USC broke apart was because the 5-star linebacker wanted to keep taking visits, and USC head coach Lincoln Riley has a strict no-visit policy after a recruit commits. That's good news for Ohio State, because the Buckeyes are set to receive a visit.

He'll officially visit Ohio State from May 30 - June 1, Alabama from June 6-8, Texas from June 13-14 and Florida State from June 15-17, according to Bill Kurelic of 247Sports.

Not only is he coming back to Columbus for an official visit, but he to Kurelic that Ohio State was in a great place with him before he decided to commit to USC back in 2024. One would imagine that sentiment stands now that he's reopened his recruitment and things have changed a bit at OSU.

Mainly, the Buckeyes are now defending College Football Playoff champions and they've also got a new defensive coordinator in Matt Patricia. The constant presence of linebacker coach James Laurinaitis will be a factor in favor of the Buckeyes as well.

"Ohio State was one of my favorites before I committed, but their defensive scheme didn't fit me so I'm excited to see the new schemes and how I would fit in them," Griffin told Kurelic. "Me and coach Laurinaitis have a great relationship as well. He is (an) Ohio State legend, so pretty cool to see him in this role as a coach."

According to 247Sports, Griffin is the No. 1 linebacker in the 2026 class and the No. 8 recruit overall.