Ohio State Receives Concerning Update on Elite 5-Star Target

The Ohio State Buckeyes boasted arguably the top backfield in the country last season, as the tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins ran defenses ragged.

Now, however, both Henderson and Judkins are in the NFL, leaving Ohio State in a lurch when it comes to figuring out the running back position.

Yes, the Buckeyes have pieces like James Peoples and West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson for 2025, but they are absolutely not quite the same at the position, and Ohio State's future at halfback is also in question.

That's why the Buckeyes have been heavily pursuing five-star 2026 recruit Savion Hiter, who is the top-ranked running back in the nation and the 17th-ranked player overall, via 247Sports' composite rankings.

Ohio State is competing with a handful of other big-name schools to land the Mineral, Va. native, but the Buckeyes are beginning to encounter a major problem: Hiter may prefer the Tennessee Volunteers.

Hiter just visited Columbus on May 30, but he took an unofficial visit to Tennessee right before meeting with Ohio State. He will also be visiting with the Volunteers again on June 20, indicating that he definitely may have a preference for Josh Heupel's club.

"The Buckeyes are disappointed not to get a commitment immediately following the weekend. I'm a bit surprised they didn't get at least one," wrote Ryan Stano of Scarlet & Game. "The issue is that a lot of these guys have more visits scheduled in the next few weeks. That lowers the chances of actually getting a commitment."

Ohio Sate is by no means out of the running for Hiter, but it's definitely looking less likely that the six-foot, 200-pound back will be taking his talents to Columbus.