Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day motions to quarterback Lincoln Kienholz (3) during spring football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on March 17, 2025. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Report: Ohio State Buckeyes Working to Flip Elite Georgia Commit

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Nathan Beighle | Last updated Jun 9, 2025 9:21 AM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes have done a terrific job at recruiting and developing some of the best defensive backs in the country over the past few seasons. From players like Denzel Ward to more recently Lathan Ransom, the team has done well at bringing in some top recruits and getting them to the highest level in the sport.

That's likely a part of why Justice Fitzpatrick, despite having committed to Georgia recently, is taking an official to Columbus this coming weekend. Per Hayes Fawcett, Fitzpatrick will be taking an official visit within the next calendar week.

Fitzpatrick committed to Georgia on June 3, 2025. He is ranked as the 8th-best cornerback by 247Sports and the 87th-best player nationally. In their composite scoring system, he jumps to the third-best cornerback in the Class of 2026 and the 47th-best player in the country. Ohio State was among his final five programs to choose from, so it has the potential to flip the star.

NEWS: Elite 2026 CB Justice Fitzpatrick will take an Official Visit to Ohio State this weekend, he tells me for @on3recruits

The No. 4 CB in the 2026 Class Committed to Georgia on Tuesday https://t.co/0R3Id4JMah pic.twitter.com/UuWDTgixNE
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 9, 2025

Fitzpatrick has offers from other top programs including Alabama, Arkansas and many others as well. That said, he took his official visit to Georgia on May 30 and committed to the program shortly after that. The Buckeyes, who don't have a ton of certainty at the position in the class, had Tim Walton recruiting Fitzpatrick, and they could sell him on the potential to quickly make an impact on one of the elite programs in the country.

Ohio State won the national championship last season and has some of the best players coming to Columbus this season. With Jeremiah Smith still having two years left, the Buckeyes should continue to stay among the elite for the foreseeable future.

As for Fitzpatrick, he has not taken any other official visits outside of Georgia and now Ohio State, so he seems to be keeping his travel limited. The Buckeyes seem to have a real shot at flipping the star, who is the brother of Steelers standout safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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