Latest news with #LandonBarnes
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Is good Ohio State recruiting news coming soon? Where Buckeyes stand after D-line misses
Ohio State may have a top-five recruiting class as the calendar turns to July, but there isn't a celebratory feeling around Columbus right now. Sunday brought bad news when top-100 defensive end Carter Meadows chose Michigan over the Buckeyes. Losing a high-priority prospect to rival Michigan is never easy, and Meadows being a defensive end made it even more difficult. The rough run got worse on Monday when four-star defensive end Landon Barnes chose Ole Miss over Ohio State and Washington. Both of those misses come just a week and a half after four-star end Luke Wafle chose USC over the Buckeyes. Advertisement Should fans be panicking, or is this just a brief lull? Now that June official visits have wrapped up, commitment season is in full swing and preseason camp is nearing, there are plenty of recruiting storylines to watch for the Buckeyes, who have 19 commitments in a 2026 class that ranks No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite behind USC, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. What's next? Let's reset some of Ohio State's recruiting storylines. Ohio State is notably without a quarterback in the 2026 class after signing five-stars Julian Sayin (who quickly transferred from Alabama) and Tavien St. Clair in the past two classes. That could change in the coming days. Four-star Mission Viejo, Calif., quarterback Luke Fahey will make his decision on Thursday. Ranked No. 356 (24th among QBs) in the 247Sports Composite, Fahey got an offer from Ohio State on June 22 just after visiting Columbus. He also visited Stanford and Indiana and is the third-highest-ranked uncommitted quarterback in the class. If he chooses Ohio State, he'll be the lone quarterback in the 2026 class and fill a notable void. A pair of five-star Ohio State targets are nearing decisions this summer. The first is Mansfield, Texas, offensive tackle Felix Ojo, who is expected to announce his decision on Friday, choosing between Texas, Michigan, Florida and Ohio State. New offensive line coach Tyler Bowen has done a nice job filling out the offensive line class, adding four prospects thus far and looking for more. Ojo could end up with the home-state Longhorns, but these recruitments are hard to call until they are finalized, especially in the NIL era. Missing on Ojo wouldn't be a massive hit for the Buckeyes, who already have two top-130 offensive tackles. They are big fans of Sam Greer and Maxwell Riley. Greer made a strong impression at the Rivals Five-Star Camp a week ago. This is an important class for Ohio State along the offensive line, and Bowen has done a solid job, though landing Ojo would push the haul over the top. Advertisement The other five-star with a known decision date is Flowood, Miss., safety Bralan Womack. He's set to announce on Aug. 22 and could be a game-changer for safeties coach Matt Guerrieri. The Buckeyes already have one five-star safety on board with Blaine Bradford, but they want to pair him with Womack in this class and continue their momentum at the position. Womack visited Ohio State on June 20 with Bradford. The Buckeyes appear to be in a good position battling with Auburn, Texas A&M and Florida. A win here would help Ohio State's final ranking and depth and give the Buckeyes plenty of long-term options at safety after Caleb Downs leaves for the NFL. The Buckeyes are also awaiting decisions, dates unknown, from a pair of five-star running backs and an offensive lineman who visited in June: Ohio State's defensive line class is in a difficult position entering July. On one hand, defensive line coach Larry Johnson has done a nice job rebuilding the defensive tackle position, which is one of the team's biggest question marks entering this season and beyond. Already having Damari Simeon and Cameron Brickle is a solid start, and if the Buckeyes can flip three-star Jamir Perez (who plays at Cleveland's Glenville High School) from Florida, it'll be a very good group of interior defensive linemen, even without a highly ranked player. Still, no matter what happens at tackle, the misses at defensive end will be hard to shake. Edge commit Khary Wilder, ranked No. 241, does appear to be the real deal. The four-star prospect from Gardena, Calif., was the MVP of the Rivals Five-Star Camp. The question is who Ohio State pairs with him in this class. With Wafle, Meadows and Barnes off the board, options are getting slim and may be down to one: KJ Ford, who's ranked No. 116. Advertisement Ford, a four-star end from Duncanville, Texas, visited on June 20, just after Wafle committed to USC. Ohio State appears to be pursuing him aggressively. Ford doesn't have a commitment date set publicly, but he has also visited Texas A&M, Florida and Alabama. Simply put, Ohio State has to land Ford, because if it doesn't, the options become limited. Johnson is one of the best defensive line coaches in the country, and his development of JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams played a big role in Ohio State's national championship run. His on-field resume can't be debated, so he deserves a little bit of leeway here. But at some point, Ohio State has to close on these edge targets.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ohio State football misses out on another 4-star edge rusher for the 2026 class
The Ohio State football program has lost out on another of its high priority defensive ends. On Monday, four-star defensive end Landon Barnes chose Ole Miss over the Buckeyes, making it two days in a row OSU got bad news on one of its targets on the edge, joining Carter Meadows, who gave his verbal pledge to Michigan on Sunday. It's a bit of a troubling trend and might be a product of where things are with the new NIL and direct revenue payment model rolling out. Advertisement Barnes hails from Duncanville, Texas, and is ranked as the No. 139 overall prospect and 18th edge in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Larry Johnson and gang would love to add another edge rusher to the class of 2026, but it's beginning to look like they might have to focus on the 2027 class to make that happen once all of the dust settles with all of the uncertainty. OSU still has some good defensive tackles with the potential of another one or two coming, but defensive end will likely become a priority now. Ohio State still has a top-five class for 2026, but the momentum you would have thought coming off a College Football Playoff national championship run hasn't been as fast and frequent as many would like. There's still time, and it's still a very, very good class, but not what many would have predicted. Let's hope Ohio State can turn up the temperature on recruiting and bring home another fantastic class when all the shouting and hand-ringing stops in December. Advertisement Related News: Ohio State football 2026 recruiting commitment tracker Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X. This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State loses out to SEC team for 4-star 2026 edge rusher
USA Today
30-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State football misses out on another 4-star edge rusher for the 2026 class
The Ohio State football program has lost out on another of its high priority defensive ends. On Monday, four-star defensive end Landon Barnes chose Ole Miss over the Buckeyes, making it two days in a row OSU got bad news on one of its targets on the edge, joining Carter Meadows, who gave his verbal pledge to Michigan on Sunday. It's a bit of a troubling trend and might be a product of where things are with the new NIL and direct revenue payment model rolling out. Barnes hails from Duncanville, Texas, and is ranked as the No. 139 overall prospect and 18th edge in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Larry Johnson and gang would love to add another edge rusher to the class of 2026, but it's beginning to look like they might have to focus on the 2027 class to make that happen once all of the dust settles with all of the uncertainty. OSU still has some good defensive tackles with the potential of another one or two coming, but defensive end will likely become a priority now. Ohio State still has a top-five class for 2026, but the momentum you would have thought coming off a College Football Playoff national championship run hasn't been as fast and frequent as many would like. There's still time, and it's still a very, very good class, but not what many would have predicted. Let's hope Ohio State can turn up the temperature on recruiting and bring home another fantastic class when all the shouting and hand-ringing stops in December. Related News: Ohio State football 2026 recruiting commitment tracker Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
13-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Four-star cancels Georgia visit, takes trip to LSU instead
Four-star cancels Georgia visit, takes trip to LSU instead LSU football will host 2026 edge rusher Landon Barnes for a visit this weekend, according to a report from Rivals' Sam Spiegelman. The four-star prospect cancelled a trip to Georgia and replaced it with a trip to Baton Rouge. Texas and SMU are considered the frontrunners for Barnes' commitment. However, it would appear that the Duncanville, TX native has an interest in LSU. All three schools made it into his top eight, along with Arizona State, Washington, Ohio State, and Georgia. On3's Industry Rankings put Barnes at No. 19 among Texas prospects in the 2026 cycle. He is No. 19 at his position and No. 118 nationally. LSU has yet to earn a commitment from a defensive end this cycle, but it appears they're making a serious push for Barnes. LSU's 2026 class is first in the SEC and second nationally to USC, despite getting a commitment from four-star offensive tackle Emanuel Tucker earlier this week. Barnes would be the eleventh addition for the group built on keeping the best Louisiana prospects at home while hitting on some of the region's top talents. Duncanville is a Texas powerhouse, routinely producing top recruits. Barnes wouldn't be the first Duncanville product to join LSU -- its also where LSU running back Caden Durham played his high school ball.
