Ohio State makes top schools for nation’s No. 1 RB, trio of others

The Buckeyes made the cut for a handful of the country’s top prospects over the weekend.

The college football world is currently in the midst of a recruiting dead period, which won’t end until March 2. While coaches aren’t allowed to have any in-person contact with prospects until the dead period is over, that doesn’t mean recruiting is at a standstill. Across the country highly touted players at the high school ranks continue to make plans for future visits while narrowing down their options.

As far as Ohio State is concerned, this past weekend was a busy one. The Buckeyes made the top schools list for a quartet of blue-chippers over these last few days, including the nation’s No. 1 running back.

That prospect in question in five-star Virginia native Savion Hiter. The top running back in the 2026 class as well as the No. 17 overall prospect in the cycle overall per the 247Sports Composite, Hiter cut his list from over two dozen offers down to a final four, with Ohio State among the finalists alongside Georgia, Michigan and Tennessee. In addition, the 5-foot-11 ball-carrier locked in official visits with each of his finalists, with a trip to Columbus slated for May 30-June 1.

After an immensely successful season for the running back position at Ohio State with both TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing and helping lead the program to a national title, position coach Carlos Locklyn is hoping to strike gold with Hiter. The MaxPreps Junior All-American is coming off a huge season for Louisa County, running for almost 1,700 yards and 26 touchdowns while adding 56 tackles, seven sacks and a pick on defense.

It will not be Hiter’s first trip to see the Buckeyes, as the star tailback previously visited Ohio State back in November for their 45-0 stomping of Purdue. That visit was his second to Columbus, initially making the trek back in October of 2023 when he originally received his OSU offer. As of right now it sounds like Ohio State and Georgia have the upper-hand of the four remaining schools, but these official visits will go a long way in ultimately determining the outcome.

Speaking of Georgia, Ohio State is looking to make some progress in the Peach State after making the top schools list for four-star athlete Tyriq Green. Taking snaps at both running back and safety for Buford, Green currently ranks as the No. 10 ATH nationwide and the No. 22 player in Georgia as the No. 164 prospect overall in the 2026 class per the 247Sports Composite.

With an offer sheet that extends more than 40 schools deep, cutting things down to a final eight was no small feat for the 5-foot-10 Swiss Army Knife. That being said, Ohio State did manage to make the cut alongside Florida, Georgia, Miami, USC and others. The Buckeyes offered Green back in April 2024, with the freaky athlete calling it a “dream offer” at the time. Still, it will be tough for Ohio State to pry him away from the in-state Bulldogs.

Elsewhere, Ohio State also got some good news from four-star tight end Mack Sutter. The 6-foot-5 Illinois native is the No. 7 TE and No. 94 player nationally per 247Sports’ rankings. Sutter cut his list down from over 40 programs down to a final five, with the Buckeyes making that small group alongside Alabama, Illinois, Ole Miss and Penn State. In addition, the tight end has an official visit scheduled with each of his finalists, with plans to take in Columbus on May 30.

Ohio State’s tight end room is in good shape under position coach Keenan Bailey, most recently adding the No. 1 TE in the transfer portal in Purdue’s Max Klare. We saw how important a guy like Gee Scott Jr. was to the Buckeyes’ national title hunt, and the Buckeyes are hoping to parlay that success into momentum on the recruiting trail as they pursuit one of the country’s best in Sutter.

Last but certainly not least, Ohio State also made the top schools for reclassified five-star wide receiver Ethan “Boobie” Feaster. Formerly a member of the 2027 class, Feaster is now the No. 4 WR and the No. 23 overall prospect nationally in the 2026 class per the 247Sports Composite. With 12 schools still in the mix for the elite 6-foot pass-catcher, the Buckeyes are among the dozen alongside Alabama, LSU, Oregon, Texas and others.

A multi-sport athlete, running a 22.01 200 as a freshman, Feaster is coming of a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American season having caught 57 passes for 824 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping DeSoto reach the 6A D-II quarterfinals. Obviously now a top priority for position coach Brian Hartline having reclassified to the current cycle, the Buckeyes will look to get Feaster on campus as soon as possible. Ohio State first offered the Texas native in January.