Ohio State offers three new prospects, including nation’s No. 1 LB

A busy recruiting weekend for the Buckeyes means more visits and more new offers.

The trenches — on both sides of the ball — are going to be a massive area of focus for Ohio State in the coming cycles. After losing a tremendous amount of talent to the NFL this past season and with a few recruiting classes in a row lacking in those areas, the Buckeyes are in need of both offensive and defensive lineman.

Larry Johnson’s room loses all four of its starters from the 2024 season, while newly minted offensive line coach Tyler Bowen needs to replace four starters as well, albeit returning three players who started games last year in addition to adding a pair of transfers. Bowen has gotten off to a roaring start, with Ohio State landing three offensive lineman in the 2026 class in just the last three weeks, while LJ is still waiting for his first commitment in this current cycle.

Still, it’s never too early to look ahead, and the veteran defensive line coach is hoping to make inroads in the next class with an offer going out to 2027 defensive lineman, KJ Green. One of the top underclassmen in the country, Green ranks as the No. 6 EDGE and No. 43 prospect overall per the 247Sports Composite, as well as the No. 6 player out of the talent-rich state of Georgia.

Approaching 20 offers to his name, Green is already being looked at by all of college football’s premier programs, including the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, USC and many others in addition to Ohio State now entering the mix. The talented edge rusher, who stands at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds and goes by the nickname ‘Spiderman’.

“Oh man, [the nickname is] from two different things,” Green told Sports Illustrated. “First, a Stephenson coach, coach Rock, he likes to call us the Avengers. Everyone has a name, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, all the names; mine is Spiderman. The second is from my stance before the ball is snapped, it matches Spiderman. When I sack the QB, it is like a web, he can’t go nowhere.”

On the other side of the line, not resting on the laurels of his three recent commits, offensive line coach Tyler Bowen extended an offer on Saturday to 2027 offensive tackle, Cameron Wagner. A 6-foot-6, 280-pound lineman out of Illinois, Wagner ranks as the No. 8 OT and No. 76 prospect overall per the 247Sports Composite, as well as the top player out of his home state.

Ohio State is among the early entrants into the recruiting race for Wagner as one of the first nine schools to offer, which is a breath of fresh air based on how recruiting at the position was handled prior to Bowen’s arrival. The Buckeyes are one of the biggest names on that offer sheet to this point, which includes Iowa, Notre Dame and Penn State, among others. Wagner is a multi-sport athlete who also competes in track and field as well as wrestling.

Elsewhere, James Laurinaitis made sure not to be outdone, as he too extended a new offer in the 2027 class by way of elite in-state linebacker, Antwoine Higgins. Hailing out of Cincinnati, Higgins is the No. 1 LB and the No. 52 prospect nationally per 247Sports’ rankings, as well as the No. 2 player in Ohio behind only wide receiver Jamier Brown, who is already committed to Ohio State.

The impressive 6-foot-3, 215-pound athlete plays both football and basketball at Anderson High School, and plays both ways on the gridiron as he also gets his reps in at tight end. Helping lead the Raptors to a perfect 15-0 record before ultimately falling to Avon in the OHSAA State Championship. Higgins is coming off a sophomore campaign wherein he recorded 55 tackles, seven TFLs, two sacks and a pick.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State is expecting a visit on Monday in the form of four-star in-state quarterback, Matt Ponatoski. The Archbishop Moeller product is rated as the No. 18 QB and No. 11 player in the Buckeye State in the 2026 class. While Ponatoski does not currently hold an offer from Ohio State, that could very well change as Ryan Day and quarterbacks coach Billy Kessler continue to search for their signal caller in this current cycle.