logo
BOOM! Ohio State football lands highly sought after defensive back

BOOM! Ohio State football lands highly sought after defensive back

USA Today12-05-2025

The Ohio State football team continues to add to one of the best 2026 recruiting classes in the country. The latest verbal commitment comes from four-star defensive back Jordan Thomas, who announced his pledge to the Buckeyes on Monday afternoon.
Out of Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey, Thomas is ranked as the No. 17 cornerback and 176th overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He chose the Buckeyes over finalists Auburn, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M. When reacting to the commitment on a live stream hosted by On3, he said that Ohio State "checked off all the boxes."
'When it comes to development in all aspects of life,' Thomas said, 'in the faith part, field part, academically, in my character, there's no place better than Ohio State.'
The commitment now gives OSU a total of 13 pledges in the 2026 class, a crop that is currently ranked as No. 3 in the country according to the 247Sports Team Composite rankings. Thomas is the fourth defensive back committed to the class, joining safeties Blaine Bradford and Simeon Caldwell, and cornerback Jakob Weatherspoon.
We'll continue to stay on top of Ohio State recruiting news as it happens throughout the offseason and on into the 2025 season.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle
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.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

MSU target, 3-star DL Jermaine Polk commits to Rutgers following official visit
MSU target, 3-star DL Jermaine Polk commits to Rutgers following official visit

USA Today

time5 hours ago

  • USA Today

MSU target, 3-star DL Jermaine Polk commits to Rutgers following official visit

MSU target, 3-star DL Jermaine Polk commits to Rutgers following official visit One of the defensive lineman Michigan State is targeting in the 2026 class is off the board and heading to another Big Ten school. Jermaine Polk of Toledo, Ohio announced his commitment to Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Polk took an official visit to Rutgers this weekend, which ultimately led to the Scarlet Knights sealing the deal with his commitment. Michigan State was one of five schools recently named a finalist for Polk, which didn't include Rutgers. Michigan State, Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State and Wisconsin were the five schools Polk named as his finalists in late May, but an offer from Rutgers this past week quickly changed his recruiting landscape, with the Scarlet Knights working fast to get him on campus and committed. Polk is a three-star prospect and ranks as the No. 73 defensive lineman in 247Sports' rankings for the 2026 class. He holds a recruiting rating of 88 on 247Sports as well. Michigan State landed their own defensive lineman prospect in the 2026 class, with Christopher Knauls Jr. committing to the Spartans following his official visit. So that commitment from Knauls eases the blow of Rutgers beating out Michigan State for Polk. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Texas A&M will retain key assistant on HC Bucky McMillan's 2025 staff
Texas A&M will retain key assistant on HC Bucky McMillan's 2025 staff

USA Today

time6 hours ago

  • USA Today

Texas A&M will retain key assistant on HC Bucky McMillan's 2025 staff

Texas A&M will retain key assistant on HC Bucky McMillan's 2025 staff Bucky McMillan has officially retained Assistant Director of Operations Shane Sinon per release. Served as Buzz Williams' assistant, and did a lot of the day-to-day tasks for the head coach as well as assistant in traveling and inventory for the Aggies. — Jaxson Callaway (AT) (@AggiesToday) June 9, 2025 New Texas A&M basketball head coach Bucky McMillan has assembled his 2025 coaching staff this offseason, adding five veteran coaches, led by Mitch Cole, Kyle Keller, and TJ Cleveland, who all bring a blend of experience and recruiting expertise to the 2025 roster. While most of the former head coach Buzz Williams' 2024 coaching staff is expected to join Maryland, one key assistant will reportedly stay in College Station under McMillan. According to Texas A&M's media team, Shane Sinon, one of the lesser-known names on the coaching staff, who served as a graduate assistant under Williams last season, will now serve as McMillan's Assistant Director of Operations. According to Jaxson Callaway (AggiesToday), Sinon served as Buzz Williams' day-to-day assistant, also assisting in traveling and inventory for the program last season. Sinon appears to be a rising star in the coaching ranks and will serve under current Director of Operations Warren Fitzpatrick, assisting with team operations that include recruiting, finances, and media-based situations. This will likely finish out Texas A&M's 2025 basketball staff, which Bucky McMillan will rely on during his inaugural season and beyond. Again, while Sinon is now a well-known name, it's the lesser-known assistants who are putting in the work behind the scenes. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

Denny Hamlin wins Michigan, taunts crowd while awaiting third child
Denny Hamlin wins Michigan, taunts crowd while awaiting third child

Fox Sports

time6 hours ago

  • Fox Sports

Denny Hamlin wins Michigan, taunts crowd while awaiting third child

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin could feel nerves during the race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. His fiancée, Jordan Fish, was six days past due with their third child and Hamlin and his team had decided if they got past Lap 50 of the 200-lap race, he wouldn't be told if she went into labor. Things worked out for Hamlin. He won at Michigan and 90 minutes after the race, was still at the track doing media. He talked about why he needs to be at the birth, baby names … and fierce taunts of the crowd in Michigan. That's Hamlin, living amid chaos and then creating even more for himself. "I don't want to be so ho-hum with winning that it's boring because then I lose my drive," Hamlin said. Hamlin, who has a group of friends who are Ohio State fans, gave the "O" sign to the Michigan crowd and resurrected his line that he told his father he wouldn't use anymore as he crowed to the crowd: "I beat your favorite driver." The boos reigned and Hamlin chuckled. "I do thrive on it just simply because you feel like you've got 60,000 people that are rooting against you," Hamlin said. "When you have that, it just feels really, really good and gratifying to prove them wrong. "I love that feeling." Hamlin had spent Saturday night in Michigan as Fish had not had any labor symptoms. Fish posted an Instagram story late in the race that she was at home. "I felt decent enough about it," Hamlin said. "We had to set some sort of cutoff of whether I was going to finish or not. "So I was very nervous last night and then this morning to getting the call because I knew I had a race-winning car after yesterday." Hamlin is known to run well, even with outside distractions. And he has the additional drama of the race team he owns (but doesn't drive for) 23XI Racing embroiled in a lawsuit against NASCAR. Earlier in the week, the team was dealt a blow in the U.S Court of Appeals and faces the prospect of the 23XI Racing cars not being chartered in a few weeks. It seems that he has been able to focus when he's at the track since that lawsuit was filed last October. The worries about missing the birth of his child, though, seemed to weigh on him more. With JGR simulator driver Ryan Truex at the track, in case he needed to leave, Hamlin knew the team was prepared for him to leave if Fish went into labor. He knew he had a strong car and had a good feeling about the race. Granted, Hamlin didn't have the fastest car. Chris Buescher probably did, but his car wiggled as he tried to run down the leaders late in the race. This cost him valuable momentum and he ended up coming across the line a second after Hamlin. \ William Byron had a strong car, but like many others, he had to save gas near the end, relinquishing the lead with less than four laps to go and then running out with a little over a lap remaining. Hamlin's team made sure he had enough fuel on the final stop to be on the attack at the end. And he executed flawlessly to the finish. And his wife was still at home, posting on Instagram near the end of the race. "I was a little nervous just because we put the Lap 50 cutoff," Hamlin said. "If it happens before Lap 50, I just go ahead and get out, just because of the time. "If it was after, I thought that by the time she gets her s--- together and gets to the hospital, all that stuff? You just never how it all turns out. But I think I can make it, as long as I had a three-hour window." It marked the third win of the year for Hamlin and his 57th career victory in his 701st start. Now it's on to Mexico City, and Hamlin indicated he would be willing to stay home if Fish has not given birth by the weekend. Obviously, it is a much longer flight from there than it would have been from Michigan to his North Carolina home. NASCAR would grant Hamlin a waiver to miss a race and consider it for medical reasons, meaning he would still make the playoffs and get to keep playoff points earned during the season. "It's the bigger picture. You never know when you'll ever have another one," Hamlin said about wanting to be home for the birth of the child. "You may not. I've been really supportive of her, the way that she wants to have this play out, which is as natural as possible. "Everyone asks, 'Why don't you just schedule, schedule, schedule?' I don't know. You've just got to let her decide in these situations. If it causes me to miss a race, it's one of 701 races that I missed and it's just not that big of a deal." His team owner, Heather Gibbs, when asked earlier about whether she was nervous for Hamlin, quipped: "It's funny, because I have four [children]. They [husbands] don't really do anything. When he gets home, he'll be home. It was good." Hamlin's response: "Well, that is true. I've been in the room before, and she needs something really hard to grab onto, and my hand is perfect for it. I'm definitely going to be there this week — hopefully — to hold her hand." The same could have been said for the way Hamlin grabbed the lead just when he needed to and held on for the victory. "He kind of thrives in chaos, right?" Heather Gibbs said. "It was true, we wanted to get him in the car. ... He's as cool as they come, that's for sure." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store