Ohio State football misses out on another 4-star edge rusher for the 2026 class
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
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