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New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
What does Ohio State need in recruiting? 5 key needs to watch during June visits
With two months until preseason camp begins, a lot of attention is building toward Ohio State trying to defend its national championship in 2025. June, however, is about the future beyond that, as recruiting for the Class of 2026 is heating up. The Buckeyes have four official visit weekends, with one already in the books from last week, as they look to expand a class that ranks third in the 247Sports Composite behind USC and Notre Dame. Ohio State has 13 verbal commitments in a group led by five-star receiver Chris Henry from California and safety Blaine Bradford from Louisiana. Advertisement What needs are left? Here are five things to watch as visits pick up and the summer commitment season gets rolling. This is an important cycle for defensive line coach Larry Johnson. Losing the entire starting defensive line to the NFL is a good problem to have, of course. That level of talent helped lead to a national championship and the success should help on the recruiting trail. But it also means having to reload on a unit where some depth questions linger into this fall. To avoid more questions down the line, success this cycle is important. As of June 3, the Buckeyes don't have a commitment on the defensive line. Florida commit Jamir Perez is a big name the Buckeyes are after. He's just a three-star recruit, but the 360-pound tackle is a key in-state prospect from Glenville and the Buckeyes are going to fight to keep their pipeline there locked down. Four-star Glenville end Cincere Johnson is also a priority target as a top-10 player at his position nationally and is set to visit on June 13. Ohio State had three defensive ends on campus last weekend in Florida's Jake Kreul (No. 31), New Jersey's Luke Wafle (No. 54) and California's Khary Wilder (No. 248), plus three-star defensive tackle Cameron Brickle from California. Landon Barnes, a four-star end from Texas, has a visit scheduled for June 20. Ohio State needs to hit on some of these defensive linemen this summer and hold them to signing day. That's harder than it sounds in the NIL era, but Ohio State had just three defensive linemen in the 2024 class and added five in last year's class. Quality and quantity are needed this cycle. Ohio State doesn't have a quarterback yet in the 2026 class. It's not the end of the world, but it will still look to add one this cycle. There aren't many uncommitted players at the top of the rankings right now, with seven of the top 10 quarterbacks committed to schools already. As of June 3, three-star California native Luke Fahey is the only quarterback prospect who has scheduled a visit to Columbus. He doesn't have an Ohio State offer yet but is somebody the Buckeyes are looking at. Advertisement Ohio State has some challenges when it comes to recruiting quarterbacks this cycle because of the recent success it has had at the position. Julian Sayin was the top quarterback in the 2024 cycle and is the favorite to be the starting quarterback this year, while Tavien St. Clair, a five-star in the 2025 cycle, is waiting his turn. The Buckeyes also already have a 2027 commitment from Brady Edmunds, a four-star recruit from California. Though signing a quarterback is a yearly priority, Ohio State can take its time with a QB this cycle. Running backs coach Carlos Locklyn has been hard at work to add more elite talent. The top running back in the class, five-star Savion Hiter, was on campus this past weekend and is a priority for the Buckeyes. Hiter still has a host of visits set up, including Georgia, which is one of the top contenders for the Virginia native alongside Michigan and Tennessee. Thank you @OhioStateFB for having my family and I this weekend 🙏🏾 it was a great official visit #GoBucks 🌰 — Savion 'Cinco' Hiter (High-ter) (@5starsavi) June 2, 2025 Ohio State is also after Derrek Cooper, a five-star prospect from Florida. He is expected to visit on the final weekend, June 20, but also has visits set up to Alabama, Florida State and Georgia and was at Miami last weekend. Locklyn did a nice job last cycle adding three playmakers, but he's working hard to pull in one of the top running backs in the country and will likely add two to the room this cycle. In-state four-star Favour Akih is next up for a visit on Locklyn's list. The No. 8 prospect in Ohio will visit the Buckeyes this weekend. Promoting Laurinaitis to full-time linebackers coach has been paying off for the Buckeyes. They had a good class in 2025 led by Riley Pettijohn, the No. 2 linebacker in the class, and the former Ohio State All-American is now off to a good start in the 2026 cycle. Advertisement Last weekend he had Xavier Griffin, the No. 2 linebacker in the class from Gainesville, Ga., on campus. Griffin is an elite prospect who could both play off the ball and rush the passer on the line. Griffin decommitted from USC in May and has visits set up with Alabama, Texas and Florida State. Griffin isn't the only five-star linebacker from Georgia on Ohio State's mind. Tyler Atkinson is the top linebacker in the class and has been a priority for Laurinaitis. Trying to pull the Georgia native away from the home-state Bulldogs won't be easy, and Clemson had him on campus for an official visit last weekend. Laurinaitis already has one commitment in the 2026 class in four-star in-star prospect CJ Sanna, but he's shooting for the stars nationally. Ohio State is riding the high of its national championship and the stardom of safety Caleb Downs to some real recruiting momentum. The Buckeyes already have a commitment from Bradford, the No. 2 safety in the country, and it's in the mix for two other five-stars at the position. The top safety, Bralan Womack of Flowood, Miss., is set to make his decision on Aug. 22 and is getting plenty of attention from coach Matt Guerrieri. Womack has visits scheduled to Auburn and Texas A&M left on the schedule in June before ending the month with a trip to Ohio State. Also on the targets list is five-star Jett Washington from Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman. The No. 4 safety will visit this weekend, though Oregon is in heavy pursuit, too. Guerrieri has done a nice job filling out the position with versatile prospects, and the addition of Bradford continues that trend. If the Buckeyes can add one of Womack or Washington, too, it'll solidify the depth and future at that position.
BBC News
11-04-2025
- BBC News
Fatal A518 crash near Telford sparks urgent road safety review
The safety of a main road will be the subject of an "urgent review" following a fatal crash, a council has confirmed.A woman in her 50s died when a grey BMW and grey Audi A5 crashed on the A518 Wellington Road, close to Lilleshall near Telford, shortly before 09:00 BST on Wednesday.A man was also airlifted to hospital with serious injuries while a child passenger was treated at the scene for minor and Wrekin Council expressed its "deepest condolences" to those affected and said it acknowledged the "distress felt across our community". "In response to this tragedy, the council has called for an urgent review of road safety on this stretch of road," a spokesperson authority has arranged a meeting with West Mercia Police on Monday to discuss what action could be taken to prevent further findings of the review would be reported as soon as possible, the council the crash, Insp Chris Henry of West Mercia Police said his thoughts were with the families of those involved and urged anyone with information or dash cam footage to get in said he was keen to hear from anyone who might have seen either of the cars, which were travelling in opposite directions, before the incident. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- BBC News
Woman killed and man seriously injured in Telford crash
A woman has died and a man suffered serious, potentially life-threatening injuries in a crash near victim, in her 50s, died at the scene of the two-vehicle collision on the A518 Wellington Road close to Lilleshall at about 08:45 BST on injured man was airlifted to hospital while a child passenger was treated at the scene for minor injuries, West Mercia Police road was closed after the collision, which involved a grey BMW and grey Audi A5, but has since reopened to traffic. Insp Chris Henry said his thoughts were with the families of those involved and urged anyone with information or dash cam footage to get in said he was keen to hear from anyone who might have seen either car, which were travelling in opposite directions, before the incident. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
