Lane Kiffin’s grip on Louisiana’s top talent may be slipping, and Ryan Day’s Ohio State is wasting no time taking advantage. Ever since he and the Ohio State Buckeyes hired Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator in January, the Buckeyes have definitely been pushing harder for elite running backs from the class of 2026 and 2027. They just offered the scholarship to Lane Kiffin’s 3-star multi-dimensional RB Trey Martin after the LSU head coach lost his best recruiter.

The word is, the Buckeyes are in contention for Trey Martin after offering him a scholarship. On February 14th, the Bucknuts hopped onto X and delivered discouraging news for Lane Kiffin’s program regarding the recruiting of the Louisiana native, Trey Martin:

“AGTG After great talk with @Locklyn33 I’m blessed to receive a offer from @OhioStateFB.”

According to 247Sports, Trey was pretty much shocked when Ohio State hit his phone. Martin is a superstar prospect from the class of 2027 out of Franklin Parish High School in Louisiana. Martin, a prospect from the class of 2027, is the kind of multi-dimensional weapon teams covet. While primarily a running back, he also excels at catching passes and playing lockdown defense as a safety.

Last season, he put up monster numbers with 1,310 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. Although he’s ranked 34th-best running back in the class of 2027, Ohio State’s RB coach Carlos Locklyn is high on Trey Martin, comparing his playstyle to former NFL legend Percy Harvin. For a kid from Louisiana, getting that kind of love from Ohio State is one big flex.

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This offer couldn’t have come at a more chaotic time for Lane Kiffin and co. The head coach jumping ship from Ole Miss to LSU has brought about a transitional period for the program as the Tigers are undergoing a massive identity shift.

While Kiffin brings plenty of offensive fireworks and “portal king” energy, his arrival coincided with a major shakeup in the coaching staff that many fans didn’t see coming.

The biggest sting for LSU was losing Frank Wilson. The man’s basically considered the “Godfather” of Louisiana recruiting. In a shocking twist, Wilson headed over to Ole Miss to join Pete Golding’s staff. Losing Wilson is like losing the keys to the state; he’s the guy who usually ensures the best local players like Martin never even think about leaving home.

With Wilson gone, Kiffin is leaning heavily on Kevin Smith, the former Ole Miss running backs coach who followed him to LSU. Smith is now the lead man trying to convince Martin that Baton Rouge is still the place to be. Fortunately, Smith has been recruiting Martin since his Oxford days, so the relationship is there, but the competition is getting fierce.

Ohio State, LSU, and Alabama are in the hunt for Trey Martin

Martin is a hot commodity with over 20 big-time offers from schools like Alabama, LSU, and Florida State. The good news for Buckeye fans is that Martin was reportedly ‘blown away’ by the Ohio State offer and is already planning a trip to Columbus to check out the campus and meet the staff in person.

However, Ohio State does have some competition, as Alabama sits in the driver’s seat to secure Trey Martin. The RB recently went on the record calling the Crimson Tide the “No. 1 in my recruitment,” which has folks in Baton Rouge a little nervous. Alabama has a big visit lined up for him this June.

Don’t sleep on Ole Miss either. Now that Frank Wilson is on their staff, the Rebels have a “cheat code” for recruiting in Louisiana. Wilson knows everyone in the state, and he’s trying to flip the script and convince Martin that Oxford is the new destination for elite Bayou talent. It’s a three-way toss-up between Alabama, Ohio State, and LSU. This battle is going to go down to the wire.