Ohio State had the home-court advantage, the projection models, and two official visits on the calendar. Yet, they still lost local star Jordan Hall to Penn State on Saturday. Hall, a three-star prospect from Cincinnati, picked the Nittany Lions shortly after Penn State coaches made a personal trip to his Friday night game. That leaves head coach Ryan Day with twenty total commits in the 2027 class, but not a single running back among them. With the early signing day approaching fast, the pressure inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center is reaching a boiling point.
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Recruiting analysts on social media quickly pointed out that this is not an isolated slip-up. Ohio State has been on a cold streak with elite tailbacks for nearly three years now. The program previously watched big names like Jordan Davison head to Oregon, Amari Latimer pick West Virginia, and Derrek Cooper choose Texas. Add David Gabriel Georges committing to Tennessee, and now Jordan Hall heading to Happy Valley, and running backs coach Carlos Locklyn finds himself under heavy scrutiny to deliver results.
The next test for this coaching staff arrives almost immediately. College football insider Jon Rhoades reported that three-star prospect Tranard Roberts is set to announce his choice on Monday. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound runner holds top-forty position rankings and has Ohio State among his final choices alongside Georgia, Miami, and North Carolina. For Locklyn and Day, Roberts represents the cleanest chance to end this tailback drought before panic sets in completely.
Missing out on top running backs hits Ryan Day’s offensive system where it hurts most. Day’s entire playbook relies on a strong ground game to protect young quarterbacks and keep balance on the field. Without a reliable star runner in this class, the coaching staff faces the risk of an overworked passing attack in coming seasons, making this positional gap a top priority for the whole staff to fix.
The biggest miss for Ohio State was Georges. He is a five-star out of Baylor School in Chattanooga and the No. 10 prospect in the class. Ohio State offered him in August 2024 and sent its entire offensive staff to see him this spring.
Hall was graded as the Buckeyes’ top remaining back. He ranks No. 60 among running backs in the 247Sports rankings. He missed his junior year at La Salle with an injury, then transferred to Princeton and ran for 1,179 yards and 24 touchdowns in a 10-0 season. Hall got an Ohio State offer on September 5 and took an official visit two weeks later. As of October 22, Rivals predicted he would commit to Ohio State, but he went with Penn State eventually.
The loss highlights a growing trend in modern college football recruiting. Programs like Tennessee and Penn State are aggressively offering early playing time promises and massive NIL incentives that traditional powerhouses are slow to match. Tennessee made a heavy push to secure Georges, while Penn State sold Hall on stepping onto the field right away.
Ohio State tried to sell long-term development, but in today’s fast-moving market, recruits are increasingly choosing immediate opportunity and quick financial reward over waiting their turn in Columbus.
Running back isn’t the only place the class has leaked. For the 2027 class, Jamier Brown is the only receiver in the top 1,000. Gabriel Osborne, a top-five cornerback, committed to Oklahoma; Ohio State is still recruiting him.
The class leans heavily on the defensive and offensive trenches instead, landing five-star defensive linemen DJ Jacobs and Marcus Fakatou. After high-stakes postseason battles showed the need for total dominance upfront, Ryan Day’s staff naturally shifted massive energy into securing big linemen. But that heavy defensive focus came at a price, as positions like defensive back and running back saw their recruiting momentum drop off during crucial decision windows.
Ohio State has to show it can win a recruiting fight late, and it has a few weeks to do it.
Where Ohio State turns next
Ohio State still has several recruiting targets in play, starting with Florida running back Roberts, who is ranked No. 576 nationally and No. 38 among running backs in the composite rankings. He is set to announce his decision on Monday between Georgia, Miami, North Carolina, and the Buckeyes. North Carolina has been favored to land him, while Ohio State is unlikely to commit him.
The Buckeyes are also pursuing three four-star prospects committed elsewhere: Florida State’s Jayden Miles, Wisconsin’s Kingston Allen, and Alabama’s Nigel Newkirk. Allen visited Columbus for the Maryland game.
Now, with Ohio State looking to add speed to its 2027 recruiting class, the program offered Bennett Konkey, a four-star wide receiver committed to Illinois. Konkey has clocked in 10.25 seconds in the 100-meter dash, giving the Buckeyes another potential option at receiver as Ryan Day’s staff works down to the wire to salvage this class.