We all know how it goes for the Ohio State Buckeyes: big names, recruiting dominance, and the hunger to stay at the top, year after year. Whether it’s about offense or defense, Ryan Day’s program has dominated in both departments for a long time now. They won the college football national championship last year, beating Notre Dame (34-23), which was enough to tell how well the program is working under the head coach Matt Rhule. But lately? Something feels off…

A few top recruits are going elsewhere, and the hole starts getting big in the places you wouldn’t expect. And you know the issue is big when fans start noticing it. It’s not a good sign for Ohio State, especially when the fall is already looming around. And guess who’s in the spotlight? Let’s get to the heart of it, Kris Drew of Menace 2 Sports has called out that the $1.4 million defensive line coach, Larry Johnson, has been constantly failing in recruiting.

“Ohio State has not been doing a great job on the recruiting trail when it comes to, you know, defensive linemen,” Drew said. “With Larry Johnson, every time he misses on a recruit, you hear the very loud, like fire, LJ kind of stuff.” The Buckeyes’ 2026 defensive line class is indeed raising a lot of questions. Their highest-ranked recruit is Damari Simeon, who is No. 201 in the country and No. 26 among DLs per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Then comes Khary Wilder, ranked No. 241 in the country and No. 23 among edge rushers. But who, apart from them? The depth dips sharply beyond that. Cameron Brickle is ranked No. 538 overall, and Jamir Perez sits at No. 679, who just flipped from Florida. Their average DL ranking sits at 414.75, which is concerning for the defending champions. Overall, the Buckeyes are currently at the No. 5 spot in the 247Sports recruiting rankings. As of now, they have a total number of 21 commits. Two of them are five-star recruits while 14 are four-star recruits.

But it’s not like Larry hasn’t done anything for the program; he’s been with the Buckeyes for over a decade now. “And not that people don’t think that he is a great coach. I think a lot of people feel like maybe the game is passing him by, and maybe they don’t want to hear about Chase Young, Nick, and Joey anymore. They want to hear about what you have done lately.” You’ve heard the names, as Drew mentioned: Chase Young, Nick and Joey Bosa, who were drafted to the NFL, thanks to Larry’s d-line tutelage. But the fans want to hear new names now, and not just fans, even Ryan Day wants quality, as he has a bigger problem ahead.

Ohio State’s defensive recruiting woes could derail Ryan Day’s shot at redemption

Coach Ryan Day would like to defend the College football title in the upcoming fall, but according to some fans and analysts, there’s a much bigger thing to achieve than winning the national championship. You might be wondering, what can be bigger than becoming the champion in college football? Well, rivalries are bigger than everything in college football. And there’s someone who has been dominating Ryan Day’s program for the last four years.

We’re talking about the Michigan Wolverines, who have been beating the Buckeyes every time they come against each other since 2021. CFB analyst Josh Pate recently made it clear what Coach Day’s main job should be in the upcoming season. “My personal college football worldview is that if you’re the head coach at Ohio State, your job’s to beat Michigan, and then the Big 10 can be won, and then the national title can be won in that order. But beating Michigan’s number one, and he hadn’t done it in several years now.” Pate said. Well, these comments might look sarcastic to newbies, but that’s the reality. And even Day must be thinking the same.

He has the national championship title, and the program has been on a high run for a long time. But the job is yet to be done. He must be wanting to tick all the boxes and leave the college football world with every achievement, and for that, he needs to beat Michigan in the upcoming fall. But the growing defensive line concern might become a stoppage of his desires.