David Gabriel Georges shone in the Baylor School’s state title run as a junior, and that was enough to draw the attention of recruiters. He ran through defenders, broke tackles, and helped Baylor win the state championship. Soon enough, there was a horde of programs trying to recruit him. But as it turns out, Ohio State and Tennessee emerged as the clear winners.

“David Gabriel Georges, I convinced you to go from Ohio State to the Tennessee side about all my pitches about why he would be a Vol,” recruiting analyst Chad Simmons reported on Rivals. “I feel even better about that pitch, you know, this weekend coming off the official visit, man. Whether it be about just the fans showing that love with The Rock right there on campus, or him wearing that number zero he covets to wear in college football in the photo shoot, of course. He had family with him on campus.

“Everything from what I’ve gathered from DGG himself, others that were there on the visit, to people around the program, it was a grand slam for Tennessee.”

Ohio State was reportedly in pole position to sign him after he visited Columbus on the last weekend of May. But having the Volunteers follow them so closely on his lineup of visits is proving to be an unfavorable coincidence for the Buckeyes. He has clearly bought into their vision after his visit to Knoxville involved him spending time with running backs coach De’Rail Sims, head coach Josh Heupel, and the players.

The Volunteers have the proximity advantage on their side, as he is from Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the state, he is the No. 1 player, No. 10 overall player in the nation, and the No. 2 running back nationally, per 247Sports. He rushed for over 1,600 yards and scored 25 touchdowns in the 2025 season.

For such a phenomenal talent, the Buckeyes are not giving up without a fight, as Steve Wiltfong has reported their willingness to go the extra mile in NIL spending on the blue-chip prospect. Also, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are said to make better use of their running backs coach, Carlos Locklyn, who has been on Gabriel Georges for a longer period than anybody else. They have even gone as far as sending a good number of their offensive coaching staff to visit him last month.

Without a doubt, the Buckeyes have Gabriel Georges as their prime target for the running back position. But understanding the competition for him, their backup option was Jayden Miles. Unfortunately, the four-star running back has now slipped out of their hands and committed to Florida State. The program’s 2027 class has remained at 13 commits for over two weeks.

Regardless, his commitment decision is still on hold until late July, per Rivals. He has official visits planned to Ole Miss and the Georgia Bulldogs for the next two weekends, amid speculation that he may eventually cancel the visits.

Other programs in the mix for David Gabriel Georges

Ohio State and Tennessee may be Gabriel Georges’ top two schools, but the running back is still being heavily monitored by other programs. Georgia and Ole Miss are two programs that have been on the lookout for him. The 6-foot-0, 205-pound talent remains fully on the market until his commitment decision is announced.

“Despite all the noise surrounding the Buckeyes and the Volunteers, Ole Miss is still a factor in this recruitment, per a source,” On3’s Zach Berry noted. “Gabriel Georges’ best friend from Baylor School and former backfield mate, Shekai Mills-Knight, is in Oxford now. And, fellow Baylor School alum Brycen Sanders returns for another year as the starting center for the Rebels.”

The Georgia Bulldogs have a five-star running back in Kemon Spell. Hence, the chances that they will go for another high-profile running back are very slim. VolQuest’s Austin Price also disagreed with the idea of Georgia bringing him in.

So, who do you think he will go with?