Just a week back, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was having his recruiting moment. He managed to swoop two major blue-chip athletes to his WR room—the Mater Dei duo of Chris Henry Jr. and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Ohio State currently sits at the No. 3 position in the 2026 recruiting class. That’s huge for a team that almost lost all the pieces of their glorious championship roster. Day has filled in the cup, but relying on a completely revamped team has always been a bit of a challenge and a bit of a thrill for any program. The head coach is left with no option. The transfer portal exodus gave him a lemon, so the best he could do was to make lemonade. Is he inching closer to that goal? Well, maybe, but the latest intel suggested a blow.

Sam Spiegelman, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals, was high on Zavion Griffin-Haynes being a Buckeye back in July 2024. After the talented edge rusher visited Ohio State last year, the Buckeyes appear to be in the driver’s seat to land the four-star EDGE, according to Spiegelman. Rolesville (N.C.) High School products keep on adding to this narrative by keeping Ohio State on their top 11 lists for all these months. The other schools in his list include C State, Georgia, Florida State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Texas, Auburn, and Penn State.

However, as the latest update suggested, the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder trimmed down his list to four schools, and most notably, Ohio State didn’t make the cut to the top 4.

A big drop for Ryan Day, for sure. So, what’s next for the four-star OSU target? Well, the schools that will compete with each other are Clemson, Michigan, Nebraska, and Florida State. It will be interesting to see where Zavion will head next, but Ryan Day keeps reloading his roster. Despite a couple of misfires, he is going strong and steady in his recruitment philosophy and aligned action.

Ohio State continues to be the haven for the recruits 

The OSU head coach has a very blunt and clear message for all the recruits. “We want guys who want to be at Ohio State,” Day explained. “If we have to talk you into coming to Ohio State, if money’s the first thing you’re looking for — this isn’t the right place for you.”

It’s a major confession to make in his volatile transfer portal age when coaches put millions of dollars to snag a talent over their rivals. But Day couldn’t care less. All he looks for is a genuine intent to work for the program and go all in. Ohio State has landed in 26 commitments so far. But they didn’t add anyone to the QB room yet.

4-star signal caller Luke Fahey might break the streak. Throughout this recruitment cycle, he is one of the key powerhouses in his position and a lucrative catch for any team. However, Ohio State hasn’t extended him an offer just yet. But if they do, they will be in a position to pull him in. After Will Howard and Julian Sayin, Fahey can be the next man to turn in the Buckeyes’ QB room.

Although it will be too early to make a deep assumption, the California native out of Mission Viejo High had some news for the Buckeyes and Ryan Day. After On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported Ohio State is “emerging” for his recruitment and “things are picking up.” Luke Fahey added to the roots. Luke Fahey told On3, “It’s a dream school for me and my parents!” It will see if a summer visit can push things hard for Fahey and OSU to go hand in hand.