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2026 OH WR Jaeden Ricketts is a Buckeye!!!
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
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LGHL Head coach or otherwise, Jake Diebler must be on the Ohio State men’s basketball staff next season
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Head coach or otherwise, Jake Diebler must be on the Ohio State men’s basketball staff next season
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
If he doesn’t get the job himself, Diebler would be a huge asset to the next head coach at Ohio State.
After a season like last year, it’s easy to understand why Ohio State fans were on edge at the onset of the 2023-24 season. The Ohio State men’s basketball program is a top-20, maybe even top-15 program in the country. Another year of missing the NCAA Tournament wasn’t going to be accepted, or someone’s head was going to be put on a stick.
Well, following a 14-11 start to the season and a 4-10 start in Big Ten play, it was head coach Chris Holtmann’s head that got put on a spike — to the applause of a good portion of the Ohio State fanbase, it seems. Athletic director Gene Smith opted to fire Holtmann with six regular season games to give interim head coach Jake Diebler a “runway for success.” The move came as a suprise, not because Holtmann was fired, but that it was done with one month left in the season.
Ohio State currently sits in 13th-place in the Big Ten, even after Diebler led the Buckeyes to an improbable upset of the second-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon. Even if the Buckeyes were to win out with Diebler and finish 10-10 in conference play, they would probably need to sweeten that with one or two wins in the Big Ten Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. Other than that, the only way into the big dance is to win the Big Ten Tournament as one of the four lowest seeds — something that has never been done before.
That’s a roundabout way of saying that Gene Smith dealt Diebler an impossible hand of cards. Smith knew it was unlikely that Diebler was going to rally this team, finish the season 6-0 and then win two more games in the Big Ten Tournament (AKA an eight-game winning streak). The most likely outcome was Diebler wins a few games down the stretch, Ohio State misses the NCAA Tournament once again, and then Diebler and the entire men’s basketball staff were laid off as the search for a new coach commenced.
But then the Purdue game happened, and every person who follows Ohio State basketball suddenly had a strong opinion on Jake Diebler’s future. People’s opinions on the 37-year old Gibsonburg native more or less fell in these three categories after the Buckeyes knocked off No. 2 Purdue on Sunday:
But after watching Diebler out-coach Matt Painter, the owner of four Big Ten titles and two Big Ten Tournament titles at Purdue, it made me think that Diebler does need to be on this staff next season. And after watching his interview with CBS’s Jim Spanarkel and sitting in Diebler’s post-game press conference, I walked out of the arena with a very strong conviction that the next coach — whoever it is — would be wise to make sure Diebler is on his staff.
Here’s why:
Even if the team has been bad, there are good players on this roster that an incoming coach would love to have at his disposal in year one. Bruce Thornton is obviously the big one — if he opts to transfer, he will be able to pick which program he wants to play for next year and go there. But Roddy Gayle, Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, and Scotty Middleton could also be foundational pieces that the next coach would like to keep around.
All of the freshmen and sophomores on this team speak highly of Diebler. “Coach Diebler” or “Coach Diebs” was the main recruiter for most of them, and they respect him just as much as they do Holtmann. After the Purdue game, the “CBB on Fox” social media accounts posted a video of Diebler falling to his knees as the final buzzer sounded and the Buckeyes had secured a win over Purdue. Several players on the team, including Thornton, Gayle, Middleton, Jamison Battle, and Zed Key, shared it on their own Instagram accounts and added hearts or messages like “Coach Diebs!”
If you’ve spent any time at all following this team, you know how much he means to the players as a coach, mentor, and friend. Keeping him on staff would increase the odds of keeping the core of this team intact.
At his first press conference as interim head coach, Diebler said that, for the moment, his energy has to be spent on the current team and the guys who are already committed to playing for Ohio State (Juni Mobley and Colin White). He said that any time spent recruiting beyond that would be doing a disservice to the guys already in the locker room.
Translation: We’re not going to spend time recruiting over these final four weeks when this staff is not going to be here in four weeks anyway.
It’s important to note that Ohio State has been pursuing three top-50 guards in the class of 2025, and the odds of one or more of them becoming Buckeyes seemed pretty high before Holtmann was fired. Of course, Diebler is knows all three guys very well at this point — Dorian Jones (No. 50, Richmond Heights), Jerry Easter Jr. (No. 26, La Lumiere), and Darryn Peterson (No. 3, Huntington Prep).
Not only is Diebler a recruiting asset in general as shown by the guys Ohio State has brought in over the last few years (No. 8 class in 2022, No. 12 class in 2023), but the Buckeyes will have no chance to pick up any of those elite prospects if Diebler goes elsewhere.
When Ryan Pedon left and took the Illinois State job, Diebler was promoted to Pedon’s old position — associate head coach and offensive coordinator. There have been individual games where Ohio State’s offense has gone stagnant, and the Buckeyes are prone to the occasional four or five-minute scoreless spell.
But in general, Ohio State’s offense has been average to above average under Diebler these last two years. The Buckeyes were bad last year, but the blame is mostly placed on defensive woes. Last year when they finished 16-19, Ohio State was still No. 19 nationally in offensive efficiency — better than teams such as Alabama, Creighton, and Kansas. Ohio State was No. 106 nationally in adjusted defensive effiency.
This season, Ohio State is No. 39 in offensive efficiency — its lowest rating since the 2018-2019 season. Still, top-40 is nothing to sneeze at. It’s not elite, but there are plenty of NCAA Tournament-caliber teams with OER’s in the 30’s and 40’s this year — Michigan State, Northwestern, and Kansas, to name a few.
In two years, Diebler’s helped coach one above average offense and another that’s been much closer to “average” or “fine” than “bad”.
The son of a longtime high school basketball coach in northwest Ohio and the brother of the best three-point shooter in Ohio State men’s basketball history, Diebler’s family has a long history with basketball in the state of Ohio. Diebler worked as a video coordinator for Thad Matta at Ohio State from 2013-2016, and then worked at Vanderbilt as an assistant for three seasons before Holtmann hired him in 2019. He now has eight years under his belt working for this program, and he’s said multiple times that it’s an “honor” to come to work every day.
Everything else aside, wouldn’t a new coach want at least one person on staff with a deep connection to the program and the Ohio basketball scene at large? Wouldn’t it be important to keep someone around who has a deep understanding of the rich history and expectations of one of the storied programs in college basketball?
Even without reasons 1-3, this feels like a big incentive to try and retain him all on its own.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
If he doesn’t get the job himself, Diebler would be a huge asset to the next head coach at Ohio State.
After a season like last year, it’s easy to understand why Ohio State fans were on edge at the onset of the 2023-24 season. The Ohio State men’s basketball program is a top-20, maybe even top-15 program in the country. Another year of missing the NCAA Tournament wasn’t going to be accepted, or someone’s head was going to be put on a stick.
Well, following a 14-11 start to the season and a 4-10 start in Big Ten play, it was head coach Chris Holtmann’s head that got put on a spike — to the applause of a good portion of the Ohio State fanbase, it seems. Athletic director Gene Smith opted to fire Holtmann with six regular season games to give interim head coach Jake Diebler a “runway for success.” The move came as a suprise, not because Holtmann was fired, but that it was done with one month left in the season.
Ohio State currently sits in 13th-place in the Big Ten, even after Diebler led the Buckeyes to an improbable upset of the second-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon. Even if the Buckeyes were to win out with Diebler and finish 10-10 in conference play, they would probably need to sweeten that with one or two wins in the Big Ten Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. Other than that, the only way into the big dance is to win the Big Ten Tournament as one of the four lowest seeds — something that has never been done before.
That’s a roundabout way of saying that Gene Smith dealt Diebler an impossible hand of cards. Smith knew it was unlikely that Diebler was going to rally this team, finish the season 6-0 and then win two more games in the Big Ten Tournament (AKA an eight-game winning streak). The most likely outcome was Diebler wins a few games down the stretch, Ohio State misses the NCAA Tournament once again, and then Diebler and the entire men’s basketball staff were laid off as the search for a new coach commenced.
But then the Purdue game happened, and every person who follows Ohio State basketball suddenly had a strong opinion on Jake Diebler’s future. People’s opinions on the 37-year old Gibsonburg native more or less fell in these three categories after the Buckeyes knocked off No. 2 Purdue on Sunday:
- Make Diebler the head coach right now, remove the interim tag! (Wildly optimistic)
- If he can win five or six games and really impress us, Diebler deserves the job. (More measured, reasonable)
- Diebler is an extension of Holtmann, and is tainted by his old boss’s failures. The program needs to cleanse itself of everything that had to do with Chris Holtmann. (Spiteful, angry, illogical)
But after watching Diebler out-coach Matt Painter, the owner of four Big Ten titles and two Big Ten Tournament titles at Purdue, it made me think that Diebler does need to be on this staff next season. And after watching his interview with CBS’s Jim Spanarkel and sitting in Diebler’s post-game press conference, I walked out of the arena with a very strong conviction that the next coach — whoever it is — would be wise to make sure Diebler is on his staff.
Here’s why:
Reason 1: He’s loved by his players and could keep the core of this team together
Even if the team has been bad, there are good players on this roster that an incoming coach would love to have at his disposal in year one. Bruce Thornton is obviously the big one — if he opts to transfer, he will be able to pick which program he wants to play for next year and go there. But Roddy Gayle, Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, and Scotty Middleton could also be foundational pieces that the next coach would like to keep around.
All of the freshmen and sophomores on this team speak highly of Diebler. “Coach Diebler” or “Coach Diebs” was the main recruiter for most of them, and they respect him just as much as they do Holtmann. After the Purdue game, the “CBB on Fox” social media accounts posted a video of Diebler falling to his knees as the final buzzer sounded and the Buckeyes had secured a win over Purdue. Several players on the team, including Thornton, Gayle, Middleton, Jamison Battle, and Zed Key, shared it on their own Instagram accounts and added hearts or messages like “Coach Diebs!”
If you’ve spent any time at all following this team, you know how much he means to the players as a coach, mentor, and friend. Keeping him on staff would increase the odds of keeping the core of this team intact.
Reason 2: He is the main recruiter on several four and five-star recruits in the class of 2025 that will not commit to Ohio State if he leaves
At his first press conference as interim head coach, Diebler said that, for the moment, his energy has to be spent on the current team and the guys who are already committed to playing for Ohio State (Juni Mobley and Colin White). He said that any time spent recruiting beyond that would be doing a disservice to the guys already in the locker room.
Translation: We’re not going to spend time recruiting over these final four weeks when this staff is not going to be here in four weeks anyway.
It’s important to note that Ohio State has been pursuing three top-50 guards in the class of 2025, and the odds of one or more of them becoming Buckeyes seemed pretty high before Holtmann was fired. Of course, Diebler is knows all three guys very well at this point — Dorian Jones (No. 50, Richmond Heights), Jerry Easter Jr. (No. 26, La Lumiere), and Darryn Peterson (No. 3, Huntington Prep).
Not only is Diebler a recruiting asset in general as shown by the guys Ohio State has brought in over the last few years (No. 8 class in 2022, No. 12 class in 2023), but the Buckeyes will have no chance to pick up any of those elite prospects if Diebler goes elsewhere.
Reason 3: He’s been a solid “offensive coordinator” for two years
When Ryan Pedon left and took the Illinois State job, Diebler was promoted to Pedon’s old position — associate head coach and offensive coordinator. There have been individual games where Ohio State’s offense has gone stagnant, and the Buckeyes are prone to the occasional four or five-minute scoreless spell.
But in general, Ohio State’s offense has been average to above average under Diebler these last two years. The Buckeyes were bad last year, but the blame is mostly placed on defensive woes. Last year when they finished 16-19, Ohio State was still No. 19 nationally in offensive efficiency — better than teams such as Alabama, Creighton, and Kansas. Ohio State was No. 106 nationally in adjusted defensive effiency.
This season, Ohio State is No. 39 in offensive efficiency — its lowest rating since the 2018-2019 season. Still, top-40 is nothing to sneeze at. It’s not elite, but there are plenty of NCAA Tournament-caliber teams with OER’s in the 30’s and 40’s this year — Michigan State, Northwestern, and Kansas, to name a few.
In two years, Diebler’s helped coach one above average offense and another that’s been much closer to “average” or “fine” than “bad”.
Reason 4: Ohio State basketball means so much to him
The son of a longtime high school basketball coach in northwest Ohio and the brother of the best three-point shooter in Ohio State men’s basketball history, Diebler’s family has a long history with basketball in the state of Ohio. Diebler worked as a video coordinator for Thad Matta at Ohio State from 2013-2016, and then worked at Vanderbilt as an assistant for three seasons before Holtmann hired him in 2019. He now has eight years under his belt working for this program, and he’s said multiple times that it’s an “honor” to come to work every day.
Everything else aside, wouldn’t a new coach want at least one person on staff with a deep connection to the program and the Ohio basketball scene at large? Wouldn’t it be important to keep someone around who has a deep understanding of the rich history and expectations of one of the storied programs in college basketball?
Even without reasons 1-3, this feels like a big incentive to try and retain him all on its own.
Continue reading...
LGHL Uncut Podcast: Jake Diebler reacts to upset over No. 2 Purdue in first game as interim head coach
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Uncut Podcast: Jake Diebler reacts to upset over No. 2 Purdue in first game as interim head coach
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Diebler is now 3-0 as a head coach all-time after Sunday’s win over the second-ranked Boilermakers.
Throughout the season, Land-Grant will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
Following an unexpected and unlikely upset win over No. 2 Purdue, Ohio State interim head coach Jake Diebler spoke to the media about the win, how his team came together, and what he was thinking before and during the game. We also spoke to Purdue head coach Matt Painter, as well as Bruce Thornton and Jamison Battle, who combined to score 41 points
Painter was first and said that his team’s turnovers have been a consistent trend in the three games they have lost this year. He gave credit to Zed Key, who had five steals, but said that it was, “Something that really has not happened to Zach (Edey) this year.”
He also said that if Chris Holtmann wasn’t fired, Ohio State still would have won the game by the exact same score.
Thornton talked about how Diebler’s hands were “shaking” at the beginning of the game, but that the win was all about getting results from weeks and weeks of work that he felt they very much deserved. Battle said the most important thing is to not look at the past and just take every day as its own challenge.
Diebler made sure not to get choked up, but said his guys came together this week, “In a way nobody anticipated in a very short time.”
Like Painter, Diebler also gave kudos to Key for his defense against Edey, and said, “Bruce Thornton was not going to let us lose this game.”
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Diebler is now 3-0 as a head coach all-time after Sunday’s win over the second-ranked Boilermakers.
Throughout the season, Land-Grant will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
Following an unexpected and unlikely upset win over No. 2 Purdue, Ohio State interim head coach Jake Diebler spoke to the media about the win, how his team came together, and what he was thinking before and during the game. We also spoke to Purdue head coach Matt Painter, as well as Bruce Thornton and Jamison Battle, who combined to score 41 points
Painter was first and said that his team’s turnovers have been a consistent trend in the three games they have lost this year. He gave credit to Zed Key, who had five steals, but said that it was, “Something that really has not happened to Zach (Edey) this year.”
He also said that if Chris Holtmann wasn’t fired, Ohio State still would have won the game by the exact same score.
Thornton talked about how Diebler’s hands were “shaking” at the beginning of the game, but that the win was all about getting results from weeks and weeks of work that he felt they very much deserved. Battle said the most important thing is to not look at the past and just take every day as its own challenge.
Diebler made sure not to get choked up, but said his guys came together this week, “In a way nobody anticipated in a very short time.”
Like Painter, Diebler also gave kudos to Key for his defense against Edey, and said, “Bruce Thornton was not going to let us lose this game.”
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State makes top schools for 2025 four-star OL, offers five-star 2026 QB
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Ohio State makes top schools for 2025 four-star OL, offers five-star 2026 QB
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes are in the final four of a top-10 2025 IOL while they enter the mix for a one of the top overall players in 2026.
For a rare moment since the calendar turned to 2024, Ohio State football took a back seat in the headlines to the men’s basketball team for a few days. After the Buckeyes fired head coach Chris Holtmann on Wednesday, the team responded by knocking off No. 2 Purdue on Sunday afternoon under interim coach Jake Diebler in a massive upset. The 73-69 victory over the Boilermakers was by far the biggest of the season for this group, whose NCAA Tournament hopes still likely rely on a Big Ten Tournament trophy.
Still, while Ohio State was making some noise on the hardwood in an otherwise disappointing season, the Buckeyes’ maintained their positive momentum on the recruiting trail with a handful of updates from over the weekend.
The first bit of news came on Friday afternoon, when four-star offensive lineman Mason Short announced his final remaining schools. The Georgia native cut down his offer sheet from over two dozen programs to just four, with Ohio State making the cut alongside Clemson, Georgia and Kentucky.
As things currently stand, it would be tough to bet against the in-state Bulldogs, who own all three of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for the 6-foot-5.5, 305-pound blocker. The second-team MaxPreps Sophomore All-American was formerly an Alabama commit, but de-committed from the Crimson Tide on Jan. 16 shortly after Nick Saban announced his retirement. It was around that time that the Georgia Crystal Balls began rolling in, so the fact that he hasn’t pulled the trigger just yet means that Ohio State is still alive here.
Short is the No. 7 IOL and No. 161 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite. He is also the No. 22 prospect out of the talent-rich state of Georgia in the 2025 class.
With the hiring of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, it is pretty clear that Ryan Day is going to continue to have a heavy say in both the recruiting and development of the quarterback position at Ohio State. However, with Kelly now in charge of calling the plays on Saturdays, Day can take even more of a hands on approach with his QBs.
While Kyle McCord was the first real miss under Day, the head coach still has a proven track record of success in evaluating, recruiting and developing the position from Dwayne Haskins to Justin Fields to C.J. Stroud. With both Air Noland and Julian Sayin now on campus from the 2024 class and the in-state Tavien St. Clair already committed in 2025, Day can now begin to take aim at some of the best talents in the 2026 cycle.
That journey took the next step on Saturday, as Ohio State officially offered five-star 2026 quaterback Brady Smigiel.
A California native, Smigiel is the No. 2 QB and the No. 21 overall player in the class per the 247Sports Composite. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds as just a high school sophomore, the Newbury Park star has put up some ridiculous numbers. In his first two years with the varsity squad, Smigiel has passed for a whopping 98 touchdowns while rushing for another seven. He has thrown for 7,700 yards in 26 games, completing just under 62 percent of his passes, but will have to take care of the ball a bit better at the next level having thrown 25 interceptions.
With still two years of high school football remaining to continue honing his game, Smigiel has racked up nearly 30 offers to his name thus far, including the likes of Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State and many others with the Buckeyes now also in the mix. Ohio State has had recent success hauling in quarterbacks from the West Coast in both Stroud and Sayin, and will now look to build another strong relationship with one of the nation’s top signal callers from the Golden State.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes are in the final four of a top-10 2025 IOL while they enter the mix for a one of the top overall players in 2026.
For a rare moment since the calendar turned to 2024, Ohio State football took a back seat in the headlines to the men’s basketball team for a few days. After the Buckeyes fired head coach Chris Holtmann on Wednesday, the team responded by knocking off No. 2 Purdue on Sunday afternoon under interim coach Jake Diebler in a massive upset. The 73-69 victory over the Boilermakers was by far the biggest of the season for this group, whose NCAA Tournament hopes still likely rely on a Big Ten Tournament trophy.
Still, while Ohio State was making some noise on the hardwood in an otherwise disappointing season, the Buckeyes’ maintained their positive momentum on the recruiting trail with a handful of updates from over the weekend.
Four-star IOL names top schools
The first bit of news came on Friday afternoon, when four-star offensive lineman Mason Short announced his final remaining schools. The Georgia native cut down his offer sheet from over two dozen programs to just four, with Ohio State making the cut alongside Clemson, Georgia and Kentucky.
NEWS: Four-Star IOL Mason Short is down toSchools!
The 6’6 310 IOL from Evans, GA is ranked as a Top 10 IOL in the ‘25 Class
Where Should He Go? https://t.co/UM6yf0vxeo pic.twitter.com/EcsCtqNE3c
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 16, 2024
As things currently stand, it would be tough to bet against the in-state Bulldogs, who own all three of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for the 6-foot-5.5, 305-pound blocker. The second-team MaxPreps Sophomore All-American was formerly an Alabama commit, but de-committed from the Crimson Tide on Jan. 16 shortly after Nick Saban announced his retirement. It was around that time that the Georgia Crystal Balls began rolling in, so the fact that he hasn’t pulled the trigger just yet means that Ohio State is still alive here.
Short is the No. 7 IOL and No. 161 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite. He is also the No. 22 prospect out of the talent-rich state of Georgia in the 2025 class.
Ohio State offers five-star QB
With the hiring of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, it is pretty clear that Ryan Day is going to continue to have a heavy say in both the recruiting and development of the quarterback position at Ohio State. However, with Kelly now in charge of calling the plays on Saturdays, Day can take even more of a hands on approach with his QBs.
While Kyle McCord was the first real miss under Day, the head coach still has a proven track record of success in evaluating, recruiting and developing the position from Dwayne Haskins to Justin Fields to C.J. Stroud. With both Air Noland and Julian Sayin now on campus from the 2024 class and the in-state Tavien St. Clair already committed in 2025, Day can now begin to take aim at some of the best talents in the 2026 cycle.
That journey took the next step on Saturday, as Ohio State officially offered five-star 2026 quaterback Brady Smigiel.
A California native, Smigiel is the No. 2 QB and the No. 21 overall player in the class per the 247Sports Composite. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds as just a high school sophomore, the Newbury Park star has put up some ridiculous numbers. In his first two years with the varsity squad, Smigiel has passed for a whopping 98 touchdowns while rushing for another seven. He has thrown for 7,700 yards in 26 games, completing just under 62 percent of his passes, but will have to take care of the ball a bit better at the next level having thrown 25 interceptions.
With still two years of high school football remaining to continue honing his game, Smigiel has racked up nearly 30 offers to his name thus far, including the likes of Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State and many others with the Buckeyes now also in the mix. Ohio State has had recent success hauling in quarterbacks from the West Coast in both Stroud and Sayin, and will now look to build another strong relationship with one of the nation’s top signal callers from the Golden State.
Quick Hits
- Despite his commitment to Miami, Ohio State has continued to pursue four-star Florida linebacker Elijah Melendez. Newly minted full-time assistant James Laurinaitis has been Melendez’s primary recruiter, and was the one to extend him the Buckeye offer back in July. There is a long way to go until the Early Signing Period in December, and if Laurinaitis can get the No. 16 LB and No. 128 player in the 2025 class back on campus before then, a flip would not be entirely out of the question.
- Speaking of the linebacker spot, Ohio State learned over the weekend they would be receiving a visit from four-star linebacker Elijah Barnes next month. Barnes, listed as the No. 12 LB and No. 83 overall player in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite, will make the trek to Columbus on March 22. Barnes is one of a handful of talented linebackers currently in play for the Buckeyes in this cycle, including the aforementioned Melendez as well as Tarvos Alford, Justin Hill, Riley Pettijohn, Madden Faraimo and others.
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