Ohio State offers pair of 2026 defensive line prospects, get reassurance from five-star commit
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The Buckeyes had a busy Wednesday, sending out two new offers in the 2026 class.
It’s the second “improvement week” of the season for
Ohio State, and this time around there’s some room for real improvements to be made. After last Saturday’s one-point loss to Oregon, the Buckeyes have to wait to get back on the field against another conference opponent. While it’s hard enough to wait yet another “bye” week to see this team play, surely the current roster is hard at work looking to right their wrongs.
You can point to a myriad of things Ohio State can fix, but all is not lost by any means. This team is still loaded with talent and has their ultimate goals in front of them. Sure, the margin for error is smaller now, but the Buckeyes still have the ability to get to where they want to be.
Offense, defense, coaching, rotations, etc. are all among the areas the Buckeyes can improve. While that’s the goal over the next several days, of course Ohio State is going to spend some time with their recruiting efforts as well.
North Carolina native defensive line prospect earns OSU offer
The state of North Carolina has been a real focus for Ohio State recruiting as of late with several offers going out. A number of prospects across different cycles seeing the interest from the Buckeyes, this staff is really making a priority to make their presence known. The position that has seen the most attention however is the defensive line, and while Larry Johnson will recruit nationally, lately he’s been really impressed with the development going on inside the Tar Heel state.
On Wednesday, Ohio State made another offer in North Carolina when they dished one of their latest out to class of 2026 prospect,
Trashawn Ruffin. A 6-foot-3, 300 pound defensive lineman, Ruffin is the perfect three-technique size that can cause real issues for any offensive line trying to get him out of the way. Just a high school junior, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities either that his frame gets even more impressive before getting to the college campus of his choice.
The
No. 266 player nationally and 28th best at his position per the 247Sports Composite, Ruffin currently has 20 offers to his name, and from the likes of Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Texas A&M, USC, and several more.
The latest coming from the Buckeyes is sure to speak volumes to Trashawn, and the next steps here in order to become a real contender are getting Ruffin to campus to see what Ohio State is all about. Johnson and his position group have some work to do to really reach their goals, but over his tenure it would be hard to knock LJ for anything considering his track record of development for the next level.
Buckeyes offer class of 2026 Pennsylvania product
Sticking with the defensive line trend, the Buckeyes made a second offer on Wednesday by way of Pennsylvania native,
Cameron Brickle. Looking to continue their pursuit of defensive line targets in the 2026 class, Ohio State showed they mean business, offering both players who are similar in stature and in their type of play.
Another 6-foot, 300 pound defensive tackle, Brickle currently grades out as the
No. 341 player nationally and 36th best at his position per the 247Sports Composite. Over 30 offers to his name, his ranking is already impressive, but being in the three-hundreds does seem a little high for the amount of schools that have shown early interest in all that he has to offer at the next level.
Programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and USC among others are in the fold and while Ohio State may be somewhat late to the party, they’re in the mix now. In addition, the Buckeyes having recent success in the current 2025 cycle with three commits from Pennsylvania doesn’t hurt their chances of keeping that momentum going, and they can use that to their advantage when trying to land the next.
For now, it’s all business and work ahead to get Brickle on campus.
Quick Hits
- If there’s a 2025 commit in the class that has fans worried the most about potentially flipping, it’s been Alabama native Na’eem Offord. The five-star talent has been committed to the Buckeyes since this past summer. While his status has never changed officially, you’d sure have thought it did with the many trips he took to campuses not named Ohio State.
Auburn being the biggest thorn in the side for the Buckeyes, Offord’s multiple trips to see the in-state Tigers really started to get to the point where a “flip” seemed likely, but on Wednesday via his social media account, Offord went out of his way to once again say all the right things in regard to Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are working to keep the
No. 10 player nationally and third best cornerback in the 247Sports Composite grades as part of their 2025 class and this latest update certainly doesn’t hurt to see.
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