David Gabriel Georges is officially off the board, choosing Tennessee over Ohio State in his highly anticipated announcement. This one hits different, man. OSU spent two years prioritizing this guy, making him their top priority for the 2027 class, and now he’s heading to Knoxville. Talk about a gut punch for the Buckeyes!
The Wild World of College Football NIL
There’s no way around it: this is a tough pill to swallow for Ohio State. DGG was a massive target for Carlos Locklyn and the Buckeyes staff, who poured two years into recruiting him. What hurts worse is knowing how Ohio State was viewed before NIL features became public. Tennessee, meanwhile, reportedly put up a huge offer: a cool $2 million per year for three seasons, plus taking care of his family among other perks. The Vols, despite not winning anything meaningful on the field in decades, totally won the upper hand here with that kind of offer. Ohio State simply wasn’t willing to go any higher. While Tennessee’s staff clearly built impactful relationships with David and his family, which helped in the end, it’s obvious the money offered to DGG jumps to the top of the list for why he chose Knoxville. The Buckeyes were comfortable waiting on Georges for his services a year later, giving their best shot, and it just wasn’t enough.
New Playbook for Ohio State Recruiting
This loss shows just how wild college football recruiting has become. Ohio State has been here before, like with David Sanders Jr. for the offensive line, where they missed out on a major target. That experience led them to switch their recruiting strategy from zeroing in on one top guy to casting a wider net. The 2027 class is already showing that shift with Tyler Bowen doing a fantastic job. It makes sense for Locklyn to do the same for 2028 and beyond. Putting all your eggs in one basket only works when it goes your way, you know? Ohio State’s coaching staff has said time and time again they’d rather use that sort of money for proven college players via the portal. That method is staying consistent.
This isn’t the ideal outcome for the Buckeyes, but they need to look elsewhere for another running back. The good news is, despite this setback, their 2027 class is still incredibly talented and should definitely be celebrated. And hey, quick hop over to the hardwood: Ohio State just dished out a basketball offer to Noah Woods, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound small forward from South Dakota. He’s got offers from Iowa and Nebraska too, but that OSU offer is gonna get him a ton more attention.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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