BOOM!!! Ohio State secures surprising commitment from 2027 five-star edge

2 hours ago 1

Ohio State is just hours away from its first College Football Playoff game of the 2025-26 post season. The Buckeyes will be taking on Miami in the Cotton Bowl New Years Eve after the Hurricanes beat Texas A&M.

The last time we saw Ohio State’s football team take the field, the Buckeyes lost to Indiana 13-10 in the Big Ten Championship game. The loss was the first and only on the season for Ryan Day and Ohio State and Day and the coaching staff have been hard at work since the loss preparing this team for a post season run that is reminiscent of last year’s which resulted in Ohio State winning it all.

Day and the Ohio State coaching staff have also been using this additional time off to recruit, in both the traditional sense and through the ever-growing transfer portal. Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class is all but wrapped up, and because of this the coaching staff has been able to switch its focus to next year’s class and beyond.

On Monday, Ohio State added a massive commitment to its 2027 class when five-star edge David “DJ” Jacobs (Roswell, GA / Blessed Trinity Catholic) announced his commitment to Ohio State over Miami and a handful of others.

The Monday commitment likely shocked all of the college football recruiting landscape. Miami had long been viewed as the favorites to land Jacobs, however, Ohio State and Larry Johnson made a late push for him and instantly became the top competition for the Hurricanes.

This late push included an unofficial visit to Columbus in late November for the Rutgers game. Despite this late push, Miami seemed to keep the momentum in Jacobs’ recruitment, as many predictions were cast in its favor last weekend by multiple of the nation’s top recruiting experts and Miami once again looked to be the front-runners.

Or so we thought.

Ohio State’s late push was even bigger than anyone could have imagined and Monday night Jacobs surprised all of college football when he selected the Buckeyes over the Hurricanes.

The Buckeyes are getting one of the nation’s top prospects in Jacobs. He is the No. 1 edge in the 247Sports Composite and he is the No. 8 national recruit. He is also the No. 1 recruit from the talent-rich state of Georgia. Jacobs marks the ninth commitment in Ohio State’s 2027 class and he is the first defensive lineman to join it. He is also instantly becomes the top-rated recruit in the Buckeyes class.

While the commitment is obviously great news for the Buckeyes, expect schools like Miami, Texas A&M, Oregon, Georgia, Alabama and more to continue recruiting Jacobs until the early signing period opens up next December. He will also likely still take official visits to multiple of his finalists next year as well. Many of those finalists will also look to renegotiate their NIL deals for Jacobs and Ohio State will have to continuously fight off his suitors.

For more information on what Ohio State is adding to its 2027 class in Jacobs, 247Sports Director of recruiting, Andrew Ivins, had the following to say in his scouting report:

-Cast-iron edge defender with the size, speed and strength to wreak havoc on Saturdays and then Sundays.
-Constantly destroys blocks with violent hands and a powerful lower half.
-Can shoot right past protection with his quick-twitch athleticism and impressive snap anticipation.
-Balanced through contact and has an excellent understanding of how to create leverage with his feet.
-Fills holes on the inside with a flat back and will release for tackles near his gap.
-Closes in pursuit with elite burst and has the lateral movement skills to track running backs across the field.
-Needs to keep tinkering with pass-rush technique, but effort and energy is already there, which is extremely encouraging.
-Could fit into an odd or even front at the next level and should offer no shortage of alignment possibilities as he can attack from both a two and three-point stance.
-Might not have the longest of arms, but has plenty of room to add mass to a budding 6-foot-5 frame.
-Projects as a future difference-maker for a College Football Playoff contender that can set the edge and get after the quarterback.

Ohio State trending for 2028 four-star safety

The extra time off for the Ohio State coaching staff and the early success in its 2027 cycle has also allowed the staff to work with the 2028 cycle as well. This additional work is already paying dividends as the Buckeyes hold two verbal commitments in that cycle as well, and are working to add to this class.

One prospect Ohio State has been heavily targeting early in the cycle is four-star safety Brandon Nash (Bellflower, CA / St. John Bosco). Ohio State offered Nash in June of 2025 and he found his way to Columbus early in the season when the Buckeyes played host to Grambling Sept. 6.

Since the offer and the visit, the Ohio State coaching staff and Nash have remained in frequent contact. This effort has led many to look at Ohio State as the early favorites in his recruitment. The first 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction was cast for Nash recently and it was in favor of the Buckeyes.

While Ohio State has to love where it sits in his recruitment at this time, it is still very early in his recruitment process and the Buckeyes are far from the only team pursuing him. Nash holds eight scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona State, Cal, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri and UCLA. Arizona State may be Ohio State’s biggest competition at this point in his recruitment as Nash also took an unofficial visit with them this season.

Nash is the No. 10 S in the 247Sports Composite and is the No. 120 national recruit. He is also the No. 8 recruit out of the talent-rich state of California.

Read Entire Article