Ohio State got to take the weekend off following a 3-0 start to the season, getting some extra time to prep for its Big Ten opener against Washington next weekend.
While the current crop of Buckeyes players and coaches were out on the practice field, Ryan Day and his staff also made time to hit the recruiting trail hard, offering a barrage of prospects in the past few days.
That slew of offers began on Thursday, and after offering a 2027 tight end early that morning, Ohio State followed up with an offer to
one of the very best defensive linemen in the 2028 class later that night. That player in question is four-star DL Tayaun Lawrence out of prep power Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.
Just a high school sophomore, Lawrence is currently ranked as the No. 8 DL and No. 76 overall player in the cycle, per 247Sports, as well as the No. 1 player in Nevada. The Buckeyes are one of the early entrants to Lawrence’s recruitment as one of just six official offers thus far, joining Alabama, Arizona, San Diego State, UNLV and Washington.
Ohio State has had a little success at Bishop Gorman in the past, most notably with Haskell Garrett and Tate Martell in the 2017 recruiting class. Interestingly enough, Lawrence both tagged Garrett on Twitter and included a photo of Garrett in his post announcing the scholarship offer.
Hopefully the Buckeyes are able to tap into that prior connection with the success Garrett had at Lawrence’s position at Ohio State having come from the same high school.
Sticking along the defensive line, next up on the Ohio State offer list was fellow 2028 prospect Ayden Woodruff. A four-star prospect out of Tennessee, Woodruff is the No. 14 DL and No. 97 prospect nationally per 247Sports, as well as the No. 3 player in his home state.
After recording four tackles for loss and a sack as a freshman, Woodruff is up to a hot start in his sophomore campaign for Battle Ground Academy, posting 11 tackles, six tackles for loss a sack through the team’s first four games. Woodruff currently holds more than a dozen offers from the likes of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and others.
Moving to the other side of the ball, Ohio State extended an offer on Friday to 2028 tight end Jack McNamara. The 6-foot-5 Chicago native currently ranks as the No. 4 TE and No. 117 prospect nationally, per the 247Sports Composite.
No relation to former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara, the Brother Rice product has seen a recent rise in his recruitment. Now up to a baker’s dozen offers thus far, McNamara landed offers from both Ohio State and Notre Dame this past weekend, joining the likes of Arkansas, Iowa State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and more.
Switching back to the other side of the ball, yet another defensive lineman was on the receiving end of an Ohio State offer — this time in the 2027 class. Four-star Georgia edge rusher Adriel Rojas added the Buckeyes to his list of nearly 20 offers over the weekend, joining Baylor, Indiana, Ole Miss, USC and others.
Rojas currently ranks as the No. 32 EDGE and No. 275 overall prospect in the class, per the 247Sports Composite, in addition to being the No. 33 player in the talent-rich state. The 6-foot-4.5, 220-pound pass rusher racked up 38 tackles, six sacks, five tackles for loss and an interception as well as nine QB hurries as a sophomore.
A multi-sport athlete, Rojas also competes in discus and shot put for the track and field team.
While most of Ohio State’s offers this past weekend were in future classes, the Buckeyes are still in search for a few additional pieces in the current 2026 class. There are always a few diamond in the roughs to be had late in the cycle, and Tyler Bowen is hoping they can get in the mix for latest offeree Jared Doughty.
A Georgia native, Doughty is currently ranked as the No. 75 OT and No. 912 overall prospect per the 247Sports Composite. Despite being just a three-star prospect, Doughty holds an impressive offer sheet, including the likes of Auburn, Florida State, Georgia and Missouri — all of whom he has plans to officially visit in the coming months.
If the Buckeyes are going to get seriously involved here as the only northern school in the fight, they will have to look to get Doughty on campus as well. Ohio State has four offensive lineman currently committed in the class, and would love to add depth, especially at tackle.
Doughty was one of two offers for Bowen this weekend, with 2028 OT King Pitts the other player on the receiving end. One of the very best lineman in his class, Pitts is currently ranked as the No. 7 OT and No. 61 player nationally per the 247Sports Composite.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound prospect already holds almost two dozen offers at this stage in his recruitment, including big names like Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and many others. Originally from Hawaii, Pitts played his freshman season in Honolulu before transferring to Cardinal Newman in Northern California this fall.
Quick Hits
Ohio State has made the cut for five-star 2027 defensive lineman Jalen Brewster, who has announced a commitment date of Oct. 4. The Texas standout is the consensus No. 1 DL in the cycle, ranked as the No. 8 overall player and No. 3 player in the Lone Star State per the 247Sports Composite.
The Buckeyes were included in Brewster’s top 10 schools ahead of his decision, joining Indiana, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and USC. That said, the Cedar Hill product has only made official visits to Indiana, Oklahoma and SMU thus far, and with only two weeks remaining until his decision, it seems unlikely Ohio State is a real player here.
Fresh off landing five-star OT Felix Ojo in the 2026 class, all signs point to this being another big recruiting win for the Red Raiders, who are seemingly cashing in on their NIL opportunities.
