Ohio State is now 6-3 following one of the program’s most defeating losses in recent memory. Falling 41-28 to Oregon, Ryan Day and the 2026-27 Ohio State football team find themselves in unfamiliar territory and need to take a hard look in the mirror.
The loss Saturday stung hard for Ohio State, who gave up 28 unanswered points to the Ducks after the Buckeyes opened up the game with a 14-0 lead. Additionally, the loss now means Ohio State has lost six of its last 11 games, a statistic that is almost
unheard of in Columbus.
Ohio State has many issues to fix for this current roster of Buckeyes, but also within the coaching staff. Changes to the staff are already taking place, as the Buckeyes parted ways with special teams coordinator Robby Discher Monday.
Fortunately for Ohio State, the one area to not see the effects of the down season so far is with recruiting.
Ohio State’s 2028 recruiting class is off to a hot start. The Buckeyes hold five verbal commits already and the class sits atop the 247Sports Class Rankings. Ohio State is looking to add to this impressive haul, and moved one step closer to doing so Monday when one of the nation’s top offensive tackles included the program is his top schools.
2028 five-star OT Antijuan Wilkes (Detroit, MI / Cass Technical) released his top eight schools on Monday, and included the Buckeyes among them. Alongside Ohio State, Wilkes also included Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Kentucky, Texas A&M, LSU and Nebraska in his top schools.
Being one of Wilkes top schools was not an easy feat, as he reportedly holds more than 40 scholarship offers. Ohio State quickly made Wilkes a top target in the class and presented him with an official scholarship offer early this spring following a recruiting camp.
Wilkes then made a return visit to Ohio State this summer and the coaching staff remains in constant contact with him. Ohio State has not yet been able to get Wilkes on campus for a game day visit though, and is likely trying to schedule one with him now.
Wilkes has already visited with Nebraska, Michigan and Missouri but has yet to make it to Columbus for a game this fall.
Ohio State has its work cut out if it is to land Wilkes, and its main competition will likely be the home town school, Michigan. Wilkes is the top target from the state up north and Michigan has long been making him a priority in its 2028 cycle. His close proximity to Ann Arbor has also allowed him to make multiple visits there as well.
The Buckeyes have yet to add an offensive lineman to next year’s class and Wilkes is someone Ohio State could make a building block for the offensive line haul.
Wilkes is the No. 1 OT in the 247Sports Composite and he is the No. 17 national recruit. He is also the No. 1 recruit out of Michigan.
Quick Hits
Speaking of offensive tackles, Ohio State is also pursuing another elite OT prospect in the 2028 class with four-star Lincoln Fa’alafi (San Juan Capistrano, CA / JSerra Catholic).
Fa’alafi took a game day visit with Ohio State Sept. 26 when the Buckeyes hosted Illinois. The visit went well according to all reports but it seems it may not have been enough.
The blue-chip OT visited with Notre Dame this past weekend when The Irish took down previous No. 1 Miami. The atmosphere and the showing appear to be what Fa’alafi was looking for as predictions are now being cast for him to commit to Notre Dame. Fa’alafi is the No. 10 OT and the No. 91 national recruit in the 247Sports Composite.
His leaning towards Notre Dame makes the aforementioned Antijuan Wilkes an even bigger priority for Ohio State along the offensive front in the 2028 cycle.
