Colorado native Jackson Roper was back in the headlines on Thursday when he cut his top schools list down to 10 finalists. Scheduled to be at Ohio State in the coming weeks for another visit, Roper made it clear he will also be taking an official visit in June to see the Buckeyes once again. A repeat guest in Columbus, Ohio State making his top-10 isn’t much of a surprise.
A 6-foot-5, 285 pound offensive lineman, Roper is the No. 249 player nationally and 13th best at his position per the 247Sports
Composite. With over 30 offers to his name, releasing a list of 10 narrows things down a bit, but there’s still plenty of top suitors to weed out before a decision is made.
Now down to Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and USC, Roper will be seeing many of these programs in the near future to further help him decide.
While the Buckeyes are on this list, Crystal Ball predictions have Texas A&M as the current leader, but again, listing 10 schools still on his mind shows there’s time to change that narrative. Already three offensive linemen committed in Ohio State’s 2027 class, they’ll be in the running for several top players still undecided and that includes Roper for the time being.
A priority in every class, Ohio State will once again be chasing the best players along the defensive line in the 2027 cycle. Off to an incredible start thanks to the commitment of DJ Jacobs, the Buckeyes and Larry Johnson know they still have plenty of work to do before they are satisfied with their overall haul.
Sure, having the top-ranked player in the country regardless of position is great, but in the trenches it’s about depth more than anything. Fortunately, Ohio State is already building an impressive guest list for spring football practice.
That now includes five-star talent Marcus Fakatou, who per Jeremy Birmingham of Letterman Row will be visiting the Buckeyes for the first time on March 10.
A 6-foot-6, 275 pound defensive lineman, Fakatou is the No. 36 player nationally and second-ranked defensive lineman per the 247Sports Composite. Offers from nearly 40 schools to his name, the Buckeyes are on that list already with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and every other major program in the country.
Never an easy task to pull a West Coast kid away from home, the Buckeyes are up for the challenge, and they’ll get this first crack at him soon. With how well this program develops and consistently competes both on and off the field, surely they’ll have his attention when he makes the trek to Ohio State.
Quick Hits
A guest in Columbus this past November, four-star tight-end target, Jaxon Dollar (Denver, North Carolina/East Lincoln) has long been one of the top guys on the board for Keenan Bailey and Ohio State in the 2027 class.
The No. 57 player nationally and third best tight-end per the 247Sports Composite grades, Dollar has a busy March and April slated for recruiting visits, and the Buckeyes will be on his list for April.
Another visitor to add to Ohio State’s list for March, the Buckeyes will play host to linebacker prospect Austin Phillips (Kendallville, Indiana/East Noble). Just a high school freshman in the 2029 class, Phillips is an impressive 6-foot-2, 200 pound athlete and already holds one early offer from Toledo.
The type of player that will rise up the recruiting rankings quickly, getting him on campus this early on gives the Ohio State staff a chance at making a lasting impression with his recruiting process just taking off.
