Five storylines to follow ahead of critical Ohio State recruiting weekend

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is hosting its first major recruiting weekend of the spring starting Friday. Several marquee targets and prospects arrive in the state capital throughout the day Friday and then will spend time at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Saturday will be spent watching the Buckeyes work through their fifth practice of the spring, and the first scrimmage of the spring as well.

Lettermen Row will have plenty on the team side about the weekend activities, but in this piece, we’re going to look at five storylines to track on the recruiting side.

Flip Watch?

One name that won’t be on campus this weekend is Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius safety Cody Haddad.

That’s because the in-state prospect visited Ohio State on Thursday, but his name intrigues me personally because he’s committed to Wisconsin. Haddad made his commitment in January, three days before he visited Ohio State. He of course picked up his Ohio State offer during his January visit and the Buckeyes have been on him ever since.

Safeties coach Matt Guerrieri is leading the charge in this recruitment with plenty of assistance from Tim Walton and of course Ryan Day.

Haddad is one of a few priorities in the 2025 cycle and with his visit to Ohio State this past week, I’m placing him on flip watch.

Bonding

Ohio State has major targets visiting on both sides of the ball — and two of its biggest commits are going to be on campus. Five-star Bellefontaine (Ohio) quarterback Tavien St. Clair and five-star Houston (Texas) North Shore cornerback Devin Sanchez will be at the Woody this weekend.

St. Clair will have his attention on three skill players: wide receivers Kaliq Lockett and De’Zie Jones, and tight end Andrew Olesh.

Sanchez will definitely have his hands full as well. Linebackers TJ Alford and Elijah Barnes, safety DeShawn Stewart and safety Kainoa Winston are all going to be on campus. It’s going to be a storyline to see the mixture of all these prospects and how well they bond together. I think (uncommitted) pieces of the 2025 class are going to be on campus this weekend. How those pieces vibe with the commits and the staff is going to be critical.

Commit Watch

Though he has a commitment date set for next Saturday, four-star Port St. Lucie (Fla) Vero Beach linebacker Tarvos ‘TJ’ Alford will be on campus this Saturday. That’s pivotal.

Alford is the No. 78 overall prospect and the No. 7 linebacker according to On3. He also checks in as the No. 8 Florida prospect by On3. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker has a final six of Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, Florida, UCF and Tennesee. This recruitment has been the Buckeyes’ to lose for a while now, which is why this weekend is critical.

Shifting Priorities

A couple of names on the offensive side of the ball visiting Ohio State this weekend that really intrigue me are four-star Sachse (Texas) wide receiver Kaliq Lockett and four-star Central Valley (Pa) Southern Lehigh tight end Andrew Olesh.

Neither has been to Ohio State before. Lockett holds an offer. Olesh does not — more on that in a second. Both prospects are trending elsewhere for the time being. Does Ohio State shift its priorities a bit following this weekend regarding these two prospects?

That remains to be seen, but that’s why these spring visits happen.

Offer Watch

We just mentioned Andrew Olesh, the 2025 tight end visiting Ohio State but without an offer. It would be a little stunning if the No. 87 overall prospect and the No. 4 tight end per On3 left Columbus without one.

Another visiting prospect who could earn an offer this weekend is in the 2026 cycle. Four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville linebacker Cincere Johnson. The Glenville talent has been to Ohio State a couple of times and was visited by linebackers coach James Laurinaitis in January.

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