Ohio State trending for five-star defensive lineman

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While last month saw the Ohio State staff hitting the recruiting trail head on, June has brought with it a completely different animal.

Ohio State is now in the thick of visit season, both in the official and unofficial capacity. Many of the nation’s top high school talents in the 2027 and 2028 recruiting cycles are scheduling visits with the Buckeyes.

The unofficial visits are crucial for the Buckeyes’ coaching staff when it comes to the 2028 class, as the visits are important building blocks in establishing strong relationships with recruits early on in their recruiting process. However, it is the official visits that paint a clearer picture in a particular recruits thoughts.

Ohio State is not alone in this process, as the best players in the 2027 class are scheduling official visits with those schools they view as a finalist in their recruitment. These go a long way in a recruit deciding which school they believe is best to continue their football careers at.

One of the more marquee names to recently visit with Ohio State in the official capacity was five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou (Chatsworth, CA / Sierra Canyon), who took an official visit with Ohio State on May 29. The visit went as well as possible according to all reports, but the visit was the first of Fakatou’s official visit schedule.

Following his visit with the Buckeyes, Fakatou also officially had visits scheduled with Georgia, Texas, Oregon and Notre Dame, but the last two ended up not taking place.

With only those three official visits under his belt, Fakatou already determined he wanted to focus on those schools alone and released a top three schools list over the weekend, and Ohio State made the cut alongside Georgia and Texas.

The news of making his top three schools was great for Ohio State to receive over the weekend. It was among the best news the Buckeyes got during the weekend, second to securing their 14th commitment of the 2027 cycle in four-star cornerback Deontay Malone.

The good news surrounding Fakatou and Ohio State didn’t just end there, as shortly following the release of his top three schools, a flurry of predictions were cast in favor of Ohio State being his school of choice when he is ready to commit.

Fakatou has not yet released a commitment date, but it would be safe to assume one will be coming in the next month or two.

Fakatou is one of Ohio State’s biggest targets at this point in the 2027 recruiting class. He is the No. 2 DL prospect in the 247Sports Composite and he is the No. 24 national recruit. He is also the No. 3 recruit out of the talent-rich state California.

Fakatou would also make for an incredible addition alongside Ohio State’s already impressive defensive line haul in the cycle.

Ohio State already holds three verbal commitments in its 2027 class, led by five-star defensive edge DJ Jacobs, the No. 1 edge in the 247Sports Composite and the No. 1 overall recruit in the class. The Buckeyes also hold commitments from four-star edge recruits Wyatt Smith and Prince Goldsby.

Adding Fakatou to this mix would give the Buckeyes one of their more impressive hauls along the defensive line in recent memory, as long as they are able to keep them all in the class by signing day.

Quick Hits

The Ohio State football team hasn’t been the only ones making recruiting headlines in Columbus. Switching from the gridiron to the hardwood, the Ohio State men’s basketball Buckeyes, led by head coach Jake Diebler, made some recruiting headlines of their owns to open the week.

On Monday, we learned Ohio State 2027 five-star combo guard commit LJ Smith (Mouth of Wilson, VA / Oak Hill Academy) will reclassify from the 2027 cycle to the 2026 cycle. With this news, this means Ohio State will have two five-star commits in the 2026 class in Smith and Anthony Thompson.

The duo marks the first time since 2008 Ohio State will have two five-star commits in the same class.

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