CHARLOTTE, NC — Ohio State’s 2025 offensive line class will not include David Sanders Jr., meaning the Buckeyes will have to pivot.
The five-star tackle, who is ranked No. 2 overall in the 247Sports rankings, chose Tennessee on Saturday as Ohio State was one of three runners-up along with Nebraska and Georgia.
With Ohio State only signing two offensive linemen for the 2025 class (4-star tackle Carter Lowe and 3-star interior lineman Jake Cook), the Buckeyes and offensive line coach Justin Frye need more than just good players in the class.
They must ensure that the 2025 class is not filled with two players on the day the contracts are signed in December.
The most likely option for the Buckeyes is to pursue one or more of the few remaining uncommitted players who have offers from Ohio State. Of the 29 offensive line offers in the 2025 cycle, only four-star Malachi Goodman, three-star Jayvon McFadden and unranked Atamai Matau are still unsigned.
Provided Ohio State does not land all Apart from these objectives, one must resort to some options that are currently allocated to other schools.
Four-star linemen Micah DeBose (Alabama) and Avery Gach (Michigan) were two linemen Ohio State had in their last few, as were three-star linemen Kaden Strayhorn (Michigan) and Andrew Stargel (UCF). Those could be some options for the Buckeyes to take another shot at.
Then there is the unknown.
Ohio State will likely have to refocus on prospects that currently have no offers. Three-star Jayden Clark of Northmont High School in Clayton is the highest-rated uncommitted offensive lineman in the state of Ohio. Other names will likely surface, like Gabe VanSickle did a year ago, as the Buckeyes and Frye look to fill out the class.
The transfer portal remains a ubiquitous option for Ohio State and other programs in sports, but it is normally It is remarkably difficult to find capable, finished offensive linemen in the transfer portal.
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Josh Simmons, who transferred from San Diego State to Ohio State for the 2023 season, is a wonderful development story for the Buckeyes and for Frye, something that will undoubtedly be used as a key recruiting tool for high schoolers and portal options in the future.
But routinely relying on Ohio State’s Mountain West Conference offensive linemen to start right away and play well is, to put it mildly, risky.
In short, Ohio State has some options after Sanders decided to move on. But Sanders was clearly Plan A, and now the challenge is figuring out what the next step is.
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