Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Ohio State

Ohio State offers elite 4-star RB Akylin Dear

hunterby: Hunter Shelton03/01/24HunterShelton_
akylin-dear
Photo: Chad Simmons | On3

Quitman (Miss.) four-star running back Akylin Dear took the next step in his recruitment on Thursday, as he narrowed his list of top schools down to a dozen.

That list included Ohio State. The Buckeyes have now officially offered the 6-foot, 200-pound burner, he announced.

Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, Miami, Texas, Florida State, Florida, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Mississippi State join Ohio State is a stacked top 12. Dear is now lining up spring visits once the February dead period ends.

“Mississippi State and Ole Miss were my most recent visits,” Dear told Maroon and White earlier this month. “Then this spring I am going to Florida the first week of March. Then I am going to Auburn on March 17th and I am going to Florida State on March 23rd. I am going other places like Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia, too, but I don’t have those dates set yet.”

Ole Miss and Alabama are the schools that have had Dear on campus the most thus far in his recruitment. The in-state Rebels are also currently trending for his pledge, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). Ohio State is already building another elite class and may now put the foot on the gas to pursue Dear, one of the top RBs in the cycle.

Dear is the No. 64 overall prospect and No. 3 RB in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 3 player in Mississippi.

On3 ranks Dear higher than other recruiting services. He checks in at No. 37 overall and is the No. 2 RB in the updated 2025 On300.

Ohio State Class Breakdown

Early in the 2025 cycle, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and his staff have gotten busy. Of OSU’s eight commitments, five are on that side of the ball and three are in the secondary. Ohio State holds commitments from the nation’s top two cornerback recruits — Five-Star Plus+ CB Na’eem Offord and five-star corner Devin Sanchez. Their class also includes top-60 EDGE Zahir Mathis, top-100 cornerback Blake Woodby and in-state standout linebacker Eli Lee.

On the offensive side, OSU has already locked up its quarterback in the class with elite passer Tavien St. Clair, who ranks No. 2 nationally at the position in the On300. He’s joined by local four-star offensive tackle Carter Lowe and Cocoa (Fla.) four-star wide receiver Jayvan Boggs.