Ohio State on epic flip run, poaches 6th player committed to another school in past month

With a No. 1 ranking in every major poll and a College Football Playoff berth all but locked up, Ohio State has been using that on-field momentum to add their 2026 recruiting class.

The Buckeyes entered the season with 21 commitments, but had a few key holes they were looking to fill by National Signing Day. Since mid-October though, there has been no hotter team on the recruiting trail. In the past four weeks alone, Ryan Day and Co. have flipped six prospects committed to other schools.

The latest, four-star athlete Legend Bey, has been committed to Tennessee since June. But the Buckeyes’ staff — headed by running backs coach Carlos Lockyln — really turned up the heat in recent weeks.

Bey took an official visit earlier this month, and ultimately moved his commitment to OSU on Monday.

“OSU just made so much sense for me” Bey told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong. “I want the best development, the best coaching and the best atmosphere. I have a great relationship with the coaches and I trust their plan for me. I’m ready to compete with the best and help lead my team to a National Championship.”

Landing Bey marked the fourth flip in the past five days for Ohio State, which now sits at No. 7 in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, just behind No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 5 Alabama. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound is ranked by Rivals as the No. 8 athlete in the class and projects as a do-it-all weapon in the rushing, receiving and return games.

He is one of three offensive prospects the Buckeyes have flipped, joining three-star offensive linemen Landry Brede (NC State) and Mason Wilhelm (North Carolina), the son of former Ohio State All-American linebacker Matt Wilhelm.

Buckeyes add to secondary, defensive line

On the defensive side, OSU added to a pair of rooms that already had multiple commits, but they were in search of some top-end talent at those spots.

Now one of the headliners of the class, elite cornerback Jay Timmons flipped from Florida State — where he was a legacy recruit — earlier in the week. The Pittsburgh native is ranked by Rivals as the No. 2 CB in the class and wanted a chance to be developed by the Buckeyes’ secondary coaches.

”I want to compete with the best,” Timmons told Wiltfong.

He is joined in the secondary room by three-star cornerback Khmari Bing, who OSU flipped last month from Maryland. Bing was heavily pursued by Alabama, Auburn and others but ultimately chose the Buckeyes. The duo of cornerbacks joins a secondary group that already included high four-star safety Blaine Bradford and blue-chip DBs Jordan Thomas and Simeon Caldwell.

One of their biggest — literally — flips was along the defensive line, grabbing four-star interior mauler and recent Colorado decommit Emanuel Ruffin. Standing in at 6’3 and nearly 300 pounds, he gives Larry Johnson another big body to work with inside as they build depth in the trenches. He is now part of a group that features Rivals five-star Khary Wilder, Rivals top-75 prospect Damari Simeon, and three-stars Cameron Brickle and Jamir Perez.

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