Buckeyes miss out on 5-star RB David Gabriel Georges as he chooses Tennessee over Ohio State

A tough one on Wednesday, the Buckeyes saw their 2027 class have to make an adjustment at the running back position with their top priority leaving them as a runner-up.

The last scheduled commitment relating to Ohio State for the summer, this current cycle has spots up for grabs still, and it’s back to work for these coaches ahead of what will soon be a season underway.

The recruitment that every Ohio State fan has been following is now in the rearview mirror, with David Gabriel Georges now off the board and headed to Knoxville after choosing Tennessee over the Buckeyes during his highly anticipated announcement.

No way around it, this is a tough pill to swallow for the program as Ohio State’s staff led by Carlos Locklyn prioritized DGG not only in the 2027 class, but for the better part of two years now. What may even hurt worse is knowing how Ohio State was viewed until NIL features become more public down the stretch, which has sometimes become a common theme.

The 2026 class offered top running back targets Ohio State was certainly interested in, but knowing Gabriel Georges was in the future class with a young stable of running backs already in Columbus, the staff was comfortable waiting to give their best shot for his services a year later — and they did just that.

Still it wasn’t enough, as Tennessee is reportedly not only offering $2 million per year for three seasons, but also taking care of his family among other perks.

A truly wild world college football has become, the Vols — while not winning anything meaningful on the field in decades — have won the upper hand here with their offer, and the Buckeyes simply were not willing to go any higher.

It’s important to note that Tennessee’s staff also clearly created impactful relationships with David and his family which helped them win in the end, but if you’re looking at things with every aspect in mind, obviously the money offered to DGG jumps to the top of reasons as to why he would choose to stay in Tennessee for his collegiate career.

Ohio State now needs to look elsewhere.

Seen in recent memory with the offensive line and Tennessee landing David Sanders Jr. over Ohio State, the Buckeyes switched their recruiting strategy from zeroing in on one major target to casting a wider net, and the 2027 class shows that to be the case as Tyler Bowen has done a fantastic job.

In 2028 and beyond, Locklyn would be wise to do the same since putting all of your eggs in one basket only works when it’s in your favor.

From here, it will be interesting to see if the Buckeyes will be able to get into the mix for another name at the position, but make no mistake about it: this isn’t the ideal outcome. That said, paying that much for a prep prospect of any position is a gamble, and Ohio State’s coaching staff has stated time and time again they’d rather use that sort of money for proven college players via the portal.

That method will remain consistent. It hurts, but this 2027 class is still incredibly talented and should be celebrated as such.