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Phil Harrison

Reflecting on Ohio State football’s 2025 recruiting class: Identifying superlatives

Despite the loss to Michigan last weekend and all the despair that goes with it, the Ohio State football program stayed on brand and pulled in yet another highly regarded recruiting class for 2025. The start of the Early Signing Period — now more or less known as the actual National Signing Day is more or less over — and the Buckeyes (thankfully) had little drama that unfolded.

Now that it’s all behind us, we thought we’d reflect on the new members of the OSU brotherhood by taking a look at the class and what matters.

There could still be a player or two added as we get through February and the official National Signing Day, but what we see is pretty much what we are going to get at this point.

Let’s break it down a little bit with some superlatives.

The Ohio State football 2025 recruiting class

Ohio State officially signed 26 players to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. Here is a breakdown. The class ranks at the 5th best in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Team rankings and 2nd best in the Big Ten behind Oregon.

5-star CB Devin Sanchez 

5-star QB Tavien St. Claire

4-star LB Riley Pettijohn

4-star S Faheem Delane

4-star WR Quincy Porter

4-star OT Carter Lowe

4-star EDGE Zion Grady

4-star EDGE Epi Sitanilei

4-star LB Tarvos Alford

4-star RB Bo Jackson

4-star RB Anthony “Turbo” Rogers

4-star TE Nate Roberts

4-star WR Phillip Bell

4-star DL Jarquez Carter

4-star WR Bodpegn Miller

4-star TE Brody Lennon

4-star WR De’zie Jones

4-star DL Maxwell Roy

4-star IOL Jayvon McFadden

4-star DL Trajen Odom

4-star S DeShawn Stewart

4-star IOL Jake Cook

3-star S Cody Haddad

3-star LB Eli Lee

3-star RB Isaiah West

3-star CB Jordyn Woods

Gem of the 2025 recruiting class

Tavien St. Claire, Quarterback – It seems like St. Claire has been committed to Ohio State for five years. He committed all the way back in June of 2023 and never waivered from that commitment. He’s an in-state guy that flew under the radar, and once the Buckeyes got on him, he rocketed up the recruiting services rankings.

He signed as the No. 3 prospect in the entire class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He’s got a good frame, arm strength, and is able to throw on the run with accuracy. His comp is Justin Fields from some, but not as electric on the ground.

Most underrated recruit

Bodpegn Miller, Athlete – We could go several ways here, but Miller is one to watch, mainly because he could be a difference maker that splashed on the scene in one of the OSU football camps. He’s a quarterback by trade in high school as an in-state kid, but he fooled around a bit in the passing game as a receiver and caught Brian Hartline’s eye. He’s raw, but has a ton of potential and upside as a guy that can make plays on the outside.

Recruit that could see the field early

Devin Sanchez, Cornerback – We’ll name a kid that we could have very well identified as the gem of the class if not for St. Claire and that would be cornerback, Devin Sanchez. He’s ranked as the top corner in the class and No. 6 overall prosect in the cycle according to the 247Sports Composite and for good reason. He’s long and rangy with top-end speed and fast-twitch athleticism. It would be a real surprise if he doesn’t turn into a high impact player, and maybe early.

Steal of the recruiting class

Epi Sitanilei, Edge Rusher – Originally committed to UCLA, Sitanilei decommitted and had OSU and Auburn as his two schools at the end. The Buckeyes were able to flip and land a true, leaner edge rusher that many think has the potential to be the best true speed rusher out of the state of California once he develops.

Biggest Loss of the 2025 recruiting class

Na’eem Offord, Cornerback – Offord was committed to Ohio State for quite a while, but then rumblings of him wavering began a couple of months ago. A 5-star prospect, it would have been great to pair him with Sanchez as the two best cornerbacks in the country coming out, but he ultimately chose to go with Oregon and its deep pockets. Welcome to the NIL era. Something must have come together at the eleventh hour because all signs pointed to him flipping to Auburn.

Recruiting class breakdown by state

Ohio – 8
New Jersey – 3
Alabama – 2
California – 2
Florida – 2
Maryland – 2
Pennsylvania – 2
Texas – 2
Georgia – 1
North Carolina – 1
Oklahoma – 1

Recruiting class breakdown by position

Quarterback – 1
Running Back – 3
Receiver – 4
Offensive Line – 3
Tight End – 2
Defensive Line – 5
Linebacker – 3
Defensive Back – 5

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

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