Ohio State Four-Star Edge Target's Friday Commitment Could Shake Up the Recruiting Landscape—Here's What You Need to Know!

Ryan Day and the Ohio State football team are entering the busiest week of spring football as the Buckeyes annual spring game is set to take place this Saturday. Coach Day announced Monday that the spring game will play like an actual game and that key starters will play early series as well.

The spring game is always a marquee event for Ohio State’s football team, as tens of thousands of Buckeye Faithful will fill the shoe for a spring practice scrimmage. The atmosphere that will be in ‘The Shoe’ Saturday will mimic what many college football programs can create for a regular season game and this is why it is also a critical recruiting weekend as well.

Handfuls of the nation’s top high school football players will line the sidelines Saturday and they will get to spend time with current Buckeyes as well as former Buckeye greats as well. Even with the busy weekend quickly approaching, Ohio State found ways to make recruiting headlines on Monday as well. The biggest being that one of Ohio State’s top edge targets in the 2027 class announced he will be committing to his school of choice later this week.

2027 four-star edge Mekai Brown (Greenwich, CT / Greenwich Country Day) will be committing Friday and will be deciding between Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, USC and Ohio State.

Brown’s recruitment has taken off this spring as he took multiple unofficial visits with schools he was interested in, including an Ohio State visit in late March. Following his Ohio State spring visit all reports were that it went well and Brown included the Buckeyes in his top five schools shortly after the visit. However, in the coming days it seems like USC is now the favorites to land him.

In the days leading up to his commitment date announcement and in the hours after, multiple predictions were cast in favor of the Trojans and it now seems like Ryan Day and Ohio State will have to pull off some magic if they are to land him.

If Brown were to choose the Trojans like is expected, Ohio State is still in a good spot at the position in the 2027 cycle. The Buckeyes already hold a commitment from five-star edge DJ Jacobs, the No. 1 edge prospect in the nation, and are also increasing their presence in four-star edge KJ Green’s recruitment after hosting him on a spring visit and then extending him with an official scholarship offer.

Brown is the No. 6 edge prospect in the 247Sports Composite and is the No. 49 national recruit. He is also the No. 1 recruit from Connecticut.

Quick Hits

Ohio State is hoping for a BOOMing afternoon today as 2027 four-star tight end target Grant Haviland (Alpharetta, GA / Milton) is scheduled to announce his commitment at 3:45 pm ET. Haviland, who completed a spring visit with Ohio State in late March will be deciding between Ohio State, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Tennessee.

The home-state school of Georgia looks to be the favorites heading into his announcement but Ohio State seemed to impress him on his visit and him choosing the Buckeyes would not be the biggest surprise in this recruitment cycle. Haviland is the No. 13 TE in the 247Sports Composite and the No. 275 national recruit.

Ohio State made even more recruiting news Monday as the team continues to dish out scholarship offers to some of the nation’s top recruits. Below are just some of the recruits to receive the coveted Ohio State offer to start the week:

Four-star WR Tre Moore

Class: 2027
Hometown: Pflugerville, TX / Pflugerville Weiss
Size: 6-foot-3 / 200 lbs.
247Sports Composite Ranking: No. 19 WR / No. 147 national