Ohio State is off to a blazing start in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The Buckeyes’ class ranks second nationally in the 247Sports Composite and leads the country with a 94.53 average player rating.

The class is headlined by three five-star prospects, including in-state quarterback Tavien St. Clair and the top two corners in the class, Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord.

It’s clear Ohio State isn’t going to land every blue-chip prospect it wants, but the Buckeyes have a chance to build an elite secondary, fix some glaring weaknesses and address depth concerns in the trenches.

All of that starts Friday when on-campus visits commence.

Here’s a preview of what’s to come.

How should Ohio State fans feel about the class?

Very good.

Notre Dame currently has the No. 1 ranking, but the Fighting Irish’s class consists of 22 players compared to Ohio State’s 12.

As June inches closer, the Buckeyes’ focus will be to add to the class, but they also need to hold onto the commits. Corner Blake Woodby decommitted a few weeks ago. That wasn’t a major loss, but losing either Sanchez or Offord would be an issue. It sounds unlikely that either will flip, but you can never be certain in recruiting.

It helps that a few of Ohio State’s biggest recruits are in-state. St. Clair is about as locked in as a recruit can be, so it would be a significant surprise if the program had to deal with another quarterback flip this cycle. The same goes for Carter Lowe, who plays for Whitmer High in Toledo.

Ohio State will have to stay on Tarvos Alford, though. The Florida native is going to be pursued by Miami and Florida State up until signing day.

What are the positions of need in this class?

This is an important class for Ohio State because it has a few positions it absolutely must hit on. The offensive line and defensive line are at the top of that list.

The Buckeyes have missed on O-linemen in recent years but are off to a good start with Lowe, who is ranked in the top 60 nationally. Ohio State has made five-star tackle David Sanders Jr., the No. 2 player in the country, a priority. The North Carolina native has a visit to Ohio State planned for June 21 and is also being pursued by Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, among others. Another tackle to watch is Josh Petty, a top-50 prospect from Georgia who will visit Ohio State on June 14.

The defensive line is crucial, especially after Ohio State signed only two at the position in the 2024 cycle. The Buckeyes are off to a good start but are looking to add more.

Two other spots to watch are running back and safety. Both positions have new coaches, with Carlos Locklyn leading the running back recruiting and Matt Guerrieri at safety. Both have elite prospects they need to land.

Ohio is home to two of the best running backs in the country, Bo Jackson and Jordan Davison. They are ranked fifth and sixth at the position, respectively, and are being recruited by Ohio State heavily. The Buckeyes likely need at least two running backs in this class. Hitting on both Jackson and Davison would be the dream but will be difficult. Both are planning visits to Ohio State this summer, so the Buckeyes will get their chance to keep the talent in state.

As for safety, Ohio State is once again looking at two of the best players in the country — Trey McNutt, from Shaker Heights, and Maryland native Faheem Delane.

Prospects to watch

We touched on a few key targets above, but here are a few more players on the Buckeyes’ board.

Ohio State is no stranger to locking down elite wide receiver talent, and it’s going after the best once again. Brian Hartline is pushing for five-star Dakorien Moore, the top receiver in the class and a former LSU commitment. Texas will be very hard to beat for Moore, who plays at power Duncanville (Texas) High. Vernell Brown III, a top-40 prospect, and five-star Jaime Ffrench are high on Ohio State’s list, as well. Brown will reportedly visit Ohio State this weekend. Ffrench doesn’t have a visit to Columbus scheduled but could get one on the books for the fall.

Edge rusher Justin Hill, a four-star prospect from Cincinnati, will visit Ohio State this summer and is expected to announce his decision July 3.

One more big name is five-star corner Dorian Brew, who has strong Ohio State ties. His mother, Donica Merriman, is a former Ohio State sprinter and is in the program’s hall of fame. If Ohio State locks down Brew, it will have three of the top five corners in the class on board.

(Photo of Tavien St. Clair: Steve Helwagen / The Advocate / USA Today Network)

Former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit is one of the most well-recognized people in current sports media, but even he’s battled through some trying times.

In fact, the player-turned-broadcaster admitted in a recent interview with The Mental Game that he went to therapy while at Ohio State in the early 90s. At that time, support for athletes with mental health issues wasn’t as normalized, leading Herbstreit to become fearful that he’d be judged by his peers or teammates.

“I ended up going to this doctor,” Herbstreit said. “The courage it took in 1990…91, to go into his office – which was at Ohio Stadium, they gave him a little nook – I’ll never forget walking from my
apartment looking around my shoulder the entire time wondering if anybody saw me and then knocking on his door. Even then I’d still be kind of looking around.”

Some fans tend to forget that college athletes are still young adults trying to find their way in the world. When it comes to football players in particular, the pressure to perform on a massive stage is often comparable to the professional level — even before the days of NIL.

Current Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson recently opened up about his struggles with mental health, something that Herbstreit didn’t feel he had the luxury of doing during his time in college.

“Isn’t that crazy, that you’re so afraid?” Herbstreit asked rhetorically. “I was like 20 or 21 years old and I didn’t want people to make fun of me – just to be honest. I didn’t want people to think I was weak because the way we’re trained. But at least I had the courage to knock on his door.”

Herbstreit finished his college career having played in 38 games while going 183 of 317 passing for 2,263 yards, five touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The former Ohio State quarterback was named Wednesday as the winner of the Pro Football Writers of America’s Good Guy Award, which recognizes the NFL player who best helps pro football writers do their jobs, for the 2023 season.

.@HoustonTexans QB C.J. Stroud (@CJ7STROUD) selected as the 2024 PFWA Good Guy Award winner: https://t.co/JHQCV2Hwz1 pic.twitter.com/MSjrirrM3T

— Pro Football Writers (@PFWAwriters) May 29, 2024

Stroud won the award over fellow finalists Joel Bitonio (Cleveland Browns guard), Dion Dawkins (Buffalo Bills tackle), Brandon Graham (Philadelphia Eagles defensive end) and Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys quarterback).

“Stroud is the Good Guy Award winner because of his professionalism and openness with both the national and local media. He is always available during the week and after games, win or lose. He understands the media has a job to do and answers each question thoroughly,” PFWA Houston chapter co-vice president Jonathan Alexander said in a press release. “He is also active in the Houston community without seeking attention, recently volunteering to remove trees and clean up debris from yards in underserved communities after a storm left many residents without power for several days.”

.@CJ7STROUD giving back to H-Town after the storm this past week

: @ashleeonair pic.twitter.com/3K16i5tyVN

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) May 20, 2024

Stroud, the first Houston Texans to win the award since it was first presented in 2005, was honored to receive the award.

“It’s a blessing to be recognized as the PFWA Good Guy Award winner, and it stands out to me because it’s more of an award that embodies someone’s character rather than the stats they compile on the field,” Stroud said in a statement. “I appreciate the job the media has and thank them for choosing me as someone who is deserving of this honor. A special shoutout to the other very deserving players who were nominated and those that won before me.”

Stroud drew praise throughout his rookie season with the Houston Texans for his thoughtful and eloquent answers during press conferences, in which Stroud – who was also one of the best quarterbacks on the field during the 2023 season, winning the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award – frequently demonstrated his football knowledge and ability to break down plays.

Enjoy this incredible breakdown from, C.J Stroud on how he led the Texans to a late 4th quarter drive against the Falcons.

Including making an in-game adjustment, fooling an All-Pro safety and getting the trust from Bobby Slowik to make it happen. pic.twitter.com/w3yJThr2sf

— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) October 12, 2023

Stroud’s recognition for his professionalism with the media comes as no surprise to those who covered Stroud at Ohio State. During his two years as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, Stroud was a favorite among media members for his unusual candor in a position that often favors coachspeak.

In one of his most recent trips back to Columbus for Ohio State’s pro day, Stroud took the time to meet with local media more than an hour after the pro day had concluded and looked as comfortable as he had ever been fielding questions from Ohio State reporters inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. He said the biggest thing he learned about communicating with the media from his time at Ohio State is the importance of being himself rather than trying to craft the perfect answer to every question.

“I can sit up here and crack jokes with y’all and just be myself,” Stroud said during that interview session. “Early on (in my Ohio State career), you would try to like answer everything the right way or do it – like, man, whatever you’re doing, I just try to be myself. So that’s something that definitely prepared me from Ohio State to the NFL.”

Now entering his second season with the Texans, Stroud is already one of the faces of the NFL thanks to both his excellence on the field and his personality off the field, which has quickly made him a fan favorite in the league.