Ohio State finally has a running back in its 2027 recruiting class. Four-star running back Daylon Gordon flipped his commitment from Texas State to Ohio State on Wednesday, according to reporting by Buckeyes Wire and 247Sports, giving the Buckeyes the tailback commitment they had been chasing in the current cycle.
Gordon had been committed to Texas State since June, Buckeyes Wire reported. He visited Columbus for Ohio State’s game against Oregon this past weekend, decommitted from the Bobcats earlier on Wednesday, and then gave his verbal pledge to the Buckeyes, according to Buckeyes Wire.
The flip fills a conspicuous hole. Buckeyes Wire reported Ohio State had missed out on running back David Gabriel Georges, leaving the 2027 class without a running back just weeks before the national signing period. Gordon, listed by Buckeyes Wire at 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, becomes the first running back committed in the class.
Recruiting services rate Gordon as an explosive back who does his best work in space and catches the ball well out of the backfield, Buckeyes Wire reported. The 247Sports composite rankings list him as the No. 22 running back in the country, while 247Sports’ own rankings place him higher, at No. 11 at his position, according to Buckeyes Wire.
Gordon’s size is not the prototypical build Ohio State has often recruited at the position, a point Buckeyes Wire noted in its reporting, but the site described his upside as the reason the Buckeyes pursued the flip after his strong senior season and October offer.
Ohio State may not be finished at the position. Buckeyes Wire reported the Buckeyes will host Alabama commitment Nigel Newkirk, ranked as the No. 14 running back in the nation, this Saturday for the Northwestern game, raising the possibility of a one-two punch in the backfield class.
A verbal commitment is not a signing, and Gordon’s pledge will not become official until he signs with the program. For now, though, a recruiting week that opened with Ohio State still searching at running back ends with the Buckeyes holding a commitment at the position — and another highly ranked target due in Columbus this weekend.
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