Congratulation: Will Howard Becomes Highest-Paid NFL Player At $58 Million Per Year After Agreeing To….

A Kentucky running back commit will start first Ohio State visit Friday and is not worried about a possible multi-RB OSU class.

A week ago, Ohio State running backs coach Carlos Locklyn stopped at Philadelphia Pa.) St. Joseph to see Kentucky running back commitment Isaiah West. Right after the stop, West told Bucknuts he would likely visit Ohio State.

The visit won’t take long to happen.

A ‘scary’ end to Eddrick Houston’s recruitment was worth it for Ohio State: ‘It was nerve-racking’

There was some slight panic when it looked like the five-star defensive end might flip his commitment at the last moment.

A humorous moment occurred on the first day of the early signing period at Ohio State. During his annual press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic, head coach Ryan Day received word that wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the top-ranked prospect in the 2024 class, would sign with the Buckeyes.

Day’s knees buckled with relief, and the video of his reaction to the news went viral. But Smith wasn’t the only five-star prospect the Scarlet and Gray were sweating about losing to begin the early signing period. The press conference had to be stopped at one point so Day could go talk to a recruit.

That recruit was defensive lineman Eddrick Houston.

“It was interesting. It’s just one of those things that happened in the middle of recruitment,” defensive line coach Larry Johnson said of Houston’s recruitment in late March. “You think you’re to the end of it, and it’s all done, and all of a sudden, there’s a pause. There’s a pause, there’s a quietness and it goes. Like he just went quiet. No one could talk to him. And then finally we got to reach and got to talk to him.”

In the past, there would not have been much concern with a player like Houston flipping after committing to Ohio State. Johnson has long been considered one of the best defensive line coaches in college football and has a history of recruiting and developing some of the best players at the position. Players haven’t often gone in a different direction after committing to Johnson.

Yet Johnson’s age and experience have been used against him in recruiting during recent cycles, with coaches from rival teams telling top defensive line prospects that Johnson (now 72) is set to retire during their college careers.

This was the case again as the early signing period approached. Houston took late visits to Alabama and Clemson, and it was the Crimson Tide that attracted him the most. Ironically, it was Alabama head coach Nick Saban, not Johnson, who ended up retiring not long after most of the 2024 class was signed.

“All I can do is tell them the truth,” Johnson said when asked about the negative recruiting. “That’s the biggest thing, right? Look them in the eye and say, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ And then that question was asked many times. Every year, it’s asked. And I’ve been really honest and truthful about that. When I make the decision about what I’m going to do, I’ll tell them. I’m not gonna recruit a guy and bring him here and then take off. That’s just not part of my DNA. That’s not my character. And so, I try my best to be honest with kids with what I’m gonna do and how I’m gonna do it. And that’s what I said. He asked me that. He said, ‘Coach, if you leave, I’m going.’ And I reassured him. I said, ‘I’m not going. I’ll be here when you get here.’ And so that’s what’s important. It’s more than just words. It’s really believing in a principal about who you are as a coach. I’m not chasing money. I’m not chasing anything. I’m chasing greatness with my players.”

When it came down to it, however, Houston wanted to be a Buckeye. Both Johnson and Day spoke to Houston just before he took the stage at Buford High School to announce where he would sign. He stuck with his commitment and put pen to paper for the Scarlet and Gray.

“It was nerve-racking,” Johnson admitted. “You’re getting ready to go sign him and all of a sudden you can’t get him. You’re not talking to him. Like, that’s not good, right? And then finally, we got to the mom, got to everybody we needed to talk to and he went into the press conference. He was outside the door still talking… And after that, it was like, ‘We’re good.’

“I think you know where his heart was. His heart was always here. He’s always said that. ‘This is where I want to be. I want to be here.’ And then I think coming to that decision at that late stage scared everybody in a sense.”

It was a major relief once Houston did sign. Ohio State did not want to miss on a top-30 overall prospect and the country’s seventh-best defensive lineman who had been committed to the program since August. At the time, the Buckeyes only had one other defensive lineman in the class – three-star Eric Mensah – making landing Houston that much more important for Johnson.