NCAA

Ohio State Suffers Another Loss To Oregon, This Time In The Recruiting Process

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Anthony Cardenas
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Anthony Cardenas Sports Editor

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Published04 Dec 2024

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The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off of one of the most embarrassing losses in the storied history of the program. Saturday’s loss to Michigan will weigh heavily on their postseason standing for the current season, but they suffered an off-field defeat that could affect them heavily in the coming years.

The early signing period for college football recruits opened on Wednesday. There has been plenty of action early on involving some of the top teams in the nation, but perhaps the biggest news has come out of Oregon.

Ohio State Loses Top-5 Recruit As Offord Flips To Oregon

Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, Na’eem Offord is a five-star recruit who is considered to be the top cornerback in the country. He is the highest-rated defensive player in ESPN’s Top 300, the 4th ranked player overall. He had a long-standing verbal commitment to Ohio State, and was set to be paired with another top-10 player in fellow cornerback Devin Sanchez.

But in a surprise move during the early hours of Signing Day, Offord flipped his commitment. Instead of heading to Columbus, he will instead head west, and will play his home games in Eugene, Oregon as a member of the Ducks.

It was thought that Auburn would have been the front-runner, given Offord’s many visits to the university in his home state, but he is now the big prizes of the 2025 recruiting class for Oregon. The Ducks already had another top-5 commitment in wide receiver Dakorien Moore, who is the top-rated non-quarterback in the nation, according to ESPN.

It is a tough blow for Ohio State. But the Buckeyes still currently have another five-star recruit signed in addition to Sanchez, with Tavien St. Clair headed for Columbus. He is the #4 rated quarterback on the ESPN 300, and chose his local university despite receiving offers from schools like Alabama, Penn State, and Tennessee.