With in-state defensive back Elbert Hill making his college commitment, the hope was that the Ohio State Buckeyes would keep the playmaker home and have him suit up for the Buckeyes moving forward. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. He once was predicted to move to Columbus, but he’s heading west instead.

On Friday, Hill shut down his recruitment and announced his commitment to the USC Trojans. This is a major get for Lincoln Riley, but it’s surely disappointing news for Ryan Day. It’s hard to complain about many things the Buckeyes have going on right now, but Hill is ranked the No. 1 player from Ohio.

The Buckeyes indeed wanted to make sure he didn’t leave to play elsewhere, but Riley and the Trojans, who have been on a heater recruiting wise, were able to win this battle. Hill telling Hayes Fawcett that he’s ‘home’ with USC makes things a bit worse too:

Elbert Hill committing to USC was a major disappointment for Ohio State

Thankfully last offseason, the Buckeyes were able to land the commitment of quarterback Tavien St. Clair, ranked the No. 1 prospect for 2025 from Ohio – he’s also a 5-star playmaker. However, the Buckeyes did miss out on Trey McNutt and Justin Hill, who signed with Oregon and Alabama, respectively.

The hope was that Day and Co. would be able to turn Hill’s head throughout his recruitment process, but it’s no question a bummer that he’s now California-bound. In addition to USC and Ohio State, Hill also had offers from 35 other programs, including Oregon, Boise State, Kentucky and many others.

As things stand, Day and the Buckeyes hold 11 known pledges for the 2026 class, highlighted of course by 5-star wideout Chris Henry Jr. There were concerns Henry might flip, but that’s not going to happen. Him cancelling his visits calmed a lot of worried fans.

The Buckeyes’ 2026 group is ranked No. 6 in the country according to 247Sports. Some more big-name commits are going to be on the way for Day and the fanbase will be quite excited about them. However, that won’t take away from the fact that missing out on Hill feels like a sizable loss.

Insider Highlights Ohio State’s Major Roster Weakness For National Title Defense

The Ohio State football program has long been one of the nation’s best, a standard reinforced by the Buckeyes’ national championship win at the College Football Playoff in January.

But in NCAA football, such success is difficult to sustain, given that player tenures can be so short.

The Buckeyes saw 14 of its players from the 2024 championship team selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.

This leaves head coach Ryan Day with gaps to plug entering the new season – which begins with a CFP semifinal rematch against Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns.

The advent of the transfer portal has helped big programs like Ohio State reinforce the roster – and according to college football insider Greg McElroy, Day will have to lean on the portal specifically to fill the “obvious need” Ohio State has as it prepares to defend its title.

“It’s pretty obvious here, when evaluating Ohio State’s spring game, talking to people that have covered the sport — they’ve got to find depth at defense tackle,” McElroy said on his “Always College Football” show.

Former Alabama quarterback McElroy believes that although the Buckeyes have added North Carolina transfer Beau Atkinson and Idaho State transfer Logan George off the edge, Day needs to acquire interior depth behind starters Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald.

“It was pretty obvious when you watched Ohio State in the spring, there was a lot more movement to be had by Ohio State’s offensive line against those defensive tackles not named McDonald and Houston, so you can see the push,” McElroy said.

Ohio State already has a talent-rich defense, headlined by potential 2026 top-five draft pick Caleb Downs.