London Merritt Excited to be a Buckeye

It was a tremendous weekend for the Ohio State football program landing four commitments in the 2025 recruiting class. Top 100 EDGE London Merritt kicked things off on Friday, announcing his pledge to the Buckeyes as his weekend visit got started.

The four-star prospect from IMG Academy in Florida, by way of Atlanta, has been a key target for Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson for a long time.

“I’m very excited to be a Buckeye,” Merritt told BuckeyeHuddle.com. “They’ve made me feel like family from the very beginning. I kind of knew it was home on my last visit before this one.”

Merritt says he knew he was going to commit on his latest visit. The fact that it was such a big recruiting weekend was simply icing on the cake.

“I knew a few weeks ago,” he said. “I didn’t know it was gonna be such a big recruiting weekend until it got closer and I saw the names of the people that were going to be there.”

In an NIL-centric world, relationships still matter in recruiting. Merritt’s relationship with Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson was a driving force in his decision to pick the Buckeyes.

“The most important thing was how much coach Johnson believed in me and the impact I could have there,” Merritt explained. “He broke down plays and showed me and my dad how I would be used and I think it fits perfect with my play style. It was also the consistency of coach Day and coach Johnson recruiting me. They always came to see me pretty often. coach Day even came to see me the Monday after that big win against Notre Dame last year. Every time I came for a visit it felt like home. Everyone was hospitable and open to answering any questions I had. It felt good and I know I made the right decision.”

The 2025 class has a different vibe than in previous years as the Buckeyes are not only loading up on the defensive side of the ball early with major talent, but also with players who are blossoming into class leaders like cornerback Devin Sanchez. Merritt is now ready to get to work as well.

“I’m gonna start reaching out to a few guys to get their thoughts on coming to join me on this OSU journey,” he said. “Guys like Jaime Ffrench and David Sanders and a few others as well.”