Running Back Recruiting to Take Center Stage on Saturday

Ohio State will host more robust visitor lists for the Indiana and Michigan games later this month. But games like Saturday’s tilt against Purdue are often times very important as well, especially if you can get a handful of big name visitors which allows more individual attention than the massive weekends that we’ll see later this month.

On Saturday, it will be running back recruiting that is firmly in the crosshairs as the Buckeyes will host elite prospects in the 2025, 2026, and 2027 classes respectively.

After a false alarm last weekend, Ohio State is expected to host four-star all-purpose back Anthony ‘Turbo’ Rogers for an official visit. As we’ve mentioned before, if the visit happens, there are some ingredients at play here that would make this situation watching.

Ohio State’s rare presence in Alabama this cycle is one of those things, as is the presence of former Alabama prep standout Quinshon Judkins, who played at the same high school that Rogers spent his freshman season at. There is also the fact that Ohio State running backs coach Carlos Locklyn is also from Montgomery, Alabama.

So there is a bit of a perfect storm brewing here for a player that otherwise we probably wouldn’t be giving me thought about in terms of ending up at Ohio State.

In the 2026 class, the Buckeyes will get a chance to make an impression on Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna star Derrek Cooper. Cooper is considered by many to be the top running back prospect in the junior class and is also capable of playing in the secondary, though recent trends indicate it will be running back at the next level.

Cooper is a South Florida Express product and goes to the same high school that produced Jeremiah Smith so there is plenty of familiarity here and the Buckeyes and Locklyn will be working hard to make sure they are a factor in this race.

Looking a bit further down the road, the Buckeyes will once again see big-time 2027 back Elijah Kimble on campus. Kimble has already been to Columbus, so if you’re into the whole ‘watch what they do’ part of recruiting, the interest looks to be significant on both ends.

Expect Locklyn to be very busy this weekend as he works to add a third back to the 2025 class and get a head start on two underclassmen with very bright futures.

BuckeyeHuddle.com will have more on these three situations, and other recruiting visitors, throughout the weekend.