Top 100 Offensive Lineman Ekene Ogboko Talks Buckeyes

GARNER, N.C. — First-year Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen is taking some big swings nationally in the 2026 cycle, including Garner (NC) South Garner offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko. The 6-foot-6, 290-pound prospect was offered shortly after Bowen took the vacant position in Columbus and the Buckeyes have worked quickly in trying to build a relationship with the Top 100 prospect.

While the Buckeyes are battling several programs with longer standing relationships with Ogboko, they have been able to quickly work themselves onto his list of top schools.

“Ohio State has a great program,” Ogboko told BuckeyeHuddle.com on Wednesday. “I like the culture. I like everything about Ohio State. Ohio State has a unique coaching style with four offensive line coaches, so they get a lot of reps and development for the O-Linemen.”

In addition to hiring Bowen, the Buckeyes brought in several quality control coaches with a background along the offensive line and Ogboko was impressed by how practice was run when he visited in late March.

“It was a great practice,” Ogboko recalled. “Everything was efficient and fast. They had the offensive line split up into like three groups with the different coaches, so you can see that a lot of freshmen and a lot of young people are getting development. I really liked that about them.”

The Buckeyes are slated to get an official visit from Ogboko the weekend of June 13th and will look to continue to make up for lost time on that multi-day visit.

“Really just seeing the culture outside of football and seeing the academics and everything like that,” Ogboko said on the important aspects of the visit. “Just seeing what I can do outside of football and becoming a young man and just seeing how I would fit in there.”

Ogboko has an older brother at the University of Georgia and the Bulldogs have offered and will get an official visit. Can the Buckeyes pull an upset here? Hear more from Ogboko on the Buckeyes and his other contenders in our one-on-one interview from our Southern Swing recruiting tour.