Ohio State vs. Georgia: The new recruiting arms race

Both programs are recruiting machines, but the fight for the nation’s top blue-chip talent has turned into a focused head-to-head competition.

Georgia’s anchor in the Southeast and Ohio State’s national reach mean both programs show up on the same prospect boards more and more, and what used to be a regional skirmish has become a multi-state strategic battle over the country’s top 5-star athletes.

Snapshot: where the classes stand right now

Through the 2025 cycle, Georgia finished near the very top of the recruiting leaderboard while Ohio State also landed a top-five class. Those patterns continued into the 2026 cycle where Georgia again is pushing near the top and Ohio State remains firmly inside the top 10 nationally.

Georgia’s 2025 signing class finished as one of the nation’s best overall classes (No. 2) and leaned heavily on in-state talent. Ohio State’s 2025 haul was likewise elite, a top-five team ranking by major services, and its 2026 scoop shows the Buckeyes still recruiting at scale and nationally, even while the Bulldogs keep stacking blue-chip prospects in the Southeast.

Put differently, Georgia’s recent classes have been built largely by winning Southeastern battles and keeping the in-state pipeline full, where as Ohio State’s classes are built by splitting the country, taking top prospects in Ohio while also recruiting aggressively in Florida, Texas and the Mid-Atlantic, and snagging high end offensive skill talent nationally.

Those complementary strategies are what make the two programs meet so often on recruiting leaderboards.

Head-to-head battles: wins, losses and the recruiting narrative

Calling it an arms race isn’t an exaggeration — Ohio State and Georgia are colliding on the trail for the very same prospects.

In the 2026 cycle alone, Kirby Smart’s staff has landed multiple blue-chip defenders that Ohio State pushed hard for, including St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick and defensive lineman P.J. Dean. Both carried strong Buckeye interest, but Georgia closed the deal.

That ability to consistently flip defensive battles into Bulldog commitments underscores a clear edge for Smart in certain position groups.

Ohio State has not been a passive bystander in these fights. The Buckeyes have won marquee offensive targets and high profile defensive pledges as well.

For example, Ohio State secured five-star safety Blaine Bradford in the 2026 cycle, a significant coup for the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s 2026 class (as of mid-September) includes multiple high end receivers and defensive prospects that show Ryan Day’s staff still sells a path to early playing time and NFL exposure.

The result then becomes frequent “flip watch” weeks and a running tug-of-war over top names.

Those individual outcomes matter beyond the single recruit.

When Georgia beats Ohio State in a defensive recruiting duel, it both fills an immediate roster need and reinforces Georgia’s defensive brand on the trail.

When Ohio State wins a top offensive recruiting battle, it strengthens Ryan Day’s messaging to skill-position prospects that Columbus is a launch pad for elite wideouts and quarterbacks.

Both programs then lean on those wins to recruit the next wave of prospects. Momentum begets momentum.

Positional trends: who’s winning what and why it matters

A practical way to read the arms race is by position group. Georgia’s recent recruiting success has particularly tilted toward the defensive line and perimeter-defense, areas Kirby Smart and his staff have earmarked as sustainable advantages for their NFL-style defense.

Georgia’s 2024 and 2025 hauls added a string of defensive blue chips and high-floor prospects in the Southeast pipeline. That depth lets Georgia reload in the trenches and keep physicality as a team identity.

Ohio State’s recruiting pattern in the same period has been more offense-heavy in particular classes, a run on elite wide receivers and impact skill players for schemes built around high-volume passing and early NFL trajectories.

Analysts flagged Ohio State’s 2026 receiver group and other offensive position additions as a deliberate push to keep the Buckeyes stacked with pro prospects at target positions. The two pipelines thus often cross. Georgia wants the defense, Ohio State wants the offense, and either school will try to take the other’s preferred recruit whenever the fit lines up.

Geography and relationships: the regional reality

Georgia’s advantage is geographic. The state produces a disproportionate share of Power Five blue-chip recruits. Kirby Smart’s staff has invested in deep local relationships and on-the-ground recruiting at every level in Georgia. That translates into high in-state retention rates and a recruiting class that is strong inside the state borders, an enormous structural advantage in the modern recruiting environment.

Conversely, Ohio State’s strength is in national reach. Columbus sells program brand, early opportunity and consistently high NFL draft selections, and OSU’s staff spends resources in Florida, Texas and California to win big-ticket names outside the traditional Big Ten footprint.

The consequence is a collision course: the Bulldogs recruit the Southeast, but Ohio State’s West and South efforts increasingly bring them into direct competition.

Money, NIL and the portal: new tools that tilt the playing field

No modern recruiting analysis is complete without NIL. Ohio State has been one of the wealthiest NIL markets and even as the program debates how to structure institutional NIL and outside collectives, which has slowed down recruiting currently, Columbus remains a major NIL draw.

At the same time, Georgia’s program and the state legislature’s NIL conversations, plus the Bulldogs’ national profile, give them leverage in their own right. Institutional revenue sharing, state tax environments, and the public-facing way programs distribute NIL have become part of the sales pitch on official visits and unofficial trips.

That dynamic adds complexity to the arms race: it is no longer purely about campus visits and coaching relationships but also about who can credibly deliver marketplace value and playing opportunity.

The transfer portal intensifies the effect. A program that wins elite portal additions can immediately change its roster profile in a way that influences recruits (new arrivals push competition, while departures open opportunities).

Both Georgia and Ohio State are active in the portal, which feeds recruiters’ arguments about playing time and roster trajectory, another tactical lever in the arms race.

Staff, schematics and recruitment pitch: how each program sells itself

Georgia leans on continuity, a defensive identity and an NFL-ready blueprint under Kirby Smart and high level recruiters who have long relationships with prep coaches in the Southeast. Those relationships often convert to commitments because parents and coaches trust the coaching pipeline that’s been built in Atlanta and surrounding areas.

Ohio State sells national stage, developmental opportunities, early playing opportunities, particularly for receivers and quarterbacks, and an NFL track record that appeals to the elite prospect looking to accelerate to the next level.

That difference in pitch explains why Georgia tends to win the big defensive bodies while Ohio State frequently lands game-breaking offensive skill recruits.

Case studies: a few recruit battles that illustrate the trend

Justice Fitzpatrick, a highly rated corner from St. Thomas Aquinas (FL), committed to Georgia in June 2025 despite interest and a planned visit to Ohio State. His choice reinforced Georgia’s strong pull on defensive backs recruited from Florida.

P.J. Dean, a high end defensive lineman, also committed to Georgia in late June 2025 over offers that included Ohio State. Those are clear examples of the Bulldogs converting top defensive targets against national competition.

Conversely, Ohio State’s win for safety Blaine Bradford in the spring of 2025 showed the Buckeyes can still land five-star defensive types and not just skill-position players, illustrating that the rivalry’s outcomes are never predetermined and each staff can score major recruiting upsets.

What to watch through the rest of 2025 and into early signing periods

Key flips and late-cycle movement. A handful of top 2026 commits remain on “flip watch” lists. Any major late flip (for example, a defensive blue chip moving from Georgia to Ohio State or vice versa) will shift momentum for the next cycle.
NIL policy and institutional distribution. If Ohio State moves more aggressively with institutional NIL or if Georgia’s state environment changes, that could reweight where borderline recruits decide to sign.
On-campus impression vs. in-state loyalty. Georgia’s advantage in local relationships vs Ohio State’s national brand is the core tension. Watching which advantage wins consistently at each position will tell us who is “pulling ahead” in the arms race.

Bottom line

This is not a single-year story, it is a multi-year strategic competition.

Georgia has the comfort of geography and defensive recruiting dominance in its backyard, while Ohio State has the national pull, roster visibility and NIL marketplace that sell high-ceiling offensive prospects.

The recruiting arms race between the two isn’t just about the next signing day, it’s about a continuing tug over identity. When Georgia wins a prominent defensive recruit it reinforces the Dawgs’ brand. When Ohio State lands a five-star receiver it strengthens Columbus’ narrative as the place to become a pro.

The result is one of the most interesting recruiting rivalries in modern college football, not just because the programs are elite on the field, but because they represent two different but equally viable blueprints for building championship teams in the NIL era.

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