COLUMBUS, Ohio — A major recruiting option just came back on the table for Ohio State as it continues to search for a 2026 quarterback.
The Buckeyes are set at quarterback in 2025 with Tavien St. Clair, who’s been firmly set in his decision for over a year. Even the 2027 cycle has an early candidate even if nothing is official yet with California five-star Brady Edmunds already trending toward Columbus. But the 2026 class has become a big question mark in terms of what will become of it.
That continues to become more of a topic of question by the day. But the recent decision of Tennessee five-star Jared Curtis opens up the door for at least one final answer being explosive.
The nation’s No. 6 player and top quarterback chose the Bulldogs back in March which wasn’t long after Ryan Ryan Day made changes to OSU’s coaching staff. Among them were parting ways with Corey Dennis after four years as the quarterback coach. Dennis ran the room, but his more important role was as a recruiter often establishing relationships with the nation’s top quarterbacks even if it was Day’s reputation that sparked the interest in the first place.
He’d done so with Curtis and his departure left Curtis without much familiarity with Ohio State even if Day brought in the much more established Chip Kelly to replace Dennis. Unfortunately, Curtis’ spring decision didn’t give Kelly a ton of time to make up for the lack of familiarity, though he’s never stopped recruiting the five-star behind the scenes.
That work seems to have paid off at least in terms of step one. Curtis is no longer planning to be a Bulldog. Now OSU can battle the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Oregon, South Carolina and USC to land Curtis.
Ohio State watched as every top quarterback target in the 20206 class came off the board over the spring and summer. Losing out on all of them left the Buckeyes needing to pivot their plan while others thought that maybe this class would play out the same way as the 2023 class where it eventually found Lincoln Kienholz.
Maybe it still plays out that way. But Curtis’ decision at least opens the door to the chance that it doesn’t have to be.
Day want an elite quarterback in every cycle. So far he’s managed to land at laest one top 100 recruit at the position in all but one cycle since becoming the head coach. Sometimes he’s even done it more than once. Thanks to the decommitment of a five-star recruit, the chance to continue that trend lives on in 2026, hoping to pair Curtis with five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr.
