Five-Star Running Back And OSU Target Derrek Cooper Commits To Texas

Image Via @DerekCooper80 on Twitter

Ohio State’s 2026 recruiting class will not include star receiver Jeremiah Smith’s former high school teammate and five-star running back Derrek Cooper (6-1, 205).

Cooper, the No. 29 player in the 2026 class, No. 2 player running back and the No. 2 player in the state of Florida, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings, committed to Texas over Florida State, Georgia, Miami and Ohio State on Sunday night.

The five-star running back visited Ohio State as recently as June 20, but Cooper’s commitment to Texas comes as no surprise, as the Longhorns received a crystal ball to land him from On3’s vice president of recruiting, Steve Wiltfong, prior to his decision on Sunday.

Cooper would have been the highest-ranked running back in Ohio State’s 2026 class, but the Buckeyes are still in solid shape at running back with Delaware (Ohio) Rutherford B. Hayes four-star Favour Akih (6-0, 190) committed.