Ohio State added to its 2026 class on Thursday when four-star linebacker Cincere Johnson pledged his services to the Buckeyes.
The Cleveland Glenville product is ranked the No. 71 player in the country and the No. 2 player in the state of Ohio. His decision comes soon after his June 13 official visit to Ohio State when former Glenville and current Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese hosted Johnson.
He chose Ohio State over Alabama and Penn State, the two schools where he also took official visits.
He first got his offer from Ohio State on Sept. 21, 2024, but he has been a target for the Buckeyes for much longer than that and has been to campus on unofficial visits for multiple gamedays.
Johnson is the second linebacker in James Laurinaitis’ 2026 recruiting class, joining four-star CJ Sanna of Olentangy. Johnson is also the seventh of the 16 commits in the class from the state of Ohio.
The Buckeyes hope that Johnson is the first of two defensive commitments on Thursday with four-star defensive end Luke Wafle set to choose between Ohio State and USC at 2 p.m.
