San Antonio (Texas) Veterans Memorial four-star running back James Peoples (5-10, 192) included the Buckeyes in his top six this week along with Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, TCU and Texas.
Peoples, who rushed for 1,904 yards and 28 touchdowns in his junior season, is viewed as the No. 76 overall prospect and No. 6 running back in 2024. He previously visited Ohio State last summer for a camp session and is expected to return this spring.
He was offered by Ohio State back in October and is one of the Buckeyes’ top tailback targets in the class along with Cincinnati Moeller four-star Jordan Marshall (5-11, 193), Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star Stacy Gage (5-11, 200) and Millersburg (Ohio) West Holmes three-star Sam Williams-Dixon (5-11, 203).
Ohio State Issues Flurry Of Offers
The Buckeyes sent out several offers this past week, all of which went to defensive prospects.
Starting in 2024, Ohio State offered Lake Cormorant, Miss., four-star defensive lineman Kamarion Franklin (6-5, 260) and Landisville (Pa.) Hempfield three-star defensive lineman Deyvid Palepale (6-3, 288).
Franklin is the No. 21 overall prospect and No. 5 defensive lineman in the class, notching 93 tackles – 28 for loss – with 19 sacks during his dominant junior season. He holds additional offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas A&M, among others.
Palepale does not hold a national ranking but has received offers in the new year from Colorado, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Washington in addition to the Buckeyes, so his recruitment is primed to take off.
In 2025, the Buckeyes issued offers to Lake City, S.C., four-star defensive lineman Amare Adams (6-3, 275) and Port Charlotte, Fla., defensive lineman Myron Charles (6-5, 270).
Adams, a three-sport athlete between baseball, basketball and football, holds offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, among others, and has a crystal ball prediction to the Gamecocks. Charles does not hold a national ranking but does have offers to his name from Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Rutgers and UCF,
Moving on to 2026, Ohio State offered Scottsdale (Ariz.) Desert Mountain defensive lineman Tony Cumberland (6-5, 250) and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy safety Zech Fort (5-10, 175). Cumberland, who had 38 tackles – 16.5 for loss – with six sacks in his freshman season, has reported offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin in addition to the Buckeyes.
Fort has already accrued an impressive list of offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC, among others.