Five-star running back David Gabriel-Georges chose Tennessee over Ohio State, ending a two-year pursuit. Here’s why the Buckeyes’ backfield is still in good shape.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Columbus is panicking, and understandably so, as David Gabriel-Georges, the five-star running back Ohio State chased for two full recruiting cycles, picked Tennessee on Wednesday, ending one of the most contested battles of the cycle.
It’s a difficult loss, and it stings. But the reaction misses one key detail: Gabriel-Georges was never walking into this fall’s running back room in the first place, and Ohio State’s pipeline at the position, built under Carlos Locklyn, is still in good shape for the future.
🚨BREAKING🚨 Five-Star Plus+ RB David Gabriel Georges has committed to Tennessee🍊
Read: https://t.co/4HnGwCkqLa pic.twitter.com/220W6zZZxi
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 22, 2026
Two Years, One Answer
Carlos Locklyn didn’t recruit Gabriel-Georges like a normal five-star. He built something real that outlasts a visit or an offer sheet. By every account, it was the strongest relationship Gabriel-Georges had with any coach pursuing him, Tennessee included. Locklyn won that battle, but Ohio State still lost the war.
Recruitments this contested rarely turn on one relationship. They turn on whether the whole program feels more like home than the alternative. Gabriel-Georges was closer, overall, to the group wearing orange. Tennessee didn’t need to beat Ohio State’s best pitch – just become the program he pictured himself in.
Over two years, they did. That’s the hardest kind of loss: nobody did anything wrong. Somebody else did more things right, longer.
No Vacancy in Columbus
Gabriel-Georges is a 2027 prospect. He was never walking into this room this fall, no matter what he decided Wednesday. Ohio State didn’t miss a player for this season – it missed a piece of a class still more than a year from playing a down. Losing him is still a real blow; he’s an elite talent who would’ve made waves the moment he arrived. But the room taking the field this fall hasn’t changed because of it.
CJ Donaldson is off to the NFL, and James Peoples transferred to Penn State once it became clear he’d fallen behind on the depth chart. Both departures opened room for a group that already carried Ohio State through a College Football Playoff run last season.
Bo Jackson arrived as a true freshman and by Week 2 looked like a Big Ten problem. He finished with 1,090 yards, six touchdowns, growing more dangerous by November. He’s the starter barring disaster in fall camp.
Behind him, Isaiah West logged 10 games as a true freshman, ran for 310 yards, and scored twice. He and Jackson enter their sophomore years together, and most of the carries run through them.
The portal covered depth, adding Ja’Kobi Jackson, who arrives from Florida with 607 rushing yards over 17 games – an experienced depth piece and bruising back. Anthony “Turbo” Rogers and Favour Akih also sit on the roster, pushing for playing time.
Legend Bey, a true freshman, projects as a matchup problem the staff will move all over the formation. Don’t bet on him staying low on the depth chart all season. In the last infamous recruiting battle between the Buckeyes and Volunteers, Bey flipped from Tennessee to Ohio State. He will be a Swiss-army knife for Arthur Smith and Ryan Day.
What Comes Next
Message boards will scrutinize this recruitment throughout the fall. David Gabriel-Georges is an elite talent, and Tennessee got a great one. But Ohio State’s process doesn’t hinge on one recruitment – it hinges on a staff that develops what it signs and finds what it’s missing, and this offseason is proof of that.
The bigger question now is where the search goes next. With DGG off the board, Ohio State’s 2027 running back class is wide open again, and expect Locklyn to move fast on the next name, or turn to 2028. Stay tuned to The Silver Bulletin for Ohio State Recruiting updates.
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Blake Biscardi serves as Co-Founder, Lead Reporter, and Senior Editor of The Silver Bulletin. He hosts the Buckeye Cadence podcast, where he breaks down Ohio State football and basketball with an inside look into the programs. Covering Julian Sayin in New York City in 2025 was his Heisman moment, which became a viral moment in its own right. Biscardi is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and has degrees in Business Administration and Strategic Communication & Leadership.