On May 8th, the Buckeyes extended an offer to a very talented 2026 player from Maryland. That offer was to four-star EDGE Zion Elee out of Joppatown HS. The talented pass rusher spoke with The Silver Bulletin about his offer.
“[The offer] means a lot to me.” With the offer, the Buckeyes have moved into a top list of his rankings. Elee said, “[Ohio State] stands a little higher up in my rankings. [It stands out] how all the players make it far in the football scene from Ohio State.”
Grateful to receive an offer from Ohio State@R2X_Rushmen1 @RivalsFriedman @BrianDohn247 @ChadSimmons_@__CoachTrey @OhioStateFB @FTRreport ig: zionbgs pic.twitter.com/tlToCLw4o9
— Zion “ Rẽy ” Elee (@D1zion26) May 8, 2024
Moreover, he spoke about the coaches, “Coaches stay in contact with me, in the beginning of the recruitment process, Coach [Larry] Johnson was the first one here.” He added he plans on visiting Ohio State on June 17th. The Buckeyes are going to be in the mix heavily for the Maryland pass rusher. He would contribute heavily in Columbus, but the Buckeyes have competition.
FULL SEASON HIGHLIGHT TAPE CO’26 6”5 220lb DE
— Zion “ Rẽy ” Elee (@D1zion26) November 24, 2023
Elee holds offers from many top programs, but the Buckeyes are going to be one to watch in his recruitment. He mentioned a few schools sticking out to him, those being Penn State, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Florida State, and Miami. He plans on committing on signing day, or close to it. Whether or not if it’s the Buckeyes on decision day, it will be a battle to land a commitment for the pass rusher.
Elee is rated as the No. 34 overall player in the 2026 class, the No. 5 EDGE, and the top player in the state of Maryland. He holds a reported 19 FBS offers.
Kaleb Longhurst, a Cincinnati, Ohio native, is a recruiting analyst that covers Ohio State. A trusted source for Buckeyes recruiting, Kaleb has experience at Mike Farrell Sports, but has blossomed at TSB. Kaleb is an up and coming writer who is just getting started.