Ohio State 4-star commit was Georgia bound before Buckeyes’ visit

The Ohio State football program landed a major commitment on Saturday afternoon from four-star defensive tackle Karlos May … but it wasn’t always a sure landing spot.

The Alabama native grew up in SEC country and didn’t mince words about how his recruiting process went, including what shifted things in his recruitment. May, who had Georgia and Auburn as his other finalists, said his official visit to Ohio State changed the trajectory of his recruiting process — and changed his mind on where he wanted to go.

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“That official visit to Ohio State changed everything,” May told Rivals. “Before that, I was going to Georgia. That visit made me realize exactly where I wanted to be. As soon as I got down there, I knew I was going to pick up and retain a lot of good information that would help me be successful. That visit was it for me.”

May took his Ohio State visit last out of the trio, beginning with Georgia, then Auburn. So, the weekend of June 19 was the difference that landed the commitment from May.

Why? It was hard to say no to the development at the defensive line position. Larry Johnson, the Buckeyes’ defensive line coach, is widely regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in the entire country. His resume speaks for itself. From Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau to Kayden McDonald, or Chase Young and the Bosa brothers — the list goes on and on of top-end talent that reached the NFL under the guidance of Johnson. In total, there are 22 former Ohio State players who learned under Johnson.