Texas took a hit from Ohio State twice in big games, but this time the Longhorns got one back on the recruiting trail. Brock Williams, one of the top tight ends in the 2027 class, chose Texas over the Buckeyes and Georgia, and that is a big flip for Steve Sarkisian’s group.
Williams broke the news live on The Pat McAfee Show, picking head coach Steve Sarkisian’s squad over the Buckeyes and the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday. This is a wild comeback because Ohio State looked like an absolute lock from the get-go. They started recruiting him in the summer of 2025, sometime in June, after hosting Williams for a prominent unofficial visit in Columbus.
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The Buckeyes made sure Williams felt like he was the only TE from the class of 2027 whenever he came to visit the campus. He visited Ohio State more than multiple times, including a trip to the Buckeyes’ season opener against UCLA. Ryan Day personally led the charge to reel him in. At one point in time, recruiting experts at On3 originally gave the Buckeyes an 86% chance to land him.
What makes this sting more is that Texas isn’t just a rival on paper anymore. Since joining the SEC in 2024, the Longhorns now sit in the same conference as Georgia, the same Georgia that Ohio State was also fighting. So Ohio State wasn’t just losing a recruit. They were handing an SEC program a future weapon.
However, things took a turn when Williams decided to delay his original winter commitment timeline to check out a few more schools. That extra time opened the door for Georgia and Texas to make their final moves and chip away at Ohio State’s lead. The Bulldogs had the lead for a split second. But Texas managed to completely erase that lead by pouring him some extra love (NIL) and relentless communication.
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“They’re doing a good job with communication, and that’s huge for me,” Williams said about the Longhorns back in March. “I have a great relationship with them because they communicate with me. They laid out a good plan for me when I was there that I liked. I talk a lot with Coach Sark.”
They refused to take no for an answer. Coach Sarkisian was personally FaceTiming Williams all the time. Tight ends coach Jeff Banks also built an ultra-tight bond with the recruit, especially since January.
Some insider reports say that Texas put together an NIL package that neither Ohio State nor the Bulldogs could match. According to Yahoo, his home-state Illinois program put up a similar offer, but Texas was the place to be because of how tight-end-friendly the offense is. Williams was totally sold on Sarkisian’s playbook. He openly admitted that “you just can’t go wrong with Coach Sark” because the Texas offense loves to feed the tight end.
When you look at his size and stats, it is easy to see why everyone was fighting cats and dogs over him.
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The Libertyville product already stands about 6’5” and weighs anywhere from 215 to 230 pounds. He is ranked as high as the nation’s No. 2 tight end by ESPN and sits at No. 79 overall in the composite rankings. Over the last two seasons, he stacked up 1,204 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns. Even as a high schooler, he could block as naturally as a guard because of his size.
With this commitment, the Longhorns’ 2027 recruiting class can compete for the No. 1 position. He is the 11th player to commit to the team and immediately becomes their second-highest-rated offensive weapon, right behind five-star wideout Easton Royal. He is also going to team up with fellow tight end commit JT Geraci, who was actually helping the coaches recruit Williams to Austin.
Well, as much as it hurts Ohio State, they’ve got some work cut out for them to overcome this heartbreak.
Ohio State’s Plan B
Missing out on Brock Williams hurts, but Ohio State is definitely not panicking. They already have 11 strong commitments in their 2027 class. Needless to say, tight ends coach Keenan Bailey has a history of bouncing back quickly.
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The Buckeyes rarely overspend on high school tight ends anyway. So this gives them a bit of flexibility to shift their focus and budget to other elite playmakers without missing too many beats.
To fix the gap here, the Buckeyes are looking right in their own backyard and across the Midwest for home-bred talent. The Buckeyes have their eyes on local Ohio standout Jordan Karhoff from Columbus. He’s a four-star prospect, and a pretty underrated one. Four-star Anthony Cartwright is another name. However, the top priority now apparently seems to be Indiana’s Mason Oglesby.
If they want to pull off a revenge flip of their own, the coaching staff is already pulling strings. Just days ago, Coach Bailey personally went to Illinois and offered Brady Johnson, a talented three-star recruit currently committed to Northwestern. They are also heavily pursuing Sean Currie, a 6-foot-7 target from New Jersey who has shown “warm” interest in wearing the scarlet and gray.
If the high school route doesn’t pan out, Ohio State can always lean on the transfer portal, where they have a proven track record of success. Their recent tight ends drafted into the NFL actually came through the portal rather than traditional recruiting. That should calm the Buckeyes down for now.
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