A wild new rumor making the rounds claims that the Ohio State football program lost a top recruit to Tennesee despite making a huge NIL offer.
Ohio State football is one of the biggest brands in all of college football. The university has been a juggernaut in the Big Ten for decades and has not had a losing season in over a decade. The school has always been strong at recruiting, and that hasn’t changed in the age of NIL rules.
Name, image, and likeness guidelines have had a massive impact on the sport. However, a profitable school like Ohio State has been able to maintain strong recruiting classes under the new guidelines. But that doesn’t mean the football program always gets the players they want.
Ohio State football record (2023): 11-2
Ohio State lost the chase for David Sanders despite a massive NIL offer
Late last week, five-star North Carolina offensive line prospect David Sanders revealed he would be taking his talents to the Tennessee Volunteers program in 2025. Landing the third-ranked player on many high school prospect lists was a major coup for Tennessee and a frustrating gut punch for the Buckeyes after a strong pursuit for the youngster.
However, Ohio State’s failure to persuade Sanders to come to Columbus was apparently not from a lack of a strong offer. In a recent post from “The Podcast,” Ohio State Rivals.com recruiting expert Jeremy Birmingham claimed there were rumors that the university made a NIL offer to Sanders that was larger than the combined amount of their current offensive line.
Birmingham suggested that the Volunteers offering Sanders housing may have been what swayed him to Tennessee. As well as the chance for the North Carolina native to play closer to home.
Also Read: Oklahoma State football program using wild strategy to get fan donations to pay NIL bills