The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off of a national championship win and head coach Ryan Day is already busy at work recruiting for seasons ahead. On Monday morning, the Buckeyes somehow managed to pull off what's being called an upset recruiting job to beat out both the LSU Tigers and Texas Longhorns.

Reports indicate that Ohio State officially landed four-star safety Blaine Bradford, according to ESPN's Eli Lederman. Bradford is regarded as ESPN's No. 3 ranked safety in the 2026 class and is based out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“Ohio State landed a significant recruiting upset in the 2026 class on Monday, edging LSU and Texas to secure the commitment of four-star safety Blaine Bradford, No. 32 in the ESPN Junior 300.”

Choosing the Buckeyes came as a surprise to most, as many viewed LSU as the favorites. Not only are the Tigers in Bradford's backyard, but they also recruited older brother Jacob Bradford, a three-star defensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class.

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Bradford, who is currently a junior in high school only verbally committed to Ohio State. He's due to visit the school once again in June. He's also scheduled to visit both LSU and Texas around that time as well. So, there's still time for the four-star safety to change his mind before making an official decision.

If Bradford remains with the Buckeyes once he's eligible for college football, he'll be in line to potentially replace Caleb Downs. Downs, how is viewed as a possible Top 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft class, aims to have a monster season next year for Ohio State. He's penciled in as the starting safety once again after finishing the 2024 campaign with 82 combined tackles (49 solo) and two interceptions.

Downs, who transferred from Alabam to Ohio State around this time last offseason, joined a Buckeyes team after longtime Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement. If the Buckeyes can keep Bradford and have him join the roster in 2026, then they should be able to maintain elite level play at the safety position for years to come.