Ohio State football picked up a huge win in recruiting, beating out Penn State and Michigan for a top-10 defensive lineman. The Buckeyes are looking to repeat as national champions after a stunning run last season. While the 2024 team certainly had the talent to win it all, this group's prospects weren't looking too optimistic heading into the College Football Playoff.

But Ohio State football had a dominant stretch in this first iteration of the twelve-team field, which included picking up a revenge win over Big Ten foe Oregon. The Buckeyes now head into 2025 with the conference expected to be loaded once again. Two of the biggest threats to a repeat are longtime rivals Penn State and Michigan. And while the latest recruiting news won't help Ryan Day's program with winning the title this season, it's another big-picture victory.

According to On3 national recruiting/transfer portal reporter Hayes Fawcett, 4-Star DL Damari Simeon has committed to Ohio State football. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman chose the Buckeyes over Penn State, Texas, & Michigan and is ranked as the No. 7 DL in the Class of 2026.

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Any victory over the Nittany Lions and Wolverines is excellent for the Buckeyes. All three of these programs are in healthy shape, meaning it will likely be a clash of heavyweights alongside Oregon for the conference crown in 2025. Ohio State football will play both Penn State and Michigan this season, with the Nittany Lions specifically, on paper, poised to be an even more legitimate title contender than they were last year.

Another notable game on the Buckeyes' schedule is a Week 1 clash against Texas. The two teams faced off last season in an epic College Football Playoff semifinal game and will enter this matchup in Columbus with two new quarterbacks.

For the Longhorns, Arch Manning will take over under center and is already receiving massive hype, while Ryan Day's team will start 2024 5-star dual-threat Julian Sayin. The 19-year-old has the talent to pick up where Will Howard left off in Columbus, but will likely go through some expected growing pains. Sayin's development, however, does not change Ohio State football's expectations. There is plenty of talent on this roster to compete for another national title. It's a long journey to that point, but the opening season clash against Texas will say a lot about where the Buckeyes are already at.