Ohio State’s football team heater on the 2026 trail keeps getting hotter. Fresh off flipping four-star EDGE Dre Quinn from Clemson, the Buckeyes have added yet another centerpiece to a defensive haul that already featured lineman Khary Wilder and a recent flip of four-star DL Emanuel Ruffin from Colorado.

Quinn, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound pass rusher from Buford (GA), fills a critical edge need and gives Jim Knowles another high-upside disruptor who fits perfectly in an attacking front.

It is the latest win in a stretch that has seen the Ohio State football team reinforce a recruiting class while sitting at 10-0 and No. 1 in the CFP rankings, proving success is feeding success.

Now the top end of that class looks almost unfair. As recruiting insider Hayes Fawcett posted on X for Rivals, Ohio State now has three No. 1-ranked recruits at their respective positions in the 2026 cycle: wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. (WR1), cornerback Jay Timmons (CB1), and defensive lineman Khary Wilder (DL1).

Fawcett called it “another elite class on the way to Columbus,” and it is hard to argue when you stack that trio on top of blue-chip flips like Quinn and Ruffin.

The profile here is obvious: long, twitchy athletes at premium spots. Henry Jr. gives Ryan Day a prototype outside weapon for the next era of Brian Hartline’s receiver room.

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Timmons projects as the next in a growing line of NFL-caliber Buckeye corners, while Wilder and Quinn give Ohio State the kind of front-seven juice it needs to keep harassing Big Ten and playoff quarterbacks for years.

When you add in four-star safety Eli Johnson, who chose OSU over Texas and Michigan, the future spine of the defense looks loaded at every level.

Offensively, the Buckeyes are complementing that star power with smart roster building. They recently flipped in-state tight end Nick Lautar from Louisville, adding a 6-foot-5 pass catcher who posted 511 yards and eight touchdowns as a high school senior.

Lautar became Ohio State’s 27th commitment in the 2026 class and the 10th in-state pledge, another example of the staff locking down Ohio talent while poaching high-upside pieces from around the country.

Put it all together and the picture is clear: while this year’s Buckeyes chase a national title on the field, the next generation is already lining up behind them.

Three No. 1 players at their positions, headline flips on both lines of scrimmage, and steady in-state additions have Ohio State building the kind of class that can keep them in the playoff conversation well into the 2030s.