Ohio State lost out on another recruiting battle to new Big Ten rival Oregon on Saturday afternoon when Cleveland Shaker Heights five-star 2025 safety Trey McNutt committed to the Ducks over the Buckeyes, Texas A&M, Florida and USC.
McNutt is the top-rated safety in the class as well as the 19th-best overall player and No. 2-ranked player in Ohio. The five-star pushed his commitment date back from July 19 to this Saturday, which appeared to give the Ducks even more momentum after emerging as the favorites near the tail-end of his recruitment.
Ohio State was seen as the favorite to land the five-star for much of his recruitment, but Oregon appeared to move past the Buckeyes after the five-star did not take an official visit to Columbus in June and instead opted to visit Eugene, Ore. for his final official visit on June 21.
A commitment from McNutt would have further fortified an Ohio State 2025 recruiting class that already has pledges from five-star cornerbacks Devin Sanchez (6-2, 170) of Houston (Texas) North Shore and Na’Eem Offord (6-1, 185) of Birmingham (Ala.) Parker, the top two-rated cornerbacks in the class.
Instead, the Buckeyes will now be searching to add a different talented safety to add to the group, while the Ducks gain their second five-star in the class, joining Duncanville, Texas, wide receiver Dakorien Moore (5-11, 182) and Tampa (Fla.) Tampa Bay Tech wide receiver Dallas Wilson (6-3, 195), to add to what is now ranked as the 12th-ranked recruiting class in the nation.
This is not the first time Ohio State has lost out on a recruit to Oregon in what has turned into a budding rivalry between the two college football titans. Conroe, Texas, five-star cornerback Dorian Brew (6-0, 200) pledged to the Ducks over the Buckeyes on June 29, while former four-star wide receiver Jeremiah McLellan flipped his commitment from Ohio State to Oregon back on the first day of the Early Signing Period this past December.
Oregon also secured a commitment on June 28 from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star running back Jordan Davison (6-0, 216), who Ohio State strongly pursued and hosted on June 21.
