Four-Star Clemson Safety Commit Flips To Ohio State

Clemson lost their second safety of 2026, with a four-star recruit flipping and signing his National Letter of Intent with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Clemson has suffered it's third flip of the recruiting season, with another four-star recruit taking their talents to Ohio State. | John Hulkenberg/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Four-star safety Kaden Gebhardt of Olentangy High School (Lewis Center, Ohio) flipped his commitment from Clemson to Ohio State after signing his National Letter of Intent for the program on Wednesday. 

BREAKING: Class of 2026 Safety Kaden Gebhardt has Flipped his Commitment from Clemson to Ohio State, he tells me for @rivals⁰⁰The 6’2 200 S had been Committed to the Tigers since March⁰⁰“Ohio’s where my heart is! I’m staying home! Go Bucks!”⁰⁰https://t.co/xfGstpFjWt pic.twitter.com/2Z3pDFGImp

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 3, 2025

To stay updated with Clemson Football and the incoming 2026 class, here's a look at Clemson on SI's Early Signing Day Tracker.

After spending nearly nine months committed to Clemson, the four-star recruit flipped to Ohio State just days after a prediction hinted he might reconsider. Gebhardt says he made the decision officially on Tuesday and told Clemson then.

He had taken eight total visits to his state’s program before committing to Clemson. His pledge to Dabo Swinney’s program held strong until November, when uncertainty surrounding the future of co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Mickey Conn introduced doubt. 

With Caleb Downs most likely leaving for the 2026 NFL Draft, Gebhardt enters a pretty young safety room headlined by Jaylen McClain, Faheem Delane and LeRoy Roker III (Delane and Roker will still be underclassmen by the time that Gebhardt enrolls).

According to 247Sports recruiting rankings, Gebhardt is the No. 526 player, the No. 25 safety and the No. 12 player in Ohio. Through four seasons of high school football, the 6-foot-2 safety amassed 418 tackles (104.5 tackles per year), 13 for a loss, one sack, 17 pass deflections and 11 interceptions.

Gebhardt earned All-OCC honors in all four years at Olentangy. He also received OCC Defensive Player of the Year recognition after his junior and senior seasons.

Before flipping his commitment to the Buckeyes on National Signing Day, Gebhardt was the Tigers’ second-highest rated safety recruit, sitting behind Kentavion Anderson, according to 247Sports. Now, with Gebhardt flipped and Blake Stewart decommitted, Anderson — a top 10 safety — is the lone recruit at his position for Clemson.

The Tigers and Dabo Swinney now have had four total decommitments in the class, including four-star defensive tackle Keshawn Stancil — who flipped to Miami in October — four-star edge rusher Dre Quinn — who decommitted and flipped to Ohio State in November — and three-star safety Blake Stewart, who decommitted the day before Stancil did. 

The loss of Gebhardt adds another wrinkle to Clemson’s 2026 recruiting class, which has seen more turnover than usual on the defensive side (other than last year). With only one safety currently committed, the Tigers may need to explore additional options before next season, whether through February signees or the transfer portal. How Clemson fills those remaining depth concerns will likely become clearer as the offseason progresses, especially with key evaluation periods still ahead.