Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes Battling for Elite 5-Star EDGE

The Ohio State Buckeyes are among the final four teams for 5-star EDGE Carter Meadows, one of the top recruits in the Class of 2026.

Ohio State Buckeye head coach Ryan Day watches his team in the 2nd half during the spring game at Ohio Stadium on April 12, 2025. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Over the last decade, the Ohio State Buckeyes have proven to be one of the best places in the country to develop if you're a defensive end. Look at players like Jack Sawyer, Chase Young, and Joey Bosa, all of which made it to the NFL and had a shot at massive contracts right out of college.

That's going to be the pitch Ohio State leads with in an attempt to gain a commitment from edge rusher Carter Meadows, who has his potential programs down to four. However, there are numerous teams aiming to make a similar pitch as the Buckeyes will have competition in the pursuit of the star defensive end.

Meadows has trimmed his final teams down to four, and Ohio State will see a few familiar names on the list. It will be battling, per Steve Wiltfong, Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina.

Per 247Sports, Meadows is the 4th-best edge in the Class of 2026, so he's certainly a name to keep an eye on. Maryland and Notre Dame have the top two at the position with the third-best recruit, Trenton Henderson, having yet to have a Crystal Ball Prediction.

Washington (DC) Gonzaga 5-star edge Carter Meadows has his final four in Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and South Carolina with OVs set for the summer. He talks about each program and what he’s looking for in a school here: https://t.co/Z1dRBv4w9H pic.twitter.com/a4bIJ0BHw9

— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong_) May 9, 2025

Ohio State has some incoming talent in Zion Grady and Epi Sitanilei, both of which are four-star recruits in the Class of 2025, but it doesn't have a top-10 player at the position coming to Columbus this upcoming season. Without a top Class of 2026 at defensive end, this will certainly be a positional group that Matt Patricia and company need to target or plan to find talent from in the transfer portal.

Nonetheless, the pitch at the position for Ohio State is easy, and there's certainly potential that the Washington D.C.-native Meadows, who stands 6-foot-6 and comes in at 215 pounds, finds his way to the Buckeyes in the coming years.