Utah football misses out on top-ranked offensive lineman recruit to Big 12 school

Utes miss out on Felix Ojo

Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Felix Ojo, considered by many as the top-ranked offensive lineman recruit in the 2026 class, announced his commitment to Texas Tech from Lake Ridge High School on Friday.

The Utah Utes were thought to be in the running to land the five-star prospect after hosting him on an official visit during the third weekend of June — only for Ojo to narrow down his finalists to Texas, Ohio State, Michigan and Texas Tech following his trip to Salt Lake City.

Ojo was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 offensive lineman and the No. 5 recruit nationally in the class of 2026. He was also the No. 2-rated high school junior from the state of Texas behind Houston commit and five-star quarterback Keisean Henderson.

The 6-foot-6 Ojo was pursued by all the top programs in the country and went on official visits with Florida, Ole Miss and Colorado — in addition to visits with each of his finalists. He had a trip to Norman, Oklahoma, lined up for June 20 before deciding to visit with Kyle Whittingham and his coaching staff instead. Ojo received 50 scholarship offers during his recruitment, according to 247Sports, including from Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon and Penn State, among others.

From recent commits to coaches alike, the Utah football program put in a lot of legwork trying to land a pledge from Ojo. Class of 2026 quarterback commit Michael Johnson and running back commit LaMarcus Bell tried to sway Ojo through their own creative social media posts prior to Ojo's Utah visit.

Despite missing on Ojo, Utah did expand its 2026 recruiting class recently with a commitment from four-star offensive lineman Kelvin Obot. The Utes also landed top-ranked junior college tight end prospect, Josiah Jefferson.

Jefferson and Ojo visited Utah's campus with three-star wide receiver Kennan Pula (No. 68-ranked wide receiver in 2026 class) and his brother Jaron Pula (No. 61 wide receiver) — both from Lone Peak High School — plus Aisa Galea'i (No. 81 safety) from Timpview High School.

Utah secured pledges from Galea'i and the Pula brothers within the past two weeks.

The Utes also received a pledge from three-star cornerback prospect Dylan Waters (No. 97 cornerback).

Utah landed three-stars Rowdy Pearce (ranked as the No. 94 offensive lineman in the 2026 class), Perrion Williams (No. 73 wide receiver in the class), Bear Fisher (No. 118 tight end) and Javion Ramon (No. 94 edge rusher).

LaGary Mitchell (No. 77 linebacker), Major Hinchen (No. 123 cornerback), and Carter Stewart (No. 164 cornerback) have also committed to Utah, as well as three-star Preston Pitts (No. 39 edge rusher). Johnson and Bell were also graded as three-stars.