In Buckeye Breakfast, Eddrick Houston describes how Ohio State nearly lost the five-star recruit to Alabama.
Columbus, Ohio To find out if five-star Eddrick Houston would remain a Buckeye, Ohio State had to wait until the very last minute.
Although the country’s No. 26 player and No. 5 defensive lineman had committed since August, it was unclear on Signing Day which way he would choose due to Alabama’s late push. However, OSU was able to hold off the Crimson Tide in the end, and Larry Johnson was hired as defensive line coach, marking his seventh consecutive five-star recruit. Nick Bosa (2016), Chase Young (2017), Zach Harrison (2018), Taron Vincent (2018), Jack Sawyer, and J.T. Tuimoloau (2021) are among the players Houston joins.
Houston allegedly had second thoughts because of the possibility that Johnson was getting close to retirement and the possibility that NIL benefits might be available elsewhere. However, he later disclosed in an interview that he was having second thoughts for more urgent reasons, and that head coach Ryan Day had to speak with him at nine in the morning to prevent him from leaving.
