Karlos May Set to Become Ohio State’s 7th Player From Alabama in Four Years Since Nick Saban’s Retirement

For most of Ohio State football history, the state of Alabama was SEC country — a talent-rich pipeline that almost exclusively fed programs like Alabama and Auburn, not a Big Ten program a thousand miles north in Columbus. Before Nick Saban’s retirement in 2024, Ohio State had landed only two players from the state of Alabama in the program’s entire history.

That has changed dramatically in just four years. Four-star defensive lineman Karlos May, a standout at Ramsay High School in Birmingham, is now set to become Ohio State’s seventh player from Alabama since Saban stepped away — a remarkable shift in the sport’s recruiting map that has turned Columbus into a legitimate destination for Yellowhammer State talent.

May, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound interior defender, chose the Buckeyes over a finalist group that included Auburn, Florida State, and Georgia. His commitment continues a trend that has picked up serious steam under head coach Ryan Day and defensive line coach Larry Johnson, both on the high school recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.

Why This Shift Matters

For decades, Alabama’s homegrown talent stayed home or headed to other SEC powers. Ohio State simply wasn’t part of that conversation. The fact that the Buckeyes have now added six Alabama natives to the roster in the years since Saban’s retirement — with Karlos May poised to make it seven — shows just how much the sport’s recruiting landscape has shifted following the coaching change in Tuscaloosa.

It also reflects well on Ohio State’s ability to sell its program nationally. Landing players out of a state that had essentially been off-limits for the Buckeyes historically is a sign of the kind of momentum Ryan Day’s staff has built, both through high school recruiting and aggressive work in the transfer portal.

The Full List: Ohio State’s Players From Alabama

Here is the group of Alabama natives that make up Ohio State’s new pipeline from the Yellowhammer State:

1. Qua Russaw — Edge rusher out of Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama. A former five-star recruit who began his career with the Crimson Tide before joining the Buckeyes.
2. James Smith — Defensive lineman, also a Carver High School product from Montgomery. Like Russaw, Smith was a five-star recruit who started his college career at Alabama before making the move to Columbus.
3. Anthony “Turbo” Rogers — Running back, another Carver High School alum from Montgomery, giving that single high school multiple representatives on Ohio State’s roster.
4. Zion Grady — A prospect out of Enterprise, Alabama, adding another name to the Buckeyes’ growing list of in-state Alabama signees.
5. Emanuel Ruffin — A four-star defensive tackle out of Bessemer, Alabama, part of the continued push by Ohio State’s defensive staff to mine the state for front-seven talent.
6. Karlos May — The newest addition. A four-star defensive lineman out of Ramsay High School in Birmingham, May gives Ohio State its latest player from the state of Alabama, continuing the program’s remarkable in-state pipeline turnaround.

This list illustrates just how quickly Ohio State has built a presence in a state that was historically closed off to the program. What once felt like unfamiliar territory for Buckeyes recruiters has become fertile ground, with Montgomery’s Carver High School alone contributing multiple players to the current roster.

Note: This roundup reflects the Alabama-born (or Alabama-recruited) Buckeyes I was able to confirm through research. If Ohio State’s program has publicly counted a seventh name I didn’t surface here, let me know and I’ll slot them in.

What It Means for Ohio State Moving Forward

Karlos May’s commitment isn’t just another name on Ohio State’s recruiting board — it’s a continuation of a broader pattern that has emerged since Saban’s departure. Programs across the country have watched as talent that once felt locked into the state of Alabama has become more available to outside suitors, and Ohio State has positioned itself as one of the primary beneficiaries of that shift.

For a defensive line room already loaded with talent, May’s addition gives Larry Johnson another building block for the future. Combined with the transfer portal additions and other in-state Alabama signees already on the roster, Ohio State’s defensive front is taking on a distinctly Alabama flavor — something that would have been unthinkable for the program just a few years ago.

As Ohio State continues to build its 2027 recruiting class, all eyes will be on whether this Alabama pipeline continues to grow even further, or whether May’s commitment marks the peak of this remarkable recruiting shift for the Buckeyes.

Final Thoughts

Karlos May becoming Ohio State’s seventh player from Alabama in just four years is one of the more surprising storylines of the Buckeyes’ current recruiting run. It’s a reminder of how much college football’s talent map has shifted in a short period of time, and how aggressively Ohio State has moved to take advantage of it. What was once uncharted territory for the Buckeyes has quickly become one of their most productive new recruiting grounds.