There are few position coaches in college football with a résumé like Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson, and his latest recruiting haul is proof he hasn’t slowed down. The Buckeyes have landed four Top 100 prospects along the defensive line in the 2027 recruiting cycle a group that includes two five-stars and gives Ohio State one of the most talented, and most complete, defensive line classes in the entire country.
The headline names are DJ Jacobs, the nation’s top-ranked edge rusher, five-star lineman Marcus Fakatou, four-star edge Wyatt Smith, and the newest addition, four-star defensive tackle Karlos May. Together, this group represents a rare kind of recruiting run one that recruiting analysts have already compared to Johnson’s legendary 2021 haul that produced Jack Sawyer, Michael Hall Jr., and J.T. Tuimoloau.
In this post, we’ll break down each of the four commitments, look at what makes this class so special, and dig into what recruiting insiders are saying about Larry Johnson’s latest masterpiece.
Meet the Four Buckeyes Defensive Line Commits
1. DJ Jacobs — 5-Star Plus+, No. 1 EDGE in the Country
DJ Jacobs is the headliner of this class, and it isn’t particularly close. Out of Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia, Jacobs is the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle and the top-ranked edge rusher nationally. His commitment to Ohio State was considered a stunner at the time, especially given his deep family ties to Georgia — his father played defensive line for the Bulldogs, his mother played basketball there, and former Georgia coach Mark Richt is his godfather.
247Sports’ Director of Scouting, Andrew Ivins, described Jacobs as a defender with the tools to become a difference-maker at the college level and beyond, someone who could develop into a genuine problem for opposing offenses on Saturdays. Locking up a prospect of that caliber, over a program with such deep personal ties, was seen across the recruiting industry as one of the biggest wins of Ohio State’s entire cycle.
2. Marcus Fakatou — 5-Star, No. 2 DL Nationally
Marcus Fakatou gives Ohio State back-to-back five-star defensive line commitments, something the program hasn’t done since landing two in the 2021 cycle. A native of Chatsworth, California by way of Sierra Canyon High School, Fakatou chose the Buckeyes over Georgia and Texas after officially visiting Columbus.
Standing 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7 depending on the source, Fakatou is expected to begin his college career as an edge rusher, but his frame and skill set give Ohio State the flexibility to eventually kick him inside to defensive tackle if needed. In his own words, Fakatou said what stood out most to him about Ohio State was the track record of development under Larry Johnson, along with a coaching environment he could picture himself thriving in. His commitment made Ohio State one of just two programs nationally — alongside Texas Tech — with multiple five-star defensive linemen in the 2027 class.
3. Wyatt Smith — 4-Star, No. 7 EDGE
Wyatt Smith was the second defensive line domino to fall for Ohio State, committing in mid-May and giving the Buckeyes a second elite edge rusher to pair with Jacobs. Ranked among the top edge defenders in the class, Smith comes from strong football bloodlines — his father, Justin Smith, was a standout NFL defensive end, and recruiting analysts have pointed to that same kind of relentless, high-motor style in his own game.
Smith’s commitment was viewed as a key building block that helped set the tone for the rest of Ohio State’s defensive line class, giving the Buckeyes a second true blue-chip prospect on the edge before the bigger names started to follow.
4. Karlos May — 4-Star, No. 7 DL
Rounding out the class is Karlos May, a four-star defensive tackle out of Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Alabama. May’s commitment was the piece Ohio State needed most — a true interior defender to complement the trio of edge-capable linemen already in the class. He chose the Buckeyes over a finalist group of Auburn, Florida State, and Georgia, giving Larry Johnson the fourth and final building block of an already elite haul.
May’s addition was especially notable given how competitive his recruitment was down the stretch, with in-state Auburn pushing hard until the very end. Landing him not only completed the position group but also continued Ohio State’s growing pipeline of talent out of the state of Alabama.
What Makes This Class So Special
According to recruiting analysts, Ohio State is now tied for the most five-star defensive linemen in the entire 2027 class and tied for the most Top 100 defensive linemen nationally. It’s the first time the program has hit both of those marks since the historic 2021 haul that produced three future first-round-caliber defenders in Sawyer, Hall, and Tuimoloau.
What separates this class from a typical strong recruiting haul is the balance. Ohio State isn’t just stacking star ratings — it’s building a complete unit. Jacobs and Smith give the Buckeyes dominant, disruptive presences off the edge. Fakatou offers rare positional versatility with the frame to play inside or outside. And May fills the one true need the group had left: a physical, gap-shooting presence at defensive tackle.
Recruiting insiders have also pointed out that landing this group required Ohio State to be competitive on the NIL front, given how far the staff had to reach geographically — pulling elite prospects out of Georgia, California, and Alabama in the same cycle. It’s a sign of how much resource and priority Ohio State has put into rebuilding its trenches after the program’s struggles up front in recent postseason play.
Final Thoughts
Larry Johnson has built a reputation over more than a decade in Columbus as one of the best defensive line developers in college football, and this recruiting class might end up being one of the crown jewels of his career. Between a generational top-ranked prospect in DJ Jacobs, a second five-star in Marcus Fakatou, a bloodline talent in Wyatt Smith, and a physical space-eater in Karlos May, Ohio State’s defensive front is set up for the long haul.
As the 2027 cycle continues, it’s worth watching whether the Buckeyes can add even more firepower to this already loaded group but even if the class is finished today, Larry Johnson has once again proven why he remains one of the premier recruiters at his position in the entire country.
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