One of Ohio State's top recruits, David Gabriel-Georges, had a great visit to Tennessee, and his future in Columbus is unlikely.
One of the best running back prospects in the last five to ten years is coming out of high school next year, and he is a top recruit for the Buckeyes for the 2027 class.
Running back David Gabriel-Georges is a legitimate five-star prospect coming from Chattanooga, Tennessee. As it stands right now, it is the Buckeyes recruiting against four SEC schools: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Georgia.
It is a tall task for the Buckeyes to compete, but prior to last weekend, Ohio State felt it had a great chance to land the five-star prospect.
Gabriel-Georges did his official visit in Columbus at the end of May, and from all reports, it was a great visit for the star back. Then came his official visit to Tennessee.
Gabriel-Georges was down in Tennessee this past weekend for his official visit there, and unfortunately for the Buckeyes, it was a great weekend for him. Not only was he posing with his family and doing all of the cool social media things, but the reports are that Tennessee is going to have the financial pull to make a big swing at the Gabriel-Georges.
All of the figures at this point are speculative, but there is absolutely a bidding war that is happening behind the scenes. After his visit to Ohio State, Letterman Row's Alex Gleitman reported that the Buckeyes were "all in" on the back. Now, what that means is behind the scenes. We can deduce that last year, the number two back was Savion Hiter, who committed to Michigan on a package that was between $600,000 and $800,000.
Using that as a baseline, the package for Gabriel-Georges will likely be north of that. That is a price tag that the Buckeyes are typically not committing to a back.
While the Buckeyes are believed to be all-in, so are the Tennessee Volunteers. On3's Chad Simmons reported that "nobody will be able to touch what Tennessee has in store from an NIL standpoint."
Everyone has a price, and everyone has a breaking point. Gabriel-Georges is seeking the highest price tag that he can command. For Tennessee, they are trying to price out the Buckeyes along with the rest of the competition that is in the running for the nation's top running back.
Gabriel-Georges could be a generational player for the Buckeyes, but they will have to be willing to pay up for him. The Gabriel-Georges sweepstakes will come to a close soon, and we will all find out if the Buckeyes are an actual player in it or not.
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