Ohio State has offered another Ohio senior who is already committed somewhere else. This time it is Tristin Hughes, a safety from Rocky River High School in the Cleveland suburbs who has been committed to Kentucky since April.
Allen Trieu of Rivals reported the offer on Monday morning, writing that Ohio State “has continued its in-state senior offers” with this one. Dan Hessler of Land-Grant Holy Land followed on Tuesday with Hughes’ own post announcing it. 247Sports’ timeline for Hughes dates the offer October 19.
Where his recruitment stands
Hughes committed to Kentucky on April 18, the morning of the Wildcats’ spring game. Brady Thomas of A Sea of Blue reported that day that he chose Kentucky over Ohio State, Michigan, Louisville and Virginia Tech. It was his second pledge: he had first committed to Syracuse, and 247Sports’ timeline shows him backing out of that one on February 19.
His 247Sports page, read Thursday morning, still shows a hard commitment to Kentucky stamped 4/18/2026. It carries three Crystal Ball predictions, and all three date to his spring decision: two for Virginia Tech logged on March 30, and one for Kentucky logged the morning he committed. None names Ohio State. The same page lists Ohio State’s interest as “Cool”, which it has not updated for the offer.
Hughes has kept looking since April. 247Sports lists official visits to Virginia Tech on May 29, Kentucky on June 5 and Purdue on June 12. Adam Luckett of Kentucky Sports Radio reported on September 23 that Louisville would get him on campus that week for an official visit. 247Sports’ timeline does not list that trip, and no outlet we read has said whether he made it.
How late Ohio State is
Hessler did not dress it up. Ohio State is “getting into his recruitment late,” he wrote, and Hughes has given no hint that he is leaving Kentucky. He also reported that Hughes visited Ohio State this spring and that the visit seemed to go well before “the relationship seemed to fizzle out” and Kentucky moved ahead. His read is that Ohio State will likely need to get Hughes back to Columbus for a game day visit to have a chance.
That cannot happen for at least two more weekends. Hessler notes Ohio State is in its bye week after beating Indiana 19-15, and its next game is on the road at USC.
The player
247Sports lists Hughes as a safety at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. Both of its rating blocks give him four stars. The 247Sports Composite, which averages the major services, has him No. 276 nationally, No. 16 at athlete and No. 11 in Ohio. 247Sports’ own rating files him No. 15 at athlete and No. 14 in Ohio.
He plays both ways. The junior statistics on his 247Sports page credit him with 65 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles on defense, plus 75 catches for 1,332 yards and 17 touchdowns and another 10 touchdowns rushing.
The catches have kept coming this fall. Gary Adornato of High School On SI reported that Hughes became Rocky River’s career receptions leader on October 8, catching seven passes for 93 yards in a 48-19 win over Westlake. That gave him 110 career catches, one more than the record held by Patrick Conners, a 2015 graduate, and left Rocky River 8-0.
Where it fits
Ohio State’s 2027 class has 20 commitments and two safeties in it, Eli Johnson of Cibolo Steele in Texas and Angelo Smith of Chaminade-Madonna in Florida. The full room is on the safety page.
The offer is also part of a pattern this month. Ohio State flipped Cleveland St. Ignatius linebacker James Conrad from Buffalo on October 15, and has offered Westerville North edge rusher Damion King, an Appalachian State commit, as we reported then. With Hughes, the next thing to watch is whether the Buckeyes can get him back on campus.
Correction, October 22: an earlier version of this story said Conners set the receptions record in 2015. High School On SI reports that he is a 2015 graduate who held the record; it does not say when he set it.
