Heading into his official visit to Ohio Statethis weekend, Florida Stateand Tennesseewere in the lead for Troy (Ala.) Enterprise four-star EDGE Zion Grady. Yet he was already feeling good about the Buckeyes after enjoying his first trip to Columbus from May 3-5.
Ohio State offered Grady later than other schools in early February, but the Big Ten program has been recruiting the 6-foot-4, 225-pound pass rusher hard since then. Grady’s official to the Buckeyes impressed him so much that it “put them over many other schools” and caused him to privately commit to head coach Ryan Dayand associate head coach/defensive line coach Larry Johnson on campus before publicly announcing his decision on Monday.
“They’re a really good program,” Grady told On3. “They showed me everything that will help me outside of football. They’re very detailed and that really helped me make my decision. Ohio State has everything that I am looking for.”
Grady got a “different” feeling during his official visit to Ohio State. He credited that to the players, coaches and staff around the program.
The No. 6 player in Alabama sensed a brotherhood in Columbus, which impressed him. Some of the Buckeyes’ top commits were also on campus for their official visits alongside Grady.
“One of the highlights of my visit was the people,” said Grady, the No. 79 overall prospect and No. 11 EDGE in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking. “They were very welcoming. I liked how detailed they were and spending time with coach Johnson.”
Grady is excited to play for Day and Johnson
The Ohio State assistant ended up making a big impact on Grady’s decision. That is because of how he believes Johnson can help him grow as a player throughout his college football career.
Grady also appreciated Johnson’s honesty when speaking with him, which included a conversation about how he can improve his game. Johnson has helped send multiple Buckeyes defensive linemen to the NFL as top draft picks including Joey Bosa, Nick Bosaand Chase Young, and Grady is hoping that he ends up in the same place following his Ohio State career.
“He’s got a very good track record of developing players for the league,” Grady said. “I feel like he can develop me.”
During Grady’s visit to Ohio State last month, he toured the Buckeyes’ campus and met with Johnson. That trip caused the former Alabamacommit to leave Ohio State “with a good feeling” and a realization that he could see himself pledging to the national championship contender.
Grady had a sense that he could potentially commit to the Buckeyes this weekend after taking official visits to Miami(May 31-June 2), Florida State(June 7-9), Auburn(June 10-12) and Tennessee(June 14-16). That hunch eventually came true as he became the latest top-100 recruit to join Ohio State’s No. 1 ranked 2025 recruiting class, which includes a pledge from another talented Alabama recruit in Birmingham (Ala.) Parker Five-Star Plus+ cornerback Na’eem Offord.
“They were excited,” Grady said about Day and Johnson’s reaction to his commitment. “They were cheering me on.”
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