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Ohio State beats out Alabama, Penn State for 4-star Cleveland edge
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Cincere Johnson is staying home. The blue-chip edge defender from Cleveland announced his commitment to play for Ohio State on Thursday.
Out of Glenville (Ohio) High School, Johnson is listed as measuring 6-3 and 240 pounds. On the 247Sports Composite, Johnson is rated 4-stars, the No. 2 player in the state of Ohio, No. 8 edge rusher and No. 71 prospect overall in the Class of 2026.
Johnson was widely recruited by top programs in the Big Ten and around the country. He picked up scholarship offers from 34 schools, including Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mizzou, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M, Purdue, Stanford, UCLA, Pittsburgh, USC and Wisconsin.
Johnson told Hayes Fawcett of On3 that he chose Ohio State over Alabama and Penn State. He took recent visits to all 3 programs.
With Johnson in the class, the Buckeyes now have 16 verbal commitments in their 2026 recruiting class, which ranks No. 2 nationally on the Composite. Fans who aren’t familiar with Glenville football can get a preview of what Johnson brings to Columbus by checking out his junior-season highlights in the video below, via Hudl:
A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.