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They don’t hand out offseason championships in college football, but if they did, Ohio State would be No. 1 in every poll. After receiving a commitment from top-rated 2025 safety Faheem Delane Sunday, the Buckeyes are No. 1 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
Delane is a big get for the Buckeyes and a player they’ve targeted at the top of their board for a while. He was originally offered by the Buckeyes in May 2022 when Perry Eliano was still the team’s safeties coach. After Tim Walton became the new secondary coach in Columbus, he picked up where Eliano left off with Delane, and his persistence was rewarded.
Delane is the top-rated player from the state of Maryland and the No. 50 player in the 2025 class, per 247Sports. As you’d expect of a premier talent at a premium position, Delane had offers from nearly everybody. Oregon was seen as Ohio State’s primary competition, but Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, LSU, and every other blue-blood program you can probably think of were after Delane.
The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:
An aggressive back-seven defender that can cover the pass, defend the run, and get home on the blitz. Owns a college-ready frame having measured roughly 6-foot-2.5, 200 pounds summer before junior season. Quick to trigger and tends to play with tons of confidence. Has been utilized primarily as a box safety and a slot corner at the prep level and found plenty of success in both roles. Physical more times than not and always looking to deliver a blow. Serviceable in man-to-man situations and held his own at Under Armour’s Future annual event, producing a pair of takeaways. However, can lose track of wide receivers in the deeper third and lacks the foot speed to recover. Should be viewed as a potential impact player in the secondary for a Power Five program that can do a little bit of everything. Likely to find the most success in a defensive scheme that has him forward-facing and constantly puts him in position to make plays. Has what it takes to get on the field sooner rather than later like his brother, who starred as a freshman at Virginia Tech.
The safety position is an important one in Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense — hence the reason why the Buckeyes so aggressively pursued five-star transfer Caleb Downs — and Delane projects as the type of player who could contribute immediately in a limited role as a freshman before growing into the top spot on the depth chart.
His addition to Ohio State’s class gives the Buckeyes 14 total commits in their 2025 class, all of whom are ranked as four-stars or higher. He also nudges the Buckeyes past Notre Dame for the No. 1 spot in the team rankings despite Ohio State having seven fewer commits than the Fighting Irish.