Tag: Brady Smigiel

Ohio State football misses on another 2026 quarterback, Brady Smigiel

On to the next one for the Buckeyes in 2026. #GoBucks

Although it is extremely early in the 2026 cycle, Ohio State football might be falling behind the eight-ball with its recruitment of quarterbacks.

Some of the Buckeyes top targets like Jared Curtis, and Dia Bell have already made their choices to played elsewhere. You can now add [autotag]Brady Smigiel[/autotag] to that list because on Saturday afternoon he committed to Florida State. The 6-foot, 5-inch, 205-pound Californian is ranked as the nation’s No. 53 overall player and 5th quarterback according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Ohio State annually brings in top quarterback talent, which could be an issue for the 2026 class as it looks at depth charts. Anyone that commits now will most likely have to wait behind Julian Sayin or Air Noland for their turn if they were to choose the Buckeyes.

Since Smigiel is now off the board, you can expect Ohio State to turn up the heat on Faizon Brandon, Jonas Williams and Jaden O’Neal (who is set to make a commitment on Monday.)

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Elite 2026 QB from West Coast touring several Florida schools

The Florida Gators will be the first of the Sunshine State Big 3 to host Brady Smigiel as the four-star quarterback tours the state.

The University of Florida will be the first stop on a tour of the Sunshine State Big 3 this week for Newbury Park (California) quarterback [autotag]Brady Smigiel[/autotag], according to Greg Biggins of Swamp247.

The West Coast native will spend his spring break as many do, in Florida, but he’ll be on a stricter itinerary than most. Smigiel is in Gainesville on Friday, Miami on Easter Sunday and the week ends in Tallahassee at Florida State on April 5.

“I’m very excited,” Smigiel said. “With the Florida schools, the timing works out really well and I have good connections at all three schools. With Florida, our DC here is Ron Wilford and his son CJ is an assistant coach there so I’m excited to get out there and catch up with everyone.

Smigiel is still a sophomore, but quarterbacks are the first to go in each recruiting class and he has his pick. Washington will host him on an unofficial April 19, and he’ll hit the top of the Big Ten — Michigan and Ohio State — over June 18-20.

“Right now, I’m still very open to everyone and not leaning anywhere,” he said. “I’m staying patient and don’t want to commit too early because I don’t want to be that guy who commits, then de-commits and goes through it all over again. I’ll narrow things down before my junior year but right now, I’m still wide open.”

Recruiting Summary

The Oregon Ducks are at the top of the On3 recruiting prediction machine for Smigiel, with 30.5% odds of landing a commitment from him. Oregon State (14.0%), Notre Dame (12.0%) and Michigan (10.0%) round out the rest of the top four, but things are subject to change after this Florida tour ends.

Smiegel is ranked as high as fourth overall in the class of 2026 by Rivals.com — where he’s also a five-star recruit — but 247Sports has him as a four-star at No. 47 on the composite rankings.

What’s clear is that he’s among the top quarterbacks in his age group right now. The star rating business will sort itself out long after Billy Napier completes his evaluation.

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