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Four-star defensive lineman Karlos May ended a multi-conference recruiting battle over the weekend.
The Birmingham, Alabama native committed to Ohio State on Saturday, choosing the Buckeyes over Auburn, Georgia and Florida State.
Where does May rank in the class of 2027?
May is the No. 7 defensive line prospect, No. 2 prospect out of Alabama and No. 78 overall prospect on the Rivals 300 rankings for the class of 2027.
The 6-foot-2, 330-pounder finished his 2025 campaign at Ramsay High School with 43 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks. Additionally, May competes in shot put and discus as a member of Ramsay's track and field team.
Greg Biggins of Rivals said that May "has one of the best get-offs among all interior defensive linemen and should develop into a solid pass rusher as he adds more counters to the tool kit" in an evaluation from April.
Impact of May's decision on Ohio State's 2027 recruiting class
May is the latest addition to a well-rounded class for the Buckeyes at the point of attack. He marks the second top-10 defensive line commit to Ohio State's class; Marcus Fakatou, the No. 5 defensive lineman in the Rivals 300, committed to the Buckeyes on June 29.
On the exterior of the defensive line, the Buckeyes hold commitments from the No. 1 and No. 7 defensive ends in DJ Jacobs and Wyatt Smith. Ohio State also received commitments from interior offensive linemen Kellen Wymer and Caden Moss earlier in the cycle, both of whom rank among the top 10 prospects at the position.
Impact of May's decision on his other finalists
While missing on an in-state prospect hurts, Auburn currently has the strongest defensive line haul of May's other three finalists. The Tigers hold commitments from a pair of four-star defensive linemen from the Birmingham area in Donivan Moore and Marquis Evans, and they went into Charlotte for fellow four-star defensive lineman Nate Kamba.
Georgia was heavily invested in the recruitment of both May and Fakatou before they committed to Ohio State. The Bulldogs' current defensive line haul consists of a top-40 commit in Antwan McKoy and an in-state pledge in Marcellus Young Casario, but they were hoping for more at the position.
Florida State holds the fewest blue-chip commits of any of May's four finalists, but one of those six blue-chip commitments is from Sam LeJeune, the No. 25 defensive lineman in the class. Three-star defensive lineman Eric Vaulx Jr. also committed to the Seminoles on May 31.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq as College Football's No. 7 DL Makes Decision That Shakes Up Three Major Programs.
