Ohio State is adding a 28th member to its 2026 signing class.
Four-star running back/wide receiver Legend Bey, who was committed to Ohio State before signing with Tennessee earlier this month, announced Tuesday that he would sign with the Buckeyes after requesting and receiving his release from his scholarship agreement with Tennessee.
BREAKING: Four-Star ATH Legend Bey is signing with Ohio State, he tells me for @rivalsHe was officially granted his release from Tennessee earlier this evening
Bey is ranked as the No. 4 ATH in the 2026 Rivals300https://t.co/Jb01N9Pzze pic.twitter.com/cS6m7lAUib
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 16, 2025
While Bey signed with Tennessee on signing day, it quickly became apparent that Bey didn’t actually want to be a Volunteer. According to multiple reports, Bey was coerced into signing with Tennessee by family members. Bey’s mother refused to sign off on Bey signing with the Buckeyes, and Rivals’ Keegan Pope reported that “sources close to the situation have cast doubt about whether it was Bey or someone else who signed the paperwork that was ultimately sent to Tennessee.”
In a quickly deleted tweet one day after his signing, Bey indicated that his mother and older brother would not allow him to sign with the school he wanted to.
_0.jpeg "Legend Bey tweet")
It became even more apparent last week that Bey still wanted to be a Buckeye when he posted pictures of himself wearing Ohio State apparel on his Instagram account, captioning his post “Imma do my own thing.”
While Bey couldn’t sign with Ohio State without a parent’s approval during the early signing period, as he was only 17 at the time, he’s set to turn 18 on Dec. 24. He cannot officially sign with Ohio State right now, because the early signing period is over, but he’s expected to enroll at OSU in January.
Bey will add an explosive and versatile offensive weapon to Ohio State’s 2026 freshman class. Listed as an athlete by recruiting services, Bey played quarterback at North Forney (Texas) High School but is expected to play running back at Ohio State, with the versatility to also play wide receiver.
Bey, who’s been clocked at 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10.23 seconds in the 100-meter dash, is ranked as the No. 175 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite for the 2026 class.
Bey joins a class that includes one running back (four-star prospect Favour Akih) and four wide receivers (five-star Chris Henry Jr., four-stars Jerquaden Guilford and Jaeden Ricketts and three-star Brock Boyd) among 27 other signees.
Class of 2026 Commits
Pos
Name
Rating
Rank
Size
School
WR
#10 NATL | #1 WR
6-5 | 205
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California)
DE
#42 NATL | #2 DL
6-4 | 260
Junipero Serra (Gardena, California)
LB
#50 NATL | #3 LB
6-3 | 222
Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio)
OT
#51 NATL | #6 OT
6-8 | 315
Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio)
CB
#64 NATL | #7 CB
5-11 | 185
Pine-Richland (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania)
S
#71 NATL | #7 S
6-1 | 207
Catholic (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
CB
#123 NATL | #15 CB
6-1 | 185
Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey)
WR
#137 NATL | #22 WR
6-3 | 190
Northrop (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
OL
#171 NATL | #7 IOL
6-5 | 280
Avon Lake (Avon Lake, Ohio)
ATH
#175 NATL | #9 ATH
5-11 | 175
North Forney (Forney, Texas)
S
#186 NATL | #10 LB
6-3 | 185
The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Florida)
DT
#194 NATL | #22 DL
6-3 | 275
St. Augustine Prep (Richland, New Jersey)
RB
#244 NATL | #17 RB
6-0 | 190
Rutherford B Hayes (Delaware, Ohio)
DT
#247 NATL | #29 DL
6-4 | 295
Bessemer City (Bessemer, Alabama)
LB
#252 NATL| #15 LB
6-3 | 225
Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio)
LB
#358 NATL | #22 LB
6-5 | 200
Mill Creek (Hoschton, Georgia)
DE
#365 NATL | #36 EDGE
6-4 | 228
Buford (Buford, Georgia)
S
#395 NATL | #35 CB
6-0 | 190
St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Maryland)
WR
#424 NATL | #62 WR
6-0 | 187
Watkins Memorial (Pataskala, Ohio)
TE
#543 NATL | #29 TE
6-5 | 230
Lebanon (Lebanon, Ohio)
S
#547 NATL | #44 S
6-2 | 200
Olentangy (Lewis Center, Ohio)
OL
#574 NATL | #45 IOL
6-5 | 280
Sandra Day O’Connor (Phoenix, Arizona)
DL
#602 NATL | #72 DL
6-3 | 270
Acadiana (Lafayette, Louisiana)
WR
#602 NATL | #84 WR
6-1 | 180
Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
QB
#631 NATL | #37 QB
6-0 | 185
Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, California)
DT
#772 NATL | #86 DL
6-4 | 360
Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio)
OT
#864 NATL | #77 OT
6-5 | 280
Mentor (Mentor, Ohio)
OL
#1007 NATL | #81 IOL
6-4 | 285
St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
Prospect Rating Data: 247Sports Composite
Bey is expected to be the final addition to Ohio State’s 2026 high school recruiting class, which is now ranked as the fifth-best class in the country behind only USC, Alabama, Oregon and Notre Dame. It’s Ohio State’s seventh straight top-five national recruiting class, the second-longest streak in the country behind only Alabama’s streak of 19 years.
Bey originally committed to Tennessee in June, but flipped his commitment to Ohio State in November after making an official visit for the Buckeyes’ win over Penn State. During his signing event at North Forney High School on Dec. 4, Bey indicated that he planned to sign with Ohio State before signing with Tennessee later that day.
Now, Bey will be a Buckeye after all.