Things are changing quickly in the Ohio high school football landscape.
The rivals returned this winter this four-star defensive back of 2025 Trey McNutt was facing a suspension for participating in a 7-on-7 tournament. The defender played with Team Fast Houston in the Battle Miami tournament in January and in another tournament the following week.
I spoke with Doug Ute, the OHSAA executive director, who said a rule change was under consideration.
“It’s a rule that is in our general sporting regulations for football,” Ute said in February. “I would just say that we’ve had conversations over the last few years with our member schools, our coaches association, to evaluate off-season participation opportunities for student-athletes. One of the things we’ve done is to moving our date from June 1 to May 15. That would help some of the combines that are out there.
“Most schools close in mid-May anyway. So they start their summer there. This is something we’ve done to modify that. We continue to have these discussions about what other opportunities that should be offered to our student-athletes during the offseason, especially with football.
It now appears that the rule will change. There’s a lot of talk that the rule will be changed very soon and will allow Ohio football players to play 7-on-7. McNutt says it’s a big day for Ohio athletes.
“I’m extremely happy that the rule has changed, Ohio kids deserve to be able to do this and stay active during the offseason,” McNutt said. “Now every child in Ohio has the chance to rise and no longer be limited.”
We’ve already heard from elite prospects that they’ll play immediately. Four-star defensive back Class of 2026 Elbert Hill told me he will be playing for South Florida Express next weekend in the OT7 tournament. This Dallas tournament will also see the 2025 four-star defensive back Dawayne Galloway playing for Fast Houston.
Expect more of Ohio’s top athletes to quickly find teams in the coming days.
