A recently surfaced detail from Marcus Fakatou’s recruitment reveals that Georgia head coach Kirby Smart used a facilities comparison to make his case against Ohio State during the five-star defensive lineman’s visit to Athens.

Smart told Fakatou: “I was asking how many stations Ohio State has. They only have one. We have four.”

Fakatou committed to Ohio State on June 29.

Fakatou said ‘he has never failed me’ about Larry Johnson

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Smart’s pitch was built around Georgia’s position strength development infrastructure, drawing a contrast with what he described as Ohio State’s more limited setup for defensive linemen. The argument was not enough. When Fakatou announced his commitment, the person he specifically credited was Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

“He has never failed me,” Fakatou said, per Hayes Fawcett of Rivals. Johnson has produced more first-round defensive linemen than any position coach in NFL Draft history, and his track record is routinely the decisive factor in how Ohio State wins elite defensive line recruits against programs with competitive NIL offers, facilities, and brand.

BREAKING: Elite 2027 DL Marcus Fakatou has Committed to Ohio State, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’7 265 DL chose the Buckeyes over Texas and Georgia

He’s ranked as the No. 2 DL in the 2027 Rivals Industry Rankings 🌰

“He has never failed me.”https://t.co/uJVAahVKK3 pic.twitter.com/qvBXDxGY8S

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 29, 2026

Georgia had genuine momentum in the recruitment through late spring. Fakatou took an official visit to Athens on June 1, and reporting from multiple sources indicated the Bulldogs impressed him and entered the final decision as a legitimate contender alongside Ohio State and Texas.

Per Notre Dame insider Ryan Roberts, Georgia was considered a firm top-three team entering the stretch run. Smart’s personal involvement in the pitch was evident, with the head coach making the facilities argument directly rather than leaving it to his assistants.

Fakatou, who stands 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds and played at Sierra Canyon High School in California, is the No. 2 defensive lineman in the 2027 recruiting class by the Rivals Industry Rankings and the No. 26 overall prospect by the 247Sports composite.

He chose Ohio State over Texas and Georgia and joins fellow five-star defensive end DJ Jacobs in Ryan Day’s 2027 defensive line class. The commitment helped push Ohio State into the top six of national class rankings.

Georgia’s defensive line infrastructure has produced top NFL prospects consistently and its position coaching staff at that unit is among the best in the country. The specific comparison, however, did not land with the one recruit it was designed to reach, which now gives Ohio State fans a piece of recruiting lore they will not be letting go of any time soon.