Ohio State Buckeyes 2025 WR Target Speaks Out on Emotional Offer

Ohio State Buckeyes 2025 wide receiver target Preston Bowman spoke out about his emotional offer.

Sep 8, 2023; Pickerington, Ohio, USA; Pickerington North wide receiver Preston Bowman (1) celebrates a touchdown catch during the high school football game against the Pickerington Central Tigers at Pickerington High School North. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

The Ohio State Buckeyes seem to have lost out on one of their 2025 wide receiver targets.

Preston Bowman, a 3-star wide receiver hailing from Pickerington North High School in Pickerington, Ohio, decided to commit to the Kentucky Wildcats over the Buckeyes.

Despite his decision to commit to Kentucky over Ohio State, getting an offer from the Buckeyes was an extremely emotional moment for Bowman.

As he recently shared in an interview, Bowman lost a childhood friend after a pool-related incident back in 2022. After that, Bowman had promised his friend that he would work his way to getting an offer from Ohio State. He received that offer on June 23rd.

“It was definitely cool just with them being who they are and me being who I am getting that offer. I really was doing it for my friend who passed away, I promised him I was going to get one from Ohio State. I didn’t care how I got it, I just knew I was going to get it. It was great to get it.” 

He continued forward, talking about the emotions of the offer once he was able to process it.

“It definitely was (an emotional moment). There have also been ups and downs throughout this process. To finally fulfill that promise, it definitely hit me a little bit.”  

While getting the offer from his childhood favorite team was an awesome experience, Bowman had just committed to Kentucky less than 24 hours earlier.

Bowman has strongly stated that he is committed to the Wildcats. However, that could change over time as the idea of playing for his longtime favorite team continues to marinate in his brain.

At the very least, he was able to accomplish a promise that he made to his late friend. That is a great story in and of itself.

It will be interesting to see if Ohio State is able to flip his commitment at some point down the road. For now, it's just a great story about a young player with a big dream and a promise that he worked hard and accomplished.