Five Ohio State Recruiting Battles That Could Shape the 2027 Class
When it comes to covering Ohio State football, few recruiting analysts have earned the respect of Buckeye fans quite like Bill Landis. His reporting has long been a trusted source for recruiting news, roster analysis and the inner workings of Ryan Day's program.
Recently, Landis ranked what he believes are Ohio State's five most important remaining recruiting targets in the 2027 class, offering insight into where the Buckeyes are focusing much of their energy as official visit season unfolds.
Using Landis' rankings as the foundation, the next step was going to Rivals under the ON3 umbrella and find out where these elite recruits are ranked on their 2027 recruiting rankings.
Two Things About Ohio State Moving Forward
Brian Hartline Is Gone. Will Ohio State's Recruiting Pitch Change?
For nearly a decade, Ohio State sold one message to elite wide receivers:
Come to Columbus. Catch footballs. Become a first-round NFL Draft pick.
Hartline wasn't simply a receivers coach. He became arguably the greatest wide receiver recruiter in college football, helping sign and develop players like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate before departing to become South Florida's head coach after the 2025 season.
Now comes one of the biggest questions facing Ryan Day.
Can Ohio State maintain "Wide Receiver U" without the man who built it?
Arthur Smith Changes the Conversation
Smith wasn't hired because he recruits better than Hartline.
He was hired because he has something very few college assistants possess:
Years of NFL play-calling experience. Day has said he wanted that experience after Hartline's departure, continuing a trend of bringing former NFL head coaches into key coordinator roles.
That could alter Ohio State's recruiting pitch.
Instead of saying...
"Brian Hartline develops first-round receivers."
The Buckeyes can now say...
"Learn an NFL offense from an NFL head coach and offensive coordinator before you ever enter the NFL Draft."
Will that matter?
