Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes Land Disappointing Ranking ...

By Matthew Schmidt

Contributing Sports Writer

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The Ohio State Buckeyes have long been known as one of the top recruiting schools in the country, and very recently, many considered them to be the very best in the business thanks much in part to the genius of head coach Ryan Day.

Last year's 2025 recruiting class was historically good for Ohio State, and while this year's class is solid, it certainly isn't quite as good as last season's, and after early national signing day, ESPN's Craig Haubert ranked the Buckeyes' 2026 recruiting class eighth, which is relatively low for the powerhouse in Columbus.

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"The rest of the Buckeyes' class has started to take shape around [Chris] Henry," Haubert wrote. "The team has added multiple SC Next 300 prospects and assembled a large, deep class. Among key four-star commits is Blaine Bradford out of Louisiana and linebacker Simeon Caldwell out of Florida. C.J. Sanna is a prospect we like on tape; he is a big, physical linebacker with excellent range and is a bit of an underrated pickup for this talented class. In-state offensive tackle Maxwell Riley is impressive changing direction and finishes plays with the type of nastiness that will endear him to fans in Columbus."

The review from Haubert is certainly nice, but it's definitely strange to see Ohio State ranked outside the top five in any recruiting class.

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It's easy to understand why the Buckeyes' 2026 class isn't among the elite of the elite, as they have struggled to land top-tier defensive linemen, especially along the edge.

It's a rather new struggle for Ohio State given how many top-tier pass rushers have come through Columbus, but it exists, nonetheless.

Regardless, the Buckeyes went 12-0 during the regular season and will be facing the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten title game this Saturday in a matchup of the No. 1 and 2-ranked teams in the country.

Funny enough, as stacked as Ohio State was last year, it actually lost two games during the regular season before embarking on its dominant College Football Playoff run en route to a national championship.

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Whether or not the undefeated Buckeyes can enjoy the same type of run this winter remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that Ohio State remains a national title favorite.

Is it possible this Buckeyes squad is actually better than last year's? It seems doubtful, but we are about to find out.

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