Ryan Day’s recruiting streak at Ohio State is starting to look like a machine that just won’t quit. For the sixth straight cycle, the Buckeyes have landed a top-five class per the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. And now, with a flurry of spring commitments and momentum building early for 2026, they’re staring down a potential seventh. The class already sits at No. 3 nationally with 12 commits—including two five-stars and eight four-stars—and the energy in Columbus is palpable. But even as the recruiting trail burns hot, a cloud lingers in the background—a troubling admission from their ex-DC.
The buzz around Ohio State’s next wave picked up major steam thanks to insight from Steve Wiltfong, who laid out a roadmap that could get Ryan Day five more blue-chip gems: OL Felix Ojo and PJ Dean, Safety Bralan Womack, Linebacker Cincere Johnson, and RB Favour Akih.
Ojo is a 6-6, 275-pounder from Lake Ridge High School in Texas and No. 1 in-state.“When you just start at the five-stars, you start with Felix Ojo. He’s the number four player in the country, [the] number three offensive tackle. I know the On3 RPM favors Texas, but it seems like every cycle, Ohio State goes into the Lone Star State and lands an elite player or two. And Felix Ojo is target numero uno from Texas for Ohio State this cycle,” said Wiltfong. Then there’s Bralan Womack, the Hartfield Academy top safety in the country. “Ohio State is his leader. I should probably have an On3 RPM to reflect that knowing it can change. So stay tuned there.”
The list continues, and this time it’s about PJ Dean, from Clemmons, NC – a “top-100 defensive lineman.” Wiltfong said: “I do have an On3 RPM in favor of Ohio State, but Georgia—that’s going to be a slobber knocker with Georgia. His brother goes to Georgia. A lot of excitement around the Georgia program for PJ Dean as well.”
On the in-state front, Coach Day’s camp is confident about linebacker Cincere Johnson and running back Favour Akih. “Cincere Johnson, one of the top five linebackers in the country. They’re battling Alabama and Oklahoma for him. And then Favour Akih, On300 running back, local kid. He’s taking his official the first weekend of June. I have him on commit watch for that.”
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The offensive skill pipeline continues to flow. Wiltfong also name-dropped another potential boom: “Savion Hiter, he’s the number one running back in the country. Visited Ohio State in the spring, got to see a spring practice, get around Coach [Tony] Alford and that staff.”
One of Coach Day’s crown jewels, WR Chris Henry Jr., has been locked in since July 28, 2023. The Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) standout—son of late Bengals WR Chris Henry—is now the No. 20 overall prospect in the country. And he’s shut down his recruitment completely. Henry Jr. fits the Buckeyes’ long tradition of NFL-caliber receivers.
Day is chasing a rare kind of quintuple jackpot—locking in a seventh straight elite recruiting class, securing program stability post-title. The Buckeyes are also chasing QB Dia Bell of the Longhorns but, trying to flip the five-star prospect won’t be a walk in the park.
But amid the recruiting fireworks, Jim Knowles’ recent comments threw cold water on the party. After the national title win, he expected a lucrative extension. What he got instead was disillusionment…
No deal, no delay: Why Jim Knowles walked away from Ohio State
After OSU’s Natty win, their DC, Jim Knowles, didn’t want drama; he just wanted a deal, preferably before the lights went out in the national championship game. In a recent sit-down with ESPN from his new office, the former Ohio State DC laid it all out, candid and clear. “Maybe I’ll take less because Ohio State’s a great place,” Knowles told ESPN. He was willing to make a compromise, but…
That sentiment took a nosedive when he was reportedly asked ‘not to go to the parade’. That single gesture, symbolic as it was, seemed to signal his place in the pecking order. But that still didn’t put the final nail in the coffin. Knowles’ respect for OSU was much higher. and from then on. But it ultimately boiled down to timing—and a contract that never landed on his desk when he needed it most. That’s when rejoining OSU took a backseat for him.
Knowles said he was hopeful for an extension before Ohio State clashed with Notre Dame early in the season. “Had Ohio State offered him one before it faced Notre Dame,” he told ESPN, “I would not have explored or considered other options.” Instead, he was left hanging. He didn’t want a contract saga clouding the aftermath of a championship run. “I did not want to put anyone, including myself, in a position to have to deal with it immediately following the national championship game,” he explained. “And that’s the way it happened.”
What followed was what he called an “awkward” situation. “Season’s over, everything coming to a head again quickly,” Knowles said. “Ohio State hasn’t come forward with a deal, and it’s like, OK, if I’m going to act on this or at least explore it, I have got to make the call.” And thus the call was really made when Penn State offered Knowles, a Philadelphia native, a $3.1 million annual salary that would make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football.
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