Freshman Focus 2025: Quincy Porter

Continuing our series highlighting each of the Buckeyes’ incoming freshmen with one of the nation’s top wide receiver prospects.

Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class featured 26 commitments and ranked No. 4 in the country, not including transfer portal additions. Each of these new Buckeyes hopes to one day become a star in Columbus, just like so many highly touted prospects before them. As part of Land-Grant Holy Land’s series Freshman Focus, we will take a look at all of these new members of the scarlet and gray and what they can bring to the team.

Next up on the list is five-star wide receiver, Quincy Porter.

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Ohio State has quickly become Wide Receiver U under position coach Brian Hartline. Beginning his coaching career as a quality control assistant, the seven-year NFL vet took over the wide receiver room in 2018. From landing Garrett Wilson in his first recruiting class in 2019 to now coaching college football’s best player in Jeremiah Smith — and all the superstars in between — Hartline has compiled talent in the room like none other.

That trend continued in the 2026 class, as Ohio State was able to land five-star wide receiver Quincy Porter out of Oradell, New Jersey. As a result of Hartline’s incredible run of blue chip wideouts, there was very little pomp and circumstance around the commitment of Porter, but make no mistake about it: the Buckeyes have got themselves another stud pass-catcher.

Porter was one of three five-star commits for Ohio State in this cycle, joining quarterback Tavien St. Clair and cornerback Devin Sanchez. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound receiver was the No. 5 WR and No. 23 overall player nationally per the 247Sports Composite, as well as the No. 1 player out of the Garden State.

Porter secured scholarship offers from nearly 40 schools, including all of the heavy-hitters, but chose the Buckeyes out of a top six that also included Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State and Texas A&M. Notably, Porter was scheduled to take a visit with the Wolverines in early June following a weekend in Columbus, but decided instead to cancel that trip and pull the trigger on becoming a Buckeye.

Hartline had his eyes on Porter for quite some time, first extending the offer back in January of 2023. The wide receiver made multiple trips to Ohio State during the recruiting process, and ultimately the program’s track record of success at developing players for the NFL at the position swayed him to Columbus. Penn State made a heavy push for Porter late in the game, but he believed in Hartline and stuck with his commitment.

Porter got better and better over the course of his career at Bergen Catholic. After catching 35 passes for 686 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore, he followed it up with 41 catches for 969 yards and 16 TDs as a junior, being named NJ.com’s Offensive Player of the Year. He capped things off with a senior campaign totaling 57 receptions for 969 yards and 11 TDs, helping lead the Crusaders to their fourth-straight New Jersey Non-Public A state championship.

A multi-sport athlete, Porter also ran track and field at Bergen Catholic, running a 23.56 200-meter as a sophomore and an 11.12 100-meter as a junior, per MileSplit. Porter also got some run on the defensive side of the ball, picking off five passes as a defensive back during his junior season.

As a talented, productive wide receiver, Porter shot up the rankings during the recruiting process, eventually earning himself five-star status. In his scouting report, Andrew Ivins of 247Sports projected Porter as a future first round NFL Draft pick. Here is some more of what Ivins had to say of Porter’s abilities:

“Big-featured linear threat with good long speed and no shortage of potential. [..] Large web gives him an advantage in 50-50 situations while mid-flight body control allows him to snag back-shoulder targets. Has been utilized primarily as a deep-ball specialist over the years, but has taken screen and swing passes to the house as he will make one or two cuts and then find his top gear. […] Should be viewed as one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2025 cycle with his size and athleticism…”

Porter has made a great first impression since arriving on campus, becoming the first freshman in his class to shed the black stripe. It was the third year in a row that a freshman wide receiver was the first to earn the honor, with Carnell Tate doing so in 2023 and Jeremiah Smith achieving the feat last offseason.

Porter then made his presence felt in Ohio State’s spring game, catching four passes for 50 yards as one of the team’s leading receivers.

Despite his clear talent and potential, it will be tough for Porter to see the field much in 2025 with all of the guys in front of him. Ohio State loses Emeka Egbuka, but returns Smith, Tate and Brandon Inniss in addition to another former five-star in redshirt freshman Mylan Graham and sophomore Bryson Rodgers.

There is a bit of a logjam in Hartline’s room, but Porter came here to compete and be developed by the best, and his time will come.