Ohio State makes top schools for nation’s No. 1 offensive tackle, No. 2 wide receiver

Lots to discuss in Buckeye Nation both on and off the recruiting trail.

Less than three weeks removed from winning the national title, it has already been a tremendously busy offseason for Ohio State. The Buckeyes, after losing defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Penn State, have since lost both offensive line coach Justin Frye (Arizona Cardinals) and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly (Las Vegas Raiders) to NFL jobs in just the last few days. This is in addition to losing defensive line assistant LaAllan Clark to Texas.

Such is life for a group that showcased its excellence by hoisting a College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, and now Ryan Day is tasked with rebuilding his staff while also needing to rebuild a roster that loses a plethora of talented starters to the NFL ranks. Ohio State will be just fine, but the defending champs will look a heck of a lot different in 2025 — both on the field and on the sideline.

From a talent standpoint, the Buckeye brand will continue to recruit among the best programs in the country regardless of which coaches are in the building, and things have continued to trend in the right direction with a number of highly-touted prospects. On Sunday alone, Ohio State made the cut for a pair of the nation’s best at their respective positions in the 2026 class.

Offensive line is a huge focus for Ohio State in this cycle, and there is no bigger name up front than five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell. The Missouri native stands at 6-foot-7.5 and 300 pounds, ranking as the No. 1 OT and No. 1 overall player in the class per the 247Sports Composite. With an official offer sheet of at least 30 programs, Cantwell has now cut his list down to six remaining contenders, with Ohio State part of that group alongside Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Missouri and Oregon.

Both Ryan Day and Justin Frye (before his departure) made it a point to visit Cantwell at Nixa High School shortly after wrapping up their national title celebrations, with the offensive lineman taking notice of it being Day’s first stop on the trail this offseason. Cantwell himself also made a trip up to Columbus in December while Ohio State was practicing for its home CFP matchup against Tennessee.

In breaking down each of his finalists with On3, Cantwell said of the Buckeyes:

“It’s hard to beat being a national champion- a winning culture and a fantastic offensive line group is appealing.”

However, Ohio State likely faces an uphill climb with Cantwell now that it is without an offensive line coach for the time being. The Buckeyes will certainly look to get its next hire acquainted with Cantwell — and quickly — but in a battle for the nation’s top overall recruit, it isn’t exactly an advantageous position to be in at this current juncture.

One position group Ohio State does have some continuity heading into next season is at wide receiver, where Brian Hartline continues to show why he is the sport’s very best at both recruiting and developing pass-catchers for the NFL. As a result, it comes as no surprise that the Buckeyes made the cut for the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2026 class.

Alabama native Cederian Morgan comes in as the No. 2 WR and No. 10 player overall per 247Sports’ rankings, with an impressive college-ready built at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. On Sunday, Morgan cut his impressive offer sheet of nearly 30 schools down to a top-10, with Ohio State still in the mix alongside Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and others.

After signing zero players from Alabama out of high school since 1981, Ohio State is starting to make its presence felt in the region with Nick Saban no longer in the picture. The Buckeyes signed a pair of 2025 Alabama natives in four-star DE Zion Grady and four-star RB Anthony Rogers — in addition to adding guys like Quinshon Judkins and Seth McLaughlin via the transfer portal a year ago.

Hartline and OSU would love to keep that momentum going with Morgan, but it will be hard to pry him away from the in-state Crimson Tide and Auburn. The elite wideout most recently visited Columbus for a recruiting camp in June, when he first received his Ohio State offer. Morgan had great things to say about the program and Hartline, specifically, recognizing the school’s propensity at producing top-end players at the position.

“Yeah, it’s a very big school and a big name,” Morgan told Eleven Warriors. “Especially with coach Brian Hartline. It’s wide receiver U. What they’ve done with wide receivers is amazing. I feel like if you want to be a wide receiver and make it to the next level, Ohio State is the place to be.”

All three of the current Crystal Ball predictions for Morgan are in favor of the in-state schools (two for Auburn and one for Alabama) but all of those were cast last summer. There is still time for Ohio State in this recruitment, and nobody is more trustworthy than Hartline at hauling in the big fish. The Buckeyes, of course, already have five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. in the fold in the 2026 class — the No. 1 player at the position.

Quick Hits

• In a bit of a surprise, high four-star Ohio cornerback Victor Singleton committed to Illinois over the weekend. The Toledo native ranks as the No. 6 CB and the No. 2 player in the state, per 247Sports’ rankings, and was previously Crystal Ball’d to Ohio State. There is a chance that early playing time with the Illini is a big factor here, but regardless expect Tim Walton and the Buckeyes to remain active in Singleton’s recruitment until pen meets paper.

• Ohio State earned an expert prediction on Friday for four-star linebacker CJ Sanna. Sanna ranks as the No. 27 LB and the No. 20 player in Ohio in the 2026 class. While this RPM was courtesy of Steve Wiltfong, the Buckeyes also received a flurry of predictions in their favor from OSU insider Mick Walker, which included players among the likes of four-star linebackers Cincere Johnson and Storm Miller, four-star DL Deuce Geralds, and a trio of four-star offensive linemen in Adam Guthrie, Maxwell Riley and Sam Greer.