The Ohio State football program is used to getting some of the top recruits in the country every single year. Usually, they are able to land a few five-star recruits in a given class. That usually makes it easier for them to win a lot of games. However, not every recruit is able to live up to the billing.
The Buckeyes, just like every program around the country, also have some high-level recruits who were not able to live up to the billing. In the Ryan Day era, that has also been the case. He has had a few guys who were really highly-touted, but were not able to play well enough to live up to their recruiting rankings.
Some of those players are still on the team, as well.
1. Brandon Inniss
Brandon Inniss was a five-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class. He was expected to be the next great Ohio State wide receiver coming out of the state of Florida. He is still on the roster now and is one of the most well-respected Buckeyes on the team. Inniss was a captain last year and likely will wear the Block O jersey this year.
However, he has not been as good a receiver as everyone thought he was going to be. His lack of production has been disappointing, and he will likely only have one more year to fix that. There is a chance he comes back next year with the new eligibility rules, though.
At this point, Inniss is just more of a great teammate and leader than he is a productive receiver. That's okay because the Ohio State Buckeyes also have Jeremiah Smith. Still, Inniss playing like a five-star player would have been nice.
2. C.J. Hicks
C.J. Hicks was a five-star linebacker coming out of Dayton. He was expected to step right into a big role in the linebacker rotation early on in his career. Personally, I kept waiting for him to make a huge impact. I loved his tape coming out of high school. Unfortunately, that never happened.
Hicks was moved from linebacker to edge in his final year with the Buckeyes. He decided to transfer to South Florida to play for Brian Hartline, and he will now be a defensive lineman for him. Hicks was never able to put up the monster stats that he was expected to bring to the team.
3. Aaron Scott
While Aaron Scott was not a five-star recruit like the other two players on this list, he was a high four-star recruit. He was another in-state kid who had a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Unfortunately for him, injuries played a massive role in his time in Columbus. He was never able to see the field.
Scott decided to leave Ohio State this past offseason after three underwhelming seasons with the team. Honestly, the Buckeyes likely won't miss him. He just has too much of a problem staying healthy to be a truly productive player at a high-major program.
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