Buckeyes 2026 class gets some updates, including a top player moving up to five stars

Chris Henry Jr. got his star back.

The blue-chip wide receiver is once again a five-star prospect in the eyes of 247Sports. The Buckeye commit has long been a composite five-star prospect, combining the ratings from all the recruiting sites, but 247Sports had him as a very high four-star player. Henry is ranked 32nd in the nation according to the site, one of six Buckeye prospects in the top 100. 

Who are the biggest risers in the rankings?

It starts with recent defensive back commit Jay Timmons. The son of former NFL linebacker Lawrence Timmons, he has gone from battling in camps for offers over the summer to one of the tiop-50 prospects in the country. Jay Tmmons started this summer as an under-the-radar commit to Indiana, and now he's ranked as one of the top five cornerbacks in the country.

Another big mover was four-star defensive tackle Khary Wilder, who moved up 120 spots and into the top-100 prospects (78th) in the country. Four-star athlete Legend Bey, who was previously committed to Tennessee before flipping to the Buckeyes last week, rose into the top-150 (149th). 

Where is Ohio State's recruiting class ranked?

247Sports has the Buckeyes 2026 class ranked 6th overall in the country. That's the third-best class in the Big Ten, behind USC's top-ranked class and Oregon, which comes in at No. 5. Recent classes have been ranked fourth (2022), fifth (2023), third (2024) and fifth again (2025).

Ohio State has 28 commitments in the class and 18 of them have at least a four-star ranking, according to 247Sports. 

One thing that sticks out is how well the Ohio State staff has done with senior evaluations. Flipping top blue-chip prospects like Timmons and Bey just weeks before the Early Signing Period hasn't always been the way Ohio State recruits. But with expanded rosters, there are more opportunities to take late-rising prospects.