Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Ryan Day likely isn't getting good news on the recruiting front as it relates to Louisa County (VA) running back Savion Hiter and Hartfield Academy (MS) Bralan Womack.
Bucknuts' Steve Helwagen admitted that the pair can likely get paid elsewhere, essentially a concession in the NIL era.
Helwagen classified the Buckeyes as being in a position to sign great recruits, but sounded skeptical about that happening for OSU.
"Nobody discusses money figures with us. I assume some schools are interpreting the change with the NIL Go clearinghouse reviews to mean it is back to World's Fair, and you can spend whatever you want to get top players. But Ohio State is preferring to invest in the veteran players who will play and will find 3-5 transfers every year to plug holes. Hard to argue with that plan given last year's result," Helwagen wrote.
"They don't want to upset the salary structure by overpaying for freshmen who have a 50/50 chance of even helping you as freshmen. Jeremiah Smith? Yes. Bralan Womack is ranked 13th nationally and Savion Hiter is ranked 17th overall. They can command big bucks ... and probably bigger bucks elsewhere than they can at Ohio State. Good luck to them.
"I know for fans who follow recruiting it is very distressing to be in position to sign great players and not sign them."
Ohio State will always attract top talent. Losing these two won't be the end of the world for the program. Individual recruits can be purchased by a team, such as the Tennessee Volunteers, which is in the Hiter sweepstakes, and Womack, whose interest in the Buckeyes appears to be fading and could have eyes on the Auburn Tigers. Those SEC schools will never compete with OSU's spending power.
Sure, TTUN buying enough recruits can happen. That school has powerful financial backing from Silicon Valley. The Wolverines are a strong contender to land Hiter.
The Buckeyes will always spend in a way most teams can't, though, and they'll do it year after year. Ross Bjork may be hitting hard times in recruiting now, but it's only a matter of time before they rise from their No. 9 ranking in the 2026 cycle.