Ohio State football battling USC and Texas A&M early for elite 5-star WR

Ohio State and head man Ryan Day already have one 5-star wideout on board for the 2027 class in Jamier Brown, but there's now another elite playmaker to keep an eye on. That'd be IMG Academy standout Eric McFarland.

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McFarland took a recent unofficial visit to Columbus and it looks like the trip went pretty darn well for him. It helped that Brown was in town, while also being joined by Monshun Sales, the No. 1 WR in the country. Ohio State is turning McFarland's head, but they're not the only ones. Greg Biggins is reporting that the Buckeyes, USC and Texas A&M are the schools separating themselves early on:

Ohio State is making a push to land 5-star WR Eric McFarland

Obviously, there's still a ton of time before McFarland can make things official with any team that he commits to - the Early Signing Period for 2027 prospects won't arrive until next December. However, the fact that Ohio State is one of three teams standing out a bit sure feels promising.

McFarland is ranked five stars, the No. 5 wideout in the country and No. 23 prospect nationally per the 247Sports Composite. Ohio State, USC and A&M aren't the only schools after him, however, as the speedster has picked up a head-turning 35 offers thus far this cycle.

Getting the wideout in town for an unofficial visit was one thing, but look for Day and his staff to get him back on campus for an official at some point later this year too. Maybe in June or during the season for a big game? That's certainly on the table.

What might help the Buckeyes here is to make a splash offensive coordinator hire, as everyone is waiting to see which direction Day decides to go in. While we wait to see who gets hired, Day and Co. are working overtime with their recruiting efforts and McFarland is surely going to be a top target until he decides to shut down his process.