The Ohio State football program got pretty much any receiver recruit it wanted during the Brian Hartline era. He was by far the best receivers coach in the country. He recruited and developed the best receivers in the country for pretty much the last decade.
Now that Hartline is in South Florida, the Buckeyes are relying on Cortez Hankton. Hankton has done a good job with the Buckeyes early on, as he was able to hang on to both Chris Henry Jr. and Jamier Brown. Henry Jr. was a five-star recruit in the 2026 class, and Brown is a five-star recruit in 2027.
However, both were primarily recruited by Hartline. Hankton hasn't been able to land a blue-chip recruit himself quite yet. He has been working on that over the last few months. Now, he has landed one, although it's a receiver that still is three years away from enrolling.
The Ohio State football program lands commitment from Austin Miller
The Ohio State Buckeyes have gotten a commitment from Austin Miller, who is in the 2029 recruiting class. He already stands at 6'5 and 200 pounds, and he might not be done growing. He seems like an excellent get for Hankton, even though he still is a ways away from actually playing college football.
Miller ended up choosing the Buckeyes over USC, Oregon, and Miami. That's a nice addition, but this is still three years away. That is an eternity in college football, especially in the NIL era. All kinds of things can change between now and when Miller is expected to enroll in Columbus.
Hankton has to feel good about landing Miller, but he still has to keep him. Over the next three years, several other programs will be in his ear. Miller also still has to prove that he can get better over that time period, as he is still just a young high school prospect.
Ohio State needs Cortez Hankton to get commitments in 2027
Getting a recruit is great, but the Buckeyes need to get one in a more important recruiting class. Hankton still needs to be able to land a player in the 2027 recruiting class. Monshun Sales is the guy he needs to land, although it's a heavyweight fight between Ohio State and Indiana for his services.
If Hankton is able to get a five-star recruit in the 2027 or 2028 class, fans would feel much better about him, So far, he's just coasting off of Hartline's scraps. He also hasn't had a chance to coach any of the receivers on the current roster yet. That will come this Fall.
Nabbing Sales would be a great addition not just for Hankton, but for Ryan Day. Ohio State still has just 15 commits in this class. The Buckeyes still have plenty of time to add to that total, and they are expected to do just that. Hankton getting his blue-chip guy in that class is what fans are waiting for.
Miller should be good. He's from the state of California, and Ohio State has done a good job of landing recruits from that state. Fans just have to hope he stays committed for three more years.
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