When it comes to recruiting, developing, and producing elite wide receiver talent, no program can match the success of Brian Hartline and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Hartline, who was elevated to offensive coordinator following Chip Kelly’s departure this offseason, has been the wide receivers coach in Columbus since 2018, and the success he’s had at the position is like a snowball, growing and building speed as it rolls downhill.
The NFL draft picks, and there are many, may not be the example of the strength of Hartline and Ryan Day’s wide receiver factory. Instead, it could be how the elite wide receivers of the present help to stock the shelves for the future. That’s exactly what Jeremiah Smith Jr., the best one Hartline and Day have ever gotten their hands on, is doing for the Buckeyes in the 2027 recruiting cycle.
Top-20 WR Monshun Sales met Jeremiah Smith while on a visit to Ohio State in June and Smith gave him some insight into what makes the Buckeyes special 🌰
— Mick Walker (@mickdwalker) August 11, 2025
"And he told me that coaches really, they love you on a whole other level..."
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Jeremiah Smith is Ryan Day’s not-so-secret weapon in Monshun Sales recruitment
As a true freshman, Jeremiah Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was immediately one of the best pass catchers in the country, and if he were eligible, there’s no doubt that the 6-foot-3, 225-pound teenager would have been a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Simply put, Smith is what every five-star wide receiver in the country aspires to. Having that player, who knows what it takes to surpass nearly insurmountable hype immediately, and to have his individual success translate to the first national championship in over a decade for one of the sport’s most iconic programs, is incredibly valuable on the recruiting trail.
Monshun Sales is the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2027 class, only behind Ohio State commit Jamier Brown. He would be the program’s third five-star wide receiver commit since Smith headlined the 2024 class, joining Quincy Porter from the 2025 class, Chris Henry Jr., the top commit in 2026, and Brown.
At 6-foot-5, Sales can relate to an oversized outside receiver with elite vertical speed. However, the Indianapolis product isn’t nearly the refined route-runner that Smith was in high school and his first year with the Buckeyes. Still, Sales would be a massive addition to Ohio State’s 2027 class, and the dominance of players like Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave under Day and Hartline will be front of mind for him and every other top wide receiver in the country for years to come.
Sales will be in Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes' Week 1 matchup against No. 1 Texas, so the meeting this summer won’t be Smith’s only chance to impress him. The two will never be teammates because even if Sales does choose Ohio State, Smith will be in the NFL by 2027, but his specter will loom over Columbus for years to come.