Ohio State football program fails to land five-star receiver recruit
By Ryan Stano
![Wildwood s Vernell Brown III (1) runs with the ball during a 2021 preseason jamboree at Leesburg High School in Leesburg. Brown recently received an offer to play for the Univeristy of Michigan. [PAUL RYAN / CORRESPONDENT]
Preseason Jamboree](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3001,h_1688,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F151%2F01j3b8qfjmhrfyxt3ekk.jpg "Wildwood s Vernell Brown III (1) runs with the ball during a 2021 preseason jamboree at Leesburg High School in Leesburg. Brown recently received an offer to play for the Univeristy of Michigan. [PAUL RYAN / CORRESPONDENT]
Preseason Jamboree")
The Ohio State football program hasn't landed a five-star receiver recruit in the 2025 recruiting class yet. Brian Hartline grabbed two five-star receivers in last year's class. Both Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham were brought in as freshmen this season and look very promising.
Hartline has been able to land three other receivers in this year's class. None of them have been a five-star guy though. The Buckeyes were hopeful to get one in Vernell Brown III, a receiver from the state of Florida. For a while, Ohio State was the favorite to land him.
Brown is the son of former Florida Gator Vernell Brown. He was choosing between the Gators and the Buckeyes. In the end, he decided to not pick the Buckeyes and he will become a Florida Gator. That means that the Buckeyes continue to search for that five-star receiver.
Vernell Brown III picks Florida over the Ohio State football program
Ohio State was hoping to take in the 5'11 and 170-pound receiver. It would have been nice to add his quickness and smoothness to a group that is the deepest in college football. I was surprised when the Buckeyes were the early favorite to land him considering his family ties to Florida.
The Ohio State football program isn't out of the race to land a five-star receiver. They can still get Jaime Ffrench next month as he now becomes the top receiver target for the Buckeyes in this cycle. He and David Sanders Jr. are the top priority for them now.
It's more important for them to land Sanders Jr. instead of Ffrench. They need an impact offensive lineman more than they need another great receiver. That room is already stacked with talent. Even if they don't land a five-star receiver this cycle, it's not the end of the world.
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As far as Brown is concerned, he's a really good player. He's going to be an asset to Florida.