The Ohio State football program is one of the best programs in college football every year. A big reason why they are a top-ten team every single year is because of the work that they do on the recruiting trail. Ryan Day has had a top-five recruiting class every year as a head coach except one.
Day is obviously one of the best recruiters that the Ohio State Buckeyes have. For the purposes of this article, we will rank the top three most valuable recruiters on his staff. He has a lot of assistants who do some great work on the recruiting trail.
3. James Laurinaitis
The former All-American linebacker, Laurinaitis has already proven his worth to the Ohio State football program since joining the staff. This will be his second year as a full-time staff member, and he has already done some great work as a recruiter.
Laurinaitis was able to bring in three linebackers in last year's class, including stud linebacker Riley Petijohn. He has already started to bring in good players, and he should only get better with that as time goes on. As a two-time All-American, he has a lot he can sell recruits on.
2. Tim Walton
Tim Walton has shown that he is worthy of his co-defensive coordinator title after showing what he can do on the recruiting trail. He was able to land the number one overall cornerback recruit in the country for the 2025 class, landing Devin Sanchez.
Walton did lose Na'eem Offord on Signing Day, but he was flirting with other schools for quite a while. He should be able to keep up his good recruiting because the corners on the field have been excellent in the last couple of years. His recruiting extends to the transfer portal as well, as he was able to get Davison Igbinosun last season.
1. Brian Hartline
By far, the most valuable recruiter the Buckeyes have is Brian Hartline. He is now the offensive coordinator for the team, but he continues to recruit wide receivers at an elite level. His track record of success is bonkers, headlined by landing Jeremiah Smith just last year.
At this point, it's a surprise if Hartline isn't able to pull a five-star recruit in a particular recruiting class. That's how good of a recruiter Hartline is. He's the most valuable assistant coach that Day has on his staff, and keeping him happy for as long as possible is key.