The Ohio State football program has taken a lot of flak for its 2026 recruiting class. Right now, it's ranked ninth in the country, which would by far be the worst ranking of any class in the Ryan Day era. They still have three months to change that, but it hasn't gone well so far.
That doesn't mean that the Ohio State Buckeyes don't have some good kids committed in this class. The receivers are the crowned jewel of this class, as is the case with most classes for them. Brian Hartline is the best recruiter in the country and has been for a while.
However, one stud defensive lineman for the Buckeyes has just earned his fifth star in the most recent update from Rivals. Defensive lineman Khary Wilder went from a four-star recruit to a five-star recruit in the most recent update given from Rivals.
🚨NEW🚨 Ohio State DL commit Khary Wilder ranks No. 14 and 5-stars in the updated 2026 Rivals300🌰https://t.co/NJPp3J119I pic.twitter.com/wHxAeAtzfW
— Rivals (@Rivals) September 15, 2025
Ohio State football recruit Khary Wilder earns a five-star rating
Wilder stands at 6'4 and 260 pounds out of Gardena, California. He now becomes the first five-star recruit that Larry Johnson has brought in since J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer in the 2021 recruiting class. Now, he brings in Wilder in what could be his final year as the Ohio State defensive line coach.
Johnson received plenty of grief from fans for his recruiting falling off. That doesn't mean that he can't still grab a really good recruit every now and then. He has shown that he can develop defensive linemen still. Perhaps Wilder becoming a five-star recruit could end up keeping Johnson in Columbus for a couple of more years.
Wilder has been committed to the Buckeyes since June. He is locked in, and fans should not be worried about him flipping before he signs in December. The Buckeyes were in on him early when some other big programs didn't show as much interest. Johnson did a good job with his recruitment.
The Buckeyes would love it if they could use their undefeated start to entice some other recruits to commit before December rolls around. This bye week will be a good opportunity for Ohio State to hit the recruiting trail and get some of these highly-rated guys left on the board.
With this new update, Wilder is now rated as the 14th-best overall recruit in the country by Rivals. That means they have him as the top recruit in this class for the Buckeyes.