Few college football programs offer the unique mixture of pageantry and unbridled success that the Ohio State Buckeyes bring each fall.
The Ryan Day-coached team has posted 10 consecutive double-digit win seasons (excluding 2020’s eight-game campaign due to COVID-19), with five College Football Playoff appearances and a title to its name.
With Ohio sports betting kicking off Jan. 1, the Buckeyes figure to move the wagering needle significantly this fall.
Unsurprisingly, given the Buckeyes’ on-field success under Day and his predecessors (Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel), Ohio State has been one of the top programs in the nation when it comes to recruiting.
Ohio State has posted the third-best average recruiting class of five power schools surveyed by BetOhio.com (per 247 Sports), with an average yearly ranking of 4.1 — behind Alabama (1.7) and Georgia (3.7).
The Buckeyes currently have 247 Sports’ fifth-ranked class for 2023, making it 10 straight years with a top 10 class.
That stable success is one of the main reasons why oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook Ohio have the Buckeyes in a tie for second with Alabama (behind Georgia) for 2024 CFP title odds at +600.
BetOhio.com, home to the best information on Ohio betting apps, wanted to contextualize how Day and company built the current Ohio State squads into such a juggernaut, evaluating where the program’s top 10 recruits over the past 10 years ended up.
Ohio State Top 10 Recruits Since 2013
Nick Bosa (DE, 2016)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9965 overall
- Years: 2016-2018
- Stats: 77 tackles, 29.0 TFL, 17.5 sacks, 2 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 1 TD
- Accolades: 1st team All-American (2017), 1st team All-Big 10 (2017)
Nicholas Petit-Frere (OT, 2018)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9963 overall
- Years: 2020-2021
- Accolades: 2nd team All-American (2021), 1st team All-Big 10 (2021), 2nd team All-Big 10 (2020)
Chase Young (DE, 2017)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9957 overall
- Years: 2017-2019
- Stats: 98 tackles, 40.5 TFL, 30.5 sacks, 8 pass deflections, 9 forced fumbles
- Accolades: Big 10 Male Athlete of the Year (2020), Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2019), Chuck Bednarik Award (2019), Ted Hendricks Award (2019), Unanimous All-American (2019), 1st team All-Big Ten (2019), 2nd team All-Big Ten (2018)
Jeff Okudah (CB, 2017)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9955 overall
- Years: 2017-2019
- Stats: 83 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 3 INTs, 18 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble
- Accolades: Unanimous All-American (2019), 1st team All-Big Ten (2019)
Paris Johnson Jr. (OT, 2020)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9953 overall
- Years: 2020-2022
- Accolades: Consensus All-American (2022), 1st team All-Big Ten (2022), 2nd team All-Big Ten (2021)
Baron Browning (OLB, 2017)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9940 overall
- Years: 2017-2020
- Stats: 109 tackles, 19.0 TFL, 7.0 sacks, 2 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
- Accolades: 3rd team All-Big Ten (2017)
Zach Harrison (DE, 2019)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9933 overall
- Years: 2019-2022
- Stats: 97 tackles, 24.0 TFL, 11.0 sacks, 1 INT, 9 pass deflections, 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
- Accolades: 1st team All-Big 10 (2022), 2nd team All-Big Ten (2020-2021)
Shaun Wade (CB, 2017)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9904 overall
- Years: 2018-2020
- Stats: 91 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 6 INTs, 1 TD, 3 forced fumbles
- Accolades: Consensus All-American (2020), Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year (2020), 1st team All-Big Ten (2020), 2nd team All-Big Ten (2019)
Garrett Wilson (WR, 2019)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9903 overall
- Years: 2019-2021
- Stats: 143 catches, 2,213 yards, 23 TDs; 6 rushes, 143 yards, 1 TD
- Accolades: 1st team All-Big 10 (2020), 2nd team All-Big 10 (2021)
Raekwon McMillan (ILB, 2014)
- Recruiting Ranking: Five stars/.9896 overall
- Years: 2014-2016
- Stats: 275 tackles, 18.0 TFL, 6.0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD, 10 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery
- Accolades: 1st team All-Big 10 (2016)
How Ohio State’s Top 10 Recruits Fared
All 10 of Ohio State’s top recruits since 2013 were either picked in the NFL Draft or are about to be.
Of those, four former Buckeyes were selected in the first round, including Nick Bosa and Chase Young, who went second overall in 2019 and 2020. Jeff Odukah wound up going a pick after Young in the 2020 NFL Draft. Garrett Wilson was selected 10th overall by the Jets in 2022.
Raekwon McMillan was the lone member of the Buckeye top 10 to go in the draft’s second round, while two Ohio State players (Nicholas Petit-Frere and Baron Browning) were taken in the third round.
Shaun Wade was the lowest picked Buckeye out of the top 10, going to the Ravens with the 160th selection of the 2021 NFL Draft, showing how stacked the Buckeyes’ roster has been over the past 10 years.
Two members of the list have declared for the 2023 NFL Draft (Paris Johnson Jr. and Zach Harrison), with both projected to go in the top two rounds.
Average Recruiting Class Ranking Since 2014
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Where Ohio State’s Top 10 Recruits Rank
The Buckeyes' success on the gridiron has parlayed itself into a nice run off it when it comes to recruiting NFL talent to Columbus.
That’s why it’s likely not a surprise Ohio State ranked third overall out of the five programs surveyed when it came to average recruiting ranking.
Overall, the Buckeyes finished at .99369, behind Alabama (.99746) and Georgia (.99615), but ahead of Florida (.98765) and Texas (.98641).
For now, Ohio State fans are probably happy to see Day and his staff cross their Ts and dot their Is in rounding out the team’s roster ahead of what’s expected by many to be another CFP run in 2023.
