Chris Henry Jr. Stays Committed to Ohio State Amid Hartline Departure, Eyes Next Chapter in WR Legacy
Chris Henry Jr. was en route to one of the biggest days of his young football career-his signing day ceremony-when the phone rang. On the other end? Brian Hartline, the man who’d recruited him for years, letting him know he was taking the head coaching job at South Florida.
“I was in shock,” Henry said. And who could blame him?
Henry had been committed to Ohio State for a long time, and Hartline wasn’t just another recruiter-he was the guy. The architect behind Ohio State’s transformation into a wide receiver powerhouse. So when Hartline stepped away, the ripple effects hit immediately.
Henry didn’t sign on the first day of the early signing period, December 3. That hesitation was all it took for other programs to pounce.
The phones lit up. Texas and LSU made calls.
But the real pressure came from the West Coast, where Oregon and USC came in hot, pushing hard-and with ever-rising NIL offers to match.
But two days later, Henry made his decision.
He called Ryan Day directly. “He immediately picked up,” Henry recalled. “Coach Day sounded so relieved.”
And with that, Henry officially locked in with the Buckeyes.
The End of an Era - and the Start of a New One
Henry’s commitment doesn’t just represent a win for Ohio State-it symbolizes the final thread tying the program to the Hartline era, one of the most prolific stretches of wide receiver development in recent college football memory.
Since taking over as wide receivers coach in 2018, Hartline didn’t just recruit talent-he developed it into NFL stardom. The numbers speak for themselves: 16 top-100 recruits, eight five-stars, and five first-round picks.
And that list is still growing. Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith are both projected to be Day 1 selections in their respective NFL Draft classes.
But it’s not just about producing pros-it’s about producing stars. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Chris Olave earned All-Pro honors this season.
Garrett Wilson? He’s already got an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award on his shelf.
“It’s like a machine,” Henry said.
Now, the man who built that machine is gone. And the question becomes: can it keep running?
Short-Term Outlook: Still Loaded
In the immediate future, Ohio State’s wide receiver room is still stacked. Jeremiah Smith enters the 2026 season as arguably the most talented player in the sport.
Brandon Inniss, who posted 271 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2025, is expected to take on a larger role. And Henry?
He’s on track to follow the same early-impact path as many five-star Buckeye receivers before him.
But look a little deeper, and the winds of change are blowing.
For the first time in the transfer portal era, Ohio State dipped into the portal twice for wideouts-bringing in Devin McCuin from UTSA (726 yards, 8 TDs last season) and Kyle Parker from LSU (330 yards, 4 TDs). That’s not something we’ve seen from the Buckeyes in recent years, and it speaks to a new challenge: holding onto depth.
This offseason, Ohio State lost several young receivers to the portal. Five-star freshman Quincy Porter transferred to Notre Dame.
Four-star Bodpegn Miller left for Washington. Sophomore Mylan Graham?
Also off to South Bend.
It’s a reflection of the new reality in college football-talented guys aren’t waiting around anymore. And with Hartline gone, Ohio State is no longer immune to the talent drain that’s become standard across the sport.
The Recruiting Picture Post-Hartline
There’s also a bit of uncertainty on the recruiting trail. The Buckeyes still hold a commitment from Jamier Brown, the No. 11 overall recruit in the 2027 class, but that pledge came back in November 2024-when Hartline was still in Columbus.
Now, it’s up to new wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton to keep the pipeline flowing. Hankton’s résumé is strong-he recruited George Pickens at Georgia and helped develop Malik Nabers at LSU-but following Hartline is a tall order. The standard in Columbus isn’t just high-it’s elite.
Still, Henry isn’t sweating it.
He’s ready to be part of the next chapter in the Buckeyes’ wide receiver legacy. And in his mind, the machine isn’t slowing down any time soon.
“It’s going to keep going,” Henry said. “We put guys out every year.
Coach Hartline leaving is a major part. But we’re going to keep it going-for sure.”
In other words, the Buckeyes might have lost their operator, but the engine’s still running.