Ohio State’s 2028 recruiting momentum is showing up in both football and basketball, and the Buckeyes have added another major name to the board on the hardwood.
On the football side, Ryan Day’s class is already sitting at No. 2 nationally, thanks to commitments from quarterback Christopher Vargas, running back Elijah Newman-Hall and receiver Jett Harrison. It’s early, of course, but Ohio State has positioned itself exactly where it wants to be as the cycle gets going, and there’s still a long list of elite targets with the Buckeyes near the top of their recruitments.
Receiver remains one of the biggest reasons for that optimism. Cortez Hankton has kept Ohio State in the thick of things with top pass catchers, and Georgia native John Matthews is a name to watch. The Buckeyes offered him in late July and have quickly moved into the mix despite arriving a little later than some of the other schools involved.
Matthews checks in at 6-foot and 175 pounds, and while his ranking may not yet match the kind of receiver labels Ohio State fans are used to seeing, his offer list says plenty. Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee and others have already jumped in. He is currently ranked No. 388 nationally and No. 56 among receivers in the 247Sports Composite, but that profile looks like one that could keep climbing as more evaluators get a closer look.
At the moment, Ohio State and Florida are the two schools most often mentioned at the front of his recruitment. That puts the Buckeyes in familiar territory, especially with another Southeastern battle on the horizon.
Ohio State is also still heavily involved with North Carolina five-star Braylon Clark, and if the Buckeyes are only planning to take around three receivers in the 2028 class, the numbers matter here. There are only so many seats at the table.
That leaves Ohio State with a good problem: too many receivers it wants, and too many receivers interested in the program. Whether the staff moves quickly or lets things play out, the Buckeyes are in the kind of position plenty of schools would love to have.
Basketball recruiting added another layer to the day. Jake Diebler and his staff will host 2028 five-star Brady Pettigrew on Nov. 6, giving Ohio State a shot to make an impression on one of the class’s best guards.
Pettigrew, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound combo guard from Illinois, is ranked No. 14 nationally and is the top player at his position in the 247Sports Composite. He already holds nearly 40 offers and has several visits lined up for the fall, so this won’t be a one-visit decision. But getting him to Columbus is a meaningful step for Ohio State.
In a recruiting race this crowded, that matters.
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Kirk Herbstreits Message About Lee Corso Will Hit Buckeye Fans Hard
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What made the moment land even harder was the detail around how Corso got there. Even at 91, he drove himself through a thunderstorm to make the visit, a small but revealing sign of the same stubborn energy that made him such a fixture for decades before his retirement in April 2025. The post drew plenty of fan reaction, much of it centered on Corsos legacy and the place he still holds in the college football conversation. [Read more 🡒]