Head Coach Ryan Day instructs players during a drill at practice in the Ohio Stadium on Oct.3. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes sought out talent to fill up their 2021 recruiting class, but they also prioritized something that doesn’t show up in a stat sheet: personality.
On an early signing day in which the Buckeyes increased its 2021 class to 21 signees, head coach Ryan Day stressed that the class is more than just its number of stars or national ranking.
“It’s the best class in the country for Ohio State,” Day said Wednesday. “It’s more about building relationships than talking people into coming to your school and chasing stars. To me, that’s a short-term gratification. In the end, what’s the product on the field, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
According to multiple recruiting rankings, the Buckeyes have the No. 2 class for 2021 recruits.
Despite dealing with highly touted recruits, Mark Pantoni, assistant athletic director for player personnel, said assembling the class involved little to no drama — a byproduct of the Buckeyes’ emphasis on getting the right players to fit the program.
“Culture fit is the biggest thing for any kid we recruit, so before we even take a kid’s commitment, we want to make sure they’re a great culture fit, we don’t want to deal with a lot of games being played,” Pantoni said Wednesday. “It just shows the quality of kids we’re recruiting, not a lot of drama, it was an easy day and pretty much the whole cycle was almost dramaless.”
Not only has the group avoided the drama that can plague the recruiting process, but they have done so in an unusual recruiting environment.
With a dead period on recruiting that prevents recruits from officially visiting campus, Day said five-star running back commit TreVeyon Henderson has yet to visit Ohio State.
Despite not setting foot on the campus, Henderson has formed a relationship with future teammate and fellow running back recruit Evan Pryor.
“Those guys hit it off as well,” Pantoni said. “Throughout the recruiting process, they were best friends. They were playing Madden every day. And so, credit to them too for embracing their roles and embracing what they could do for this team.”
Although Henderson and Pryor will come to Ohio State from Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, the Buckeyes have not lost sight of the importance of earning commitments from in-state recruits.
Headlined by Pickerington North defensive end Jack Sawyer, Day said Sawyer will impact the culture already established at Ohio State.
Sawyer is joined by five other recruits from Ohio.
“All these guys in Ohio are going to be really good players here, you just know it,” Day said. “Sometimes you’re not sure, but you just know because we’ve really had to dig into who these people are even more because of the unique year this has been.”
Day said the unique environment that surrounded the accumulation of recruits in the class made the staff have to adjust throughout the process.
Pantoni noted the use of Zoom, which was used to meet with the entire class on two occasions. He said the first was in the form of a game show to allow the recruits to have fun while the second meeting involved a more serious conversation about their experiences during the pandemic.
Along with leaning on technology to navigate the changes brought about by COVID-19, Day, who emphasizes transparency within the program, said it was important to be open with the recruits through the entire process.
“We’ve been very, very honest in recruiting,” Day said. “I think people recognize the fact that if you come here, we’re going to do everything we can to take care of your sons and try to maximize them to be great.”
Regardless of the talk surrounding the class prior to the players arriving on campus, Pantoni said the success of the group is measured through the players’ collegiate and NFL careers.
“The way I grade recruiting classes is how they end up — NFL being a big part but also key contributors, starters as well,” Pantoni said. “We’ll look forward here in three or four years and see. That’s how we’ll grade it.”
