Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline named National Recruiter of the Year

It’s officially National Signing Day— a day that sounds super important, but is actually very underwhelming if you’re a school like Ohio State, who already finished off its 2020 class (minus one single recruit) during the early signing period in December.

But don’t fret! There’s still some big news for the Buckeyes on this college football holiday, such as...

Brian Hartline named 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year

As Charles Power of 247Sports wrote, Hartline hauled in a “historic position-specific group in the 2020 cycle.” Five-star receivers Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Top247 receivers Gee Scott Jr. and Mookie Cooper make up this “historic” group who, as a whole, averages close to a five-star score according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Comparing it to recent cycles, Power said this group of receivers is the best since Alabama’s in 2017.

In terms of recent cycles, Alabama’s 2017 receiver class was the reigning gold standard. The Tide signed Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith and Tyrell Shavers in that cycle, with the first three helping to comprise one of the more dangerous wide receiver groups in college football history. So how does this Ohio State group match up with the 2017 Alabama class? According to the 247Sports Composite, Ohio State’s four-man class ranks higher with an average rating of .9779 to .970 for the Alabama group.

Hartline also assisted in the recruitment of quarterback CJ Stroud and athlete Cameron Martinez. And according to Bill Kurelic, “none of the receivers Hartline is bringing in wavered in their decision.”

2020 class complete with the signing of Martinez

Ryan Day, Director of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni, and the rest of the Ohio State recruiting staff are bringing in a 2020 class that is ranked No. 5 in the country, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

The class was signed, sealed, and delivered when their last commitment, Cameron Martinez, signed on Wednesday afternoon. The four-star athlete from Muskegon, Michigan committed to Ohio State in the summer, however held off on signing until he knew who Jeff Hafley’s replacement was going to be.

Enter: Kerry Coombs. Coombs was announced as the Buckeyes new defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach in January, after his former team, the Tennessee Titans, lost in the NFL playoffs. Coombs practically walked off the field and straight to Michigan to visit with Martinez.

Just like that, on Jan. 28, Martinez announced his recruitment was over and that he would sign with the Buckeyes on National Signing Day.

Martinez told Bucknuts that meeting Coombs was “very important” in making his final decision and that the delay in signing was due to “waiting to meet him.”

Day said Martinez will likely play on both sides of the ball and in the return game, but that Coombs is definitely going to fight to keep him on defense. Martinez was the Michigan 2018 and 2019 Football Player of the Year. As a quarterback, he rushed for over 2,000 yards each season and passed for over 1,200 yards during his senior season. According to 247Sports Composite, he is the country’s No. 322 overall prospect in the class of 2020, the No. 14 athlete, and the No. 7 prospect in Michigan.