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Two Ohio State assistants ranked as top recruiters by 247Sports
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Landing the top prospects on a yearly basis doesn’t happen by accident. There’s a reason Ohio State can attract so many four- and five-star prospects in every single recruiting class.
It’s not just that the Buckeyes have a rich tradition and are frequent contenders in the B1G and in the national landscape, but because they have excellent recruiters on the staff. In recent rankings by Brad Crawford of 247Sports, two OSU assistants landed in the top 10.
According to 247Sports, wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley rank in the top 10 among the best recruiters in the nation. They were the only two coaches in the B1G to be listed.
Hartline came in at No. 6 on the list while Hafley was all the way up at No. 2.
Here’s what 247Sports had to say about Hartline:
Credited with landing verbal commitment Julian Fleming, the nation’s top-ranked receiver in next year’s class and No. 5 player nationally, Hartline is assembling a star-studded cast of pass-catchers in Columbus. He also has four-star wideouts Gee Scott Jr. (Sammamish, Wa.) and Jaoxon Smith-Njigba (Rockwall, Texas) in the hopper, along with three-star athlete Cameron Martinez, who could play a variety of positions for the Buckeyes. Several 247Sports national recruiting analysts laid out how Hartline emerged as one of college football’s top recruiters earlier this spring. His recent pulls on the trail have turned heads.
And on Hafley:
The Buckeyes’ strongest recruiter this cycle under first-year coach Ryan Day, Hafley is helping Ohio State solidify several positions of need with top-end talent. Cornerback Clark Phillips III (La Habra, Ca.) is the fourth-best player at his position nationally while three other Composite four-stars — Luke Wypler (Center), Cody Simon (OLB) and Lejond Cavazos (S) — each have early-impact potential in Columbus. The fifth commit under Hafley, three-star athlete Cameron Martinez, was pulled out of Michigan. As Ohio State’s co-defensive coordinator, he’ll be under the spotlight on gamedays this fall after the Buckeyes’ disappointing campaign on that side of the football in 2018.
The Buckeyes currently own the nation’s fourth-best recruiting class and sit atop the B1G. Still in the running for some high-ranking prospects, there’s a good chance Ohio State’s 2020 class gets even stronger.
Hartline and Hafley are huge reasons behind that success on the recruiting trail.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB