Ohio State’s hiring of Cortez Hankton as its new wide receivers coach polarized segments of the fan base.
Some loved it, seeing his track record working with players like first-round NFL draft picks Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas at LSU. Others felt his track record as a recruiter left something to be desired, given that he has only served as the primary recruiter for one five-star prospect in his career, that being George Pickens, while Hankton was at Georgia.
But Ryan Day clearly loved Hankton’s fit, and based on his comments during an offseason edition of his radio show with 97.1 The Fan, Ohio State’s players love it too.
“We looked at, as you can imagine, we looked at everybody in the country,” Day said. “When we brought him on a visit, we kind of had him go in the room with some of the receivers, and by the end, when they got out of the meeting, they were all nodding their head like, ‘This is our guy.’ And I think it's important for them to have some ownership with that. So, he's off to a good start.”
“We kind of had him go in the room with some of the receivers, and by the end, when they got out of the meeting, they were all nodding their head like, ‘This is our guy.’”– Ryan Day on how Cortez Hankton made an impression
As the pieces have fallen together for Ohio State’s 2026 wide receivers room, Day is confident in its direction this season from both a coaching and talent perspective.
“When you look at sort of the last couple groups we've had, we have some really good young players,” Day said. “We have some guys that are kind of making that transition as sophomores, juniors. Then we have some older guys. And so, sort of how we've put that together is so that you have a mix of all of those, which isn't always perfect. But that's what we have in this room.”
The wheels started turning for Ohio State to hire Hankton after Brian Hartline, perhaps the best receivers coach in college football history, left to become head coach of South Florida after an eight-year tenure heading up the wideout position at his alma mater. Hankton stood out early in the process as a man with bona fide chops for receiver development, not just with Nabers, Thomas and Pickens, but each of the seven total NFL draft picks he produced for LSU and Georgia.
“When Brian took the South Florida job, one of the things we wanted to do was make sure that we replaced somebody with a really good coach,” Day said. “And Cortez is somebody that not only made an impact on some of the guys that are already here in the recruiting process, but he's coached some really high-end guys.”
Day’s interviews with Hankton impressed him further.
“It doesn't take long for you to spend some time with him to realize just how intelligent he is, how much he relates well to the players,” Day said.
Hankton’s first receiver room at Ohio State includes the best receiver in the country, which is always a plus. Jeremiah Smith returns for a third and likely final season of college football before he heads off to the NFL draft as a projected top-five pick. After a sophomore campaign featuring 87 receptions for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns, Smith is on track to break each of the big three career receiving records at Ohio State.
“It starts with Jeremiah,” Day said. “Having Jeremiah come back was a huge deal. And I think, I'm sure the fans don't quite understand what goes into these things, because there's a lot that goes with it. So the best receiver in college football is back in Columbus, and that's a big deal for all of us, as we know. He makes everybody on the field better every day.”
The goal for Day in the transfer portal was to add an experienced Z receiver to round out Ohio State’s rotation. The Buckeyes landed two in UTSA’s Devin McCuin and LSU’s Kyle Parker, who followed Hankton from Baton Rouge to Columbus. McCuin was clocked at a blazing 10.28 seconds in the 100-meter dash in high school and his tape at UTSA included some “wow” plays, in Day’s words. He had 65 receptions for 726 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025.
Parker is another speedster who collected 31 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. Day values his high-level experience playing in the SEC, too. Both Parker and McCuin join returning slot receiver Brandon Inniss in bolstering Ohio State’s receiver rotation with experienced hands alongside Smith, though the Buckeyes need more from Inniss than the 271 receiving yards he posted as a team captain this past season.
“Brandon was critical coming back,” Day said. “Not only a captain, but somebody who now is a senior who brings a lot of leadership. And he needs to take the next step for us. He knows that. He needs to make an impact on games, which he wants to do in the worst way. So that was important. And then we felt like we needed to get older and more experienced at the Z position. That was important. So we did have some guys leave, but they were younger guys that hadn't played a whole lot.”
Two freshmen and top-50 overall prospects will also get chances to compete in Chris Henry Jr. and Jerquaden Guilford. Henry, a five-star recruit ranked as the No. 14 player and No. 2 receiver in his class, comes in with plenty of polish after playing for powerhouse Mater Dei in high school.
“They're really talented, as we know,” Day said.
Now, it’ll be up to Hankton, Smith and the surrounding talents to ensure Ohio State’s receiver room is once again one of the best in college football in the post-Hartline era.
