A lot has changed for Mylan Graham in just one year.
Few in the recruiting industry knew who Graham was when he participated in Ohio State’s first high school football camp of the summer on June 1, 2022. It was on that day that Graham received his very first college scholarship offer from Brian Hartline and the Buckeyes after impressing with his performance on the practice fields outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Three hundred and seventy-six days later, Graham was the most well-known player on the field when he participated in Ohio State’s second high school football camp of 2023 on Monday. Now committed to Ohio State as a five-star recruit ranked as the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 17 overall prospect in the 2024 class, Graham was the center of attention as he went through wide receiver drills and competed against defensive backs in one-on-ones on the same practice fields where he received his first offer one year before.
“Yeah, a year ago was completely different,” Graham said after Monday’s camp. “I mean, I was an under-the-radar type of guy who really had no type of looks. Just trying to prove to everybody that I can play ball. Now it’s completely different. Now everybody knows I can play. I'm just trying to work and just keep getting better.”
Ohio State 5-star 2024 WR commit Mylan Graham makes an impressive catch in one-on-ones. pic.twitter.com/hehzbly6xe
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) June 12, 2023
Another win for Mylan Graham in one-on-ones. pic.twitter.com/0jCkBa9kc5
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) June 12, 2023
With his place in Ohio State’s 2024 class secured, Graham didn’t have anything to prove on Monday. But he made the decision to camp at Ohio State again because he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from Hartline.
“He’s a great coach to learn from, and I just wanted to go back to school, add some stuff to my game,” Graham said. “It's always good to come here … it just feels like home. It felt great to get to work in front of Coach Hartline and Coach Day, show them what I could do.”
Graham finished Monday’s camp feeling better than ever about his commitment to Ohio State, a decision he believes will enable him to maximize his potential under Hartline’s tutelage.
“The more I work with him, the more I understood that it was the best decision for me possible,” Graham said. “And I know the more I work with him, the better player I can be.
“Every experience I’ve had with Coach Hartline, whether he's came to my school or I've worked out in front of him or something like that, on the phone, it's always been a good experience. He's always teaching me some knowledge or things like that. And it really just poured into me the more I wanted to come here because I had really a great bond with him.”
Ohio State wide receiver commit Mylan Graham working out with Brian Hartline at Ohio States second high school football camp of the year. pic.twitter.com/5Ep5H34Sq6
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 12, 2023
Now that Graham has been committed to Ohio State for a couple of months, the plan for his future as a Buckeye is coming into focus. While Graham is comfortable playing both outside and inside, Hartline has told Graham he believes Graham is best suited to play the Z receiver position, which Julian Fleming currently plays for the Buckeyes and Chris Olave previously manned.
Graham says he’ll be closely watching both Fleming and Emeka Egbuka – who also started his Ohio State career playing Z before moving to the slot when Jaxon Smith-Njigba got hurt last year – this season as he prepares to compete for playing time at one of their positions next year. That said, he thinks his game is more comparable to Olave and fellow former Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson than it is to either Fleming or Egbuka.
“I kind of think my game is completely different from them two,” Graham said. “Personally, I think Garrett Wilson (is who he’s most similar to). Just with his ability to play inside and outside, and then just his quickness ability, he’s real athletic, great hands.”
Now that Graham is committed to Ohio State, he’s happy to have the recruiting process behind him. That allows Graham to focus fully on continuing to develop as a football player and finishing his career strong at New Haven (Indiana) High School, where he caught 48 passes for 1,149 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior although his team went just 5-5 in 2022.
“I'm just really just focused on getting my team to win more games, try to get our team to a state title,” Graham said. “I want to produce a good amount of stats, like I did last year, but at the same time, I want to win more games. So this season, I'll focus more on winning.”
Graham is helping Ohio State in its efforts to recruit other players to join him in the 2024 class. He played a part in convincing four-star quarterback Air Noland to join the class just days after he did, and he listed six players on Monday who he’s currently trying to help the Buckeyes recruit: in-state cornerbacks Bryce West and Aaron Scott Jr., in-state safety Reggie Powers, wide receivers Jeremiah McClellan and Elijah Moore and top-ranked offensive tackle Brandon Baker.
Asked specifically about McClellan and Moore, who have emerged as the two most likely candidates to join Graham and fellow five-star Jeremiah Smith in Ohio State’s 2024 receiver class, Graham said he believes they would be great complements to him and Smith because of their variety of skill sets.
“It would definitely add a lot more versatility,” Graham said. “I mean with me, I can play both inside and outside. Jeremiah McClellan's more of a slot. And then Jeremiah (Smith) and Elijah are both two bigger outside guys. So I feel like it just brings a lot more versatility to the receiver room.”
And while there have been questions about Smith’s commitment to Ohio State because of the official visits he’s made to Georgia and Florida and is scheduled to make to Florida State and Miami, Graham expects Smith to join him in Columbus. The two five-star receivers recently bonded while attending the On3 NIL Elite Series event together in Nashville, while they’ll also play together with South Florida Express in the OT7 7-on-7 championship this weekend, and all indications he’s gotten are that Smith still intends on being a Buckeye.
“I haven't really talked to him about that, but I mean, I'm pretty confident that he's not flipping,” Graham said. “I’ve been seeing a lot of the rumors and stuff, like media and things like that. But I’m pretty confident. When I talked to him at the event in Nashville, I mean, he's pretty solid.”
