Richard McNutt was a cornerback at Ohio State from 1999-2002. His son is now considering following in his father’s footsteps as he goes through his own recruiting process.
A little over two months after receiving his offer from the Buckeyes on a spring practice visit, Trey McNutt was back at Ohio State on Wednesday to participate in OSU’s third high school football camp of the summer. He received plenty of attention from Tim Walton in the process, going through a one-on-one workout with Ohio State’s secondary/cornerbacks coach before the start of the actual camp, in which he led drill lines for the cornerbacks throughout the afternoon.
Four-star 2025 DB Trey McNutt, the son of former Ohio State CB Richard McNutt, is working out at Ohio States recruiting camp Wednesday with Tim Walton. pic.twitter.com/1DTwGVWsq0
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) June 14, 2023
2025 Ohio defensive back Trey McNutt, son of former Ohio State cornerback Richard McNutt, hauls in the interception on the deep heave from Ryan Day. pic.twitter.com/ZXrwpktIuk
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 14, 2023
McNutt left the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Wednesday feeling as though his connection with Walton and Ohio State had gotten stronger.
“Coach Walton, me and him are building a relationship right now, and it’s getting better and better. This is my second time here, and I'm having a great time,” McNutt said after the camp.
McNutt, who is entering his junior year at Shaker Heights High School outside of Cleveland, has long been familiar with Ohio State because of his father, who is now the defensive backs coach at Tennessee State. The younger McNutt says his father has helped him navigate the recruiting process, and the elder McNutt has had plenty of good things to tell his son about his alma mater.
“He just said it’s a great program. He played in the 2002 championship, so yeah, it’s just amazing,” Trey McNutt said. “I ain’t grow up in Columbus, but knowing that my family did, all the dogs who have been here, it's a great feeling knowing I could maybe have a chance to rep O-State.”
While McNutt has played both cornerback and safety for Shaker Heights, where he also plays on offense as a wide receiver, he spent Wednesday working with Walton and the cornerbacks and says that’s the position he expects to play at the next level. He measured in at 5’11 3/4” and 185 pounds and ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash on Wednesday, though he says he’s still growing and is “definitely going to get bigger” and said he usually runs the 40 in closer to 4.45 seconds.
McNutt believes his speed and quickness are his best attributes while he also enjoys the physicality that comes with playing cornerback. He says he doesn’t model his game after any specific player, preferring to draw whatever he can from every player he watches.
“I watch everybody, so I'll take little things from every other cornerback, safety,” McNutt said. “Just process the game, study the game, study how wide receivers move.”
He’s also drawn plenty of wisdom from his father being a secondary coach himself.
“He just helps me out a lot,” McNutt said. “He just taught me how to do little things as a cornerback, how to just play the game.”
With two high school football seasons still to go, McNutt has no timeline for when he wants to make a college decision. Ranked as the No. 154 overall prospect, No. 18 cornerback and No. 6 prospect in Ohio in the 2025 class, McNutt already has plenty of options to choose from, holding offers from more than two dozen schools including Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee and USC, among others.
“Coach Walton, me and him are building a relationship right now, and it’s getting better and better.”– Trey McNutt on his relationship with Tim Walton
Before making his way to Ohio State on Wednesday, McNutt made visits to USC, UCLA and Michigan in late May and trips to Notre Dame, Purdue, Tennessee and West Virginia earlier this month. Now that all of those trips are done, McNutt says he’ll spend the rest of the summer focusing on his development as a football player and preparing for his junior year, in which he hopes to continue establishing himself as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks.
“I'm working to get to the top of the nation,” McNutt said. “That's my number one goal as a football player. Also, I want to inspire little kids. I got kids asking me how to do things after drills and stuff, so that's one of my top things, inspiring and just be great.”
Although McNutt is in no hurry to make a commitment, the interest between him and the Buckeyes is mutual, and McNutt says he plans to return to Columbus for a game or two this fall while he also wants to attend this year’s Ohio State-Michigan game (which will be played in Ann Arbor). And Ohio State is already checking the box for one of the biggest criterions McNutt is looking for in his eventual college destination: A familial feeling with the coaches he’ll be playing for and the teammates he’ll be playing with.
“They teach brotherhood a lot,” McNutt said. “I know that if I were to come here, it’s gonna be a good relationship.”
