Jerquaden Guilford looked the part of a future Ohio State wide receiver during Tuesday’s camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound rising senior from Fort Wayne was one of the top receivers on the field, running his routes with speed and quickness and catching the ball cleanly throughout the day. In between drills, Guilford was consistently flanked by Ohio State’s current wide receivers, who looked ready to welcome Guilford into their unit.
Guilford is Ohio State’s top remaining wide receiver target for the 2026 class. Even though the Buckeyes already have four receivers committed in the cycle, they haven’t stopped recruiting Guilford, who they’ll host for an official visit this weekend. They’ll find out in just over a week whether their recruiting efforts are successful, as Guilford is set to announce his college choice on June 27.
NEWS: Class of 2026 WR Jerquaden Guilford is down to Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, & Ole Miss, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 13, 2025
The 62 195 WR from Fort Wayne, IN will announce his Commitment June 27th
Where Should He Go? https://t.co/mPx23lZssa pic.twitter.com/hMqhQ7VwnJ
Guilford wasn’t ready to make any declarations on Tuesday about what he might do next week. But the fact that he chose to camp at Ohio State just three days before his official visit, even though he’s already had an offer from the Buckeyes since he camped at Ohio State last summer, speaks to how strong his interest in OSU is – as did his comment when asked what he likes about Ohio State.
“They say it’s Wide Receiver U for a reason. Stats don't lie,” Guilford told Eleven Warriors. “People lie, girls lie, everybody lies, but the numbers don't lie.”
One of the biggest stats Ohio State has going for it in wide receiver recruiting right now is the fact that it’s had five wide receivers selected in the first round of the NFL draft in the last four years. That shows receivers like Guilford that Ohio State can help them get to the league, and that’s what he’s looking for as he makes his college choice next week.
“A wide receiver-oriented school, somebody that can get me to the league as fast as possible, and get me development off the field and on the field as well,” Guilford said when asked what he’s looking for as he makes his final visits.
“They say it’s Wide Receiver U for a reason. Stats don't lie.” – Jerquaden Guilford on Ohio State
Leading into this week’s trips to Ohio State, Guilford has also made official visits to Indiana, Michigan and Ole Miss. He initially committed to Penn State last December, but backed off of that commitment in February and is no longer considering the Nittany Lions.
“It was a family decision. They wanted me to reopen my options and go see everything, because they felt like I had suppressed everything, so they wanted me to reopen and see everything,” Guilford said.
If Guilford chooses Ohio State, he’d join another Fort Wayne native in Ohio State’s receiver room, Mylan Graham, who was Guilford’s biggest cheerleader as he went through drills on Tuesday. Graham and Guilford both train with Dre Muhammad, a Fort Wayne-based receiver trainer who also developed former OSU wideout Austin Mack, and Graham could be seen cheering for Guilford after each of the prospect’s successful reps on Tuesday.
Guilford is listed as just a three-star recruit in the 247Sports composite, ranking as the 68th wide receiver and No. 435 overall prospect in the 2026 class, but Ohio State’s continued push for him speaks to Brian Hartline’s belief that Guilford’s a better prospect than the ratings suggest.
The biggest question is how exactly Ohio State would plan to utilize five wide receivers in the same class, as the Buckeyes already have commitments from five-star prospect Chris Henry Jr. and four-star prospects Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Brock Boyd and Jaeden Ricketts. But Guilford and his family will have the chance to get all of their final questions answered during his official visit this weekend.
“I don't really want to say that,” Guilford said when asked what Ohio State had told him about how he’d fit in the class, “but I got an OV this weekend, so we're going to see how it goes.”
