Ohio State has been quite the threat on the recruiting trail when it comes to wide receivers. A large credit is due to the work of coach Brian Hartline, who has brought in the top wide receiver class in the past three cycles as he looks to continue this roll he is on into the 2023 class.

With the Buckeyes staff out on the recruiting trail, many offers have been handed out to elite prospects but no other prospect may have been more excited to earn his offer from the Ohio State staff than Bryson Rodgers. 

“I’m actually from Ohio and I moved to Florida, so I’m definitely a Buckeye at heart,” said Rodgers. “My whole family are Buckeye fans, I’ve got a ton of family who still live in Ohio and we just love the Buckeyes so this offer means everything to us.”

Rodgers is a fast rising 2023 four-star WR and a top-300 player nationally so it was no surprise to hear that Hartline took a direct visit to Rodgers school in Florida to hand deliver the message he was receiving an offer. 

“Coach Hartline came in around the end of my school day and we just connected right from the beginning,” said Rogers. “He’s just a great coach and you can see that from all the players he’s coached, but he’s also just a great person. With Ohio State being my dream school, and him being the coach I would get to play for, it’s the perfect combination for me.”

Rodgers had held 27 offers before Ohio State entered the mix yesterday. The Silver Bulletin asked Rodgers what that does for his recruitment with the Buckeyes entering the mix later than many others.

“Anytime you get offered by your dream school, it does not matter, it’s your dream coming true,” Rodgers explained. “It’s always been a dream to be a Buckeye, it did not matter if this offer came first, tenth, thirtieth, fiftieth. It did not matter which position this one came at.”

Rodgers is fully aware of the loaded wide receiver room at Ohio State and mentions that he does not see that as a negative for himself but its rather an honor to get the chance to compete against those players at the next level if he were to join the Buckeyes. 

“It’s just an honor to be looked at in the same light as some of those guys…I’ll be ready to compete with them all and proud doing it,” said Rodgers. 

Rodgers is definitely a humble athlete who does not like to talk about himself too much but Brian Hartline had some high praise for the young wide out. 

“Coach Hartline gave me a great comparison today when we spoke, he compared me to Marvin Harrison Jr.” said Rodgers. “With the fast, twitchy, good size, good weight, good hands, that was just a big complement to me in itself. He told me he’s only taking three wide receivers in this class…so just being seen by Coach Hartline it’s a blessing.”

Being from Florida there is not too many players that share the same love for Ohio State that Rodgers has. However, Rodgers mentioned to The Silver Bulletin that he is great friends with current Buckeye Kye Stokes who is an early enrollee in the 2022 class.

“Kye just loves the environment at Ohio State, and he tells me every other day that this is your type of environment and where you will fit best at,” said Rodgers. “I definitely believe him because were such great friends, we know each other like the back of our hands and he knows the kind of person I am. So if one of my brothers is telling me that he knows that this is  the right move for me then it just confirms how I feel about Ohio State.”

Ohio State is set to land another big haul of wide receivers in the 2023 class, and a new big time target has officially joined the mix. It’s always a race to secure a spot in the class before someone else takes it, but the Buckeyes are certainly looking forward to trying to earn that commitment from Rodgers. 

Featured image via: On3