National Champion Head Coach Commended for Top 5 Recruiting Cycle

A national champion head coach has been lauded for his program's top five finish in the 2026 college football recruiting cycle.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Sept. 27, 2025. Ohio State won 24-6. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 college football season ended with Indiana's victory over Miami (27-21) in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

Of the 12 teams in the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff, four were returning from the 2024-2025 edition. One of the three dissatisfied repeat customers was Ohio State, whose hopes of repeating as national champion were dashed in the quarterfinals.

The Buckeyes are entering their eighth season under head coach Ryan Day's leadership in 2026. Ohio State ventured to the College Football Playoff in four of the previous seven seasons, appearing in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship game and winning the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship game.

To make matters more painful, Ohio State was undefeated going into the 2025-2026 postseason. It suffered a close loss to eventual national champion Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game and never led in its season-ending Cotton Bowl loss to Miami.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day yells during the NCAA football game against the UCLA Bruins | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite its shortcomings on the national stage, Day is determined to lead the Buckeyes to redemption in 2026. FOX Sports college football analysts RJ Young, Michael Cohen and Laken Litman released a list of the college football programs they felt won the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Young thought Day did the best job of all coaches in balancing his high school recruiting class with his transfer portal acquisitions in the 2026 cycle.

"Ohio State is the only program in the 2026 cycle to put together a top-five high school recruiting and transfer portal class, which is perhaps the biggest flex for off-the-field success that we've seen this season," Young wrote.

"The Buckeyes had aspirations of becoming the first back-to-back national champions in school history last year, but their hopes were dashed by the national title runner-up (Miami). Ohio State is investing in winning now and in the future by adding veterans and talented freshmen to a program that expects to win at a high level."

247Sports ranked Ohio State's 2026 class as the fourth-best nationally, sitting behind Oregon, Alabama and USC. The Buckeyes boast a pair of five-stars in wide receiver Chris Henry Jr and cornerback Cincere Johnson to go along with 15 four-star signees in their 2026 class.

Ohio State also cracked the top five in 247Sports transfer portal class rankings, sitting behind Miami, Texas, Ole Miss and LSU. The Buckeyes brought in four-stars in tight end Hunter Welcing (Northwestern), Earl Little Jr. (Florida State), defensive lineman James Smith (Alabama), defensive end Qua Russaw (Alabama) and safety Terry Moore (Duke).

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches from the sideline during the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images