Ohio State’s 2026 Five-Star Freshmen: The Unseen Stars Ready to Transform the Game

When you dig into the final 2026 recruiting rankings from Rivals, Ohio State isn’t just showing up — they’re making a statement. Tied with Notre Dame for the most five-star commits in the nation, the Buckeyes have brought in five top-tier freshmen ready to shake the foundations of college football. These aren’t just names on a list; they’re game-changers — Jay Timmons, Jerquaden Guilford, Khary Wilder, Cincere Johnson, and Chris Henry Jr. Each one carries a distinct set of skills and a promise that could influence Ohio State’s lineup from day one.

What’s more, the Buckeyes scored big with eleven players landing in the top 150 nationally, building a class that ranked sixth overall — not an easy feat, especially after losing key personnel right before signing day. Amid the chaos, Ryan Day’s squad looks stacked with potential. But for now, the spotlight shines brightest on those five-star athletes and just what kind of immediate impact they might deliver when the 2026 season kicks off. Curious to see what spells out for each of them? Let’s dive in.

LEARN MORE

Rivals released its final rankings for the 2026 class last week, and Ohio State saw a number of its commits receive high praise. Five incoming Buckeye freshmen finished the recruiting cycle as five-star prospects, tying Notre Dame for the most of any program.

Those five are, in order:

Jay Timmons – No. 12 nationally, No. 1 cornerback
Jerquaden Guilford – No. 17 nationally, No. 2 wide receiver
Khary Wilder – No. 22 nationally, No. 6 edge
Cincere Johnson – No. 26 nationally, No. 1 linebacker
Chris Henry Jr. – No. 31 nationally, No. 4 wide receiver

Overall, Ohio State finished with 11 players ranked in the top 150 nationally, with safety Blaine Bradford (No. 54), offensive tackle Sam Greer (No. 62), corner Jordan Thomas (No. 70), linebacker Braxton Rembert (No. 111), defensive lineman Damari Simeon (No. 115) and athlete Legend Bey (No. 147) rounding out that group.

It is an impressive No. 6-ranked class for Ryan Day, especially with the chaos of losing Brian Hartline just before signing day, which led to the loss of wide receiver commit Kayden Dixon-Wyatt (No.35 nationally, No. 5 WR in final Rivals300) to USC.

However, while the group as a whole is tremendously talented, we’re just going to focus on each of the five-star guys and what impact they could possibly have as true freshmen in 2026.

Jay Timmons – CB | Pittsburgh, PA

Ohio State’s cornerbacks room saw a lot of movement this offseason.

Top corner Davison Igbinosun declared for the NFL Draft after three terrific years in Columbus, with the Ole Miss transfer getting better and better each season he played with the Buckeyes in addition to helping them win a national title in 2024. Ohio State also lost a pair of important depth pieces in Aaron Scott and Bryce West, with Scott having potential been in line for a starting role in 2026.

The Buckeyes return Jermaine Mathews Jr., who led the room with 695 snaps this past season, as well as former five-star Devin Sanchez, who played more than 300 snaps as a freshman in 2025. On top of that, Tim Walton brought in a pair of transfers in Dominick Kelly (Georgia) and Cameron Calhoun (Alabama), with the duo likely competing for the CB3 job alongside Mathews and Sanchez.

However, do not count out Timmons, whom Ohio State flipped from Florida State in November before he rapidly climbed up the recruiting rankings.

Timmons is a bit undersized at 5-foot-11, but plays with a high football IQ and is a punishing tackler for his size, in addition to his track speed. The Pittsburgh native played both safety and in the slot for the majority of his season prep season, and could play a factor on the inside for Ohio State in 2026.

The Buckeyes have a lot of options in the secondary, with Jaylen McClain returning at safety plus another pair of transfer additions in Terry Moore and Earl Little Jr. on the back end. That trio is expected to hold down the safety spots with Mathews and Sanchez as your two outside corners, but it would not be at all surprising if Timmons plays some real reps in year one in the slot.

Jerquaden Guilford – WR | Fort Wayne, IN

Ohio State loses No. 2 wide receiver Carnell Tate to the NFL Draft, and they also lost a pair of former five-star prospects in Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham, who both transferred to Notre Dame. That said, they do return the nation’s best player in Jeremiah Smith, as well as senior captain Brandon Inniss.

While a lot of talent has left the room, Brian Hartline’s final recruiting haul plus Cortez Hankton’s work in the portal has the unit still looking among the top groups in college football.

Ohio State adds a pair of five-star receivers in Guilford and Chris Henry Jr., who we will talk about later, and they also brought in two intriguing options in the transfer portal in Kyle Parker (LSU) and Devin McCuin (UTSA). With only one starting job up for grabs, everyone assumes it will be freshman phenom CHJ, but do not sleep on Guilford.

The Indiana native made an insane jump in the rankings, going from a four-star and the No. 131 prospect in the country all the way up to No. 17 overall and the No. 2 wide receiver in the nation behind only Oregon signee Jalen Lott. Yes, that means he finished the cycle ranked even higher than Henry Jr., at least according to Rivals.

Here is a little bit of what Rivals’ Charles Power had to say of Guilford’s ascension:

“Jerquaden Guilford has been on a steady rise dating back to the fall. He put together a great senior season, essentially doubling his production year over year. He carried that momentum into the week of practice at the Navy All-American Bowl, where he looked like one of the top receivers on hand.”

“What really impresses us about Guilford is his combination of size, athleticism and functional movement skills. This is a guy who is close to 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, tests as a phenomenal athlete, but he can really harness that speed.”

I think Guilford is going to turn a lot of heads in camp this offseason. There is a reason Hartline when out of his way to recruit the impressive pass-catcher way before he was anywhere close to five-star status. With Henry Jr. and Parker likely have the inside track to play the most snaps behind Smith and Inniss, I think there’s a good chance it is actually Guilford who earns the largest share of the WR3 role.

Khary Wilder – EDGE | Gardena, CA

Similar to the case following the 2024 season, Ohio State is tasked with replacing basically its entire defensive line. Caden Curry, Kayden McDonald and Tywone Malone are off to the NFL, and depth pieces like CJ Hicks, Jarquez Carter, Joshua Mickens and others have hit the transfer portal.

This time around, however, they do have the added bonus of returning a pair of starters (or at least co-staters, in one case) in Kenyatta Jackson at defensive end and Eddrick Houston on the interior. Jackson played the second-most snaps of any EDGE behind only Curry, finishing second on the team with 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss, while Houston split time with Malone at tackle.

Both guys return in 2026 with a starting job in hand, but beyond them there are a lot of question marks.

Ohio State brought in some intriguing options via the transfer portal. John Walker (UCF) and James Smith (Alabama) figure to be key contributors on the interior, while Qua Russaw (Alabama) will join in-house options like Zion Grady, Beau Atkinson and others off the edge.

With no clear option to run away with the starting job, the door is wide open for Wilder to make a significant impact in year one — perhaps the biggest of any of these five-star freshman.

That opinion is aided by how important a recruitment he was for Ohio State, with both position coach Larry Johnson and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia making an in-home visit with the California kid.

“[Patricia] was telling me how they would use me, how he sees me fitting in their system, like how my strengths could come and impact Ohio State my first year,” Wilder told On3. “Then how I could develop into an even better player and how in his system he’ll let me kind of be versatile, too, which is the thing that I really love.”

Wilder was a four-year contributor in high school, putting it all together in his senior season to the tune of 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in only 10 games. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, Wilder comes to Columbus with a college-ready frame, and appears to be primed for a significant early role at defensive end — whether as a starter or a crucial part of the rotation.

Cincere Johnson – LB | Cleveland, OH

Ohio State is sending both of its starting linebackers from 2025 to the NFL Draft, and both are expected to be first round draft picks. Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese were both excellent for the Buckeyes’ dominant defense this past season, and they leave behind some massive shoes to fill.

While it will be nearly impossible to replace their production, at least from the jump, there are at least a handful of options on the roster to step up. The most obvious candidates are Payton Pierce and Riley Pettijohn, with Pierce playing the third-most snaps of any linebacker this past season and Pettijohn flashing as a freshman with a high recruiting pedigree.

Ohio State also added Wisconsin linebacker Christian Alliegro to the mix, plus the aforementioned Russaw can play a bit of outside linebacker as well. TJ Alford is another guy in that room to lookout for, who was a former top-150 player and perhaps an under-the-radar option in the mix heading into next season.

One guy who could throw a wrench into everyone’s plays, though, is Cincere Johnson.

Coming to Columbus as the nation’s top linebacker, the Cleveland Glenville product really shot up the rankings during his senior campaign. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound defender racked up an astonishing 134 tackles to go along with 25.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks, helping lead the Tarblooders to a Division IV state championship.

“Ohio State signee Cincere Johnson is the definition of a downhill warrior. His ability to trigger and detonate ball carriers on contact is exceptional,” Rivals’ National Scout Cody Bellaire said. “After seeing him process and diagnose what opposing offenses were doing all week at Under Armour All-American, it was clear that Johnson is the most ready-made backer in the 2026 cycle.”

The 2025 MaxPreps Ohio High School Football Player of the Year, Johnson is an absolute stud. There is seemingly a crowded room in front of him, but the talented Ohio native might just force his way into the rotation in year one.

Chris Henry Jr. – WR | Santa Ana, CA

We don’t have to spent too much time here, as we already discussed the current state of the wide receivers room. It also seems pretty clear that the expectation is that Henry Jr. will earn a starting role as a freshman, much in the same way that Jeremiah Smith did before him.

There is a lot of pressure on Henry Jr. to produce right away, both in following the footsteps of Smith and after his dramatic Signing Day decision to stick with his commitment to Ohio State following the departure of Hartline. The Buckeyes are likely paying quite the chunk of change to bring the Ohio native back to Columbus from the West Coast, and so I’m sure they will be expecting some early return on investment.

Henry Jr. was a star at Mater Dei, tallying 28 catches for 607 yards and six touchdowns in eight games as a senior. The wideout played only two games as a junior, missing the rest of the year with a knee injury, but set the school record at his previous high school, Withrow in Cincinnati, with 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore.

One time the No. 1 player in the country on some recruiting sites, Henry Jr. took a bit of a tumble in the final Rivals rankings, finishing as the No. 4 receiver and No. 31 player overall on the tail end of five-star status. That injury in his junior season didn’t help, but there’s no reason to think he isn’t still every bit the elite player he’s been thought to be throughout his recruitment.

Ohio State will have quite a mismatch on both sides with the 6-foot-5 Henry Jr. on one side and the 6-foot-3 athletic freak that is Jeremiah Smith on the other, but watch out for Guilford to sneak his way into that rotation. If the Buckeyes ever put all three on the field at once, it could get scary for opposing defenses.