Oregon's dreams of flipping an elite wide receiver come crashing down with latest recruiting update
The Oregon Ducks have made a massive effort to land elite 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr over the last year, trying to pry him away from the Ohio State Buckeyes. The two Big Ten heavyweights have been locked in a battle that has seen Dan Lanning attempting to pull Henry away from his home […]
The Oregon Ducks have made a massive effort to land elite 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr over the last year, trying to pry him away from the Ohio State Buckeyes. The two Big Ten heavyweights have been locked in a battle that has seen Dan Lanning attempting to pull Henry away from his home state, and elite college program (particularly for developing wide receivers), and the state that Henry's father played in during his time in the NFL. It was always going to be a tall task.
According to Henry, he has shut his recruiting down, fully bought in to the Buckeyes.
On3's Hayes Fawcett broke the report with a post on Instagram. In it, Henry is quoted as saying "I want to be in Columbus and I want to be a Buckeye." The top comment on the post is Henry himself, who simply commented with the chestnut emoji often used in association with Ohio State.
I'm not surprised. Quite frankly, I would have been more surprised and ready to buy Lanning a personalized "king of recruiting" crown had he pulled this one off. Henry never seemed to waiver, despite taking his time to visit Oregon and a couple other schools along the way.
For the Ducks, it's a terrifying proposition. As last year's freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith is entering his junior season at Ohio State, Chris Henry Jr., all 6-foot-5 of him with an absurd wingspan, will be joining the roster. The succession plan that Ohio State seemingly always has in their wide receiver factory is honestly absurd, and it has a lot to do with Brian Hartline. The former NFL wide receiver has grown with the Buckeyes from their wide receiver coach all the way up to taking over as offensive coordinator in 2025.
Oregon will turn their attention elsewhere to fill out their wide receiver room, and will continuously be tasked with creating a secondary that can keep up with Ohio State's offense.
Follow along all year for more Oregon Ducks coverage on A to Z Sports. You can find me on Bluesky @jonhelmkamp.bsky.social, as well as follow our main page @AtoZSports.bsky.social for all the latest news.
