NFL starting wide reciever claps back at former Ohio State coach over comment that was made about his recruitment
The world of college football recruiting is ever-changing. It looks drastically different than it did 10 years ago with the emergence of NIL, and it’s bound to look even more different 10 years from now. One position the Ohio State Buckeyes are recruiting at an especially high level right now is wide receiver. The Buckeyes […]
The world of college football recruiting is ever-changing. It looks drastically different than it did 10 years ago with the emergence of NIL, and it’s bound to look even more different 10 years from now.
One position the Ohio State Buckeyes are recruiting at an especially high level right now is wide receiver. The Buckeyes spend big at Brian Hartline’s position—and they develop talent there just as well.
Before Hartline took over as wide receivers coach, it was Zach Smith leading the group. Smith was fired amid domestic violence allegations but recently shared a story on his podcast Menace 2 Sports about a now-NFL player the Buckeyes reportedly stopped recruiting for a specific reason.
“The kid (Wan’Dale Robinson) kept pushing back, like ‘I don’t know. Well, I gotta go to Kentucky,’ before he could make a decision on a commitment,” explained Smith on his Menace 2 Sports podcast. “And Urban finally said—he looked at me—he’s like, ‘What are we doing right now?’ He said to the kid, ‘Are we still talking about Kentucky?’ And the kid was like, ‘Huh? Yeah.’ And [Meyer] was like, ‘We don’t recruit against Kentucky. If you want to go to Kentucky, that’s a red flag for me. We don’t want you.’”
Robinson ended up playing two seasons at Nebraska, surpassing 450 receiving yards each year, before transferring to Kentucky. There, he broke out with 1,334 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. His development led to being selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
Robinson responded to Smith’s story on X, disputing the idea that he wasn’t a take for the Buckeyes:
“Considering I still took an OV to OSU, I think I was a take,” Robinson wrote.
Recruiting can be a messy game, and sometimes schools pull the rug out from under prospects even after extending offers. Whether this story is entirely accurate or not, only a few people likely know the full truth.
