Ohio State hosted Student Appreciation Day over the weekend as part of its ongoing spring football practice period. The event brought both students and recruits alike to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to watch the current group of Buckeyes prepare for the 2026 season.
One of those in attendance was 2027 quarterback Wonderful “Champ” Monds IV. Formerly the No. 1 QB in the 2028 class, Monds reclassified to 2027, where he is currently the No. 19 QB in the cycle.
The 6-foot-2, 224-pound Florida native holds nearly three dozen offers, including Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, and many others, in addition to Ohio State. While Ryan Day already has a 2027 quarterback committed in Brady Edmunds, the Buckeyes were initially interested in Monds as their guy in 2028.
However, a two-quarterback class is not a dealbreaker to the Vero Beach product. In speaking with Garrick Hodge of 247Sports, Monds said he would be ‘completely fine’ being part of an Ohio State class with two guys at the position.
“It was a great visit overall getting to see coach Billy Fessler, coach Ryan Day and coach Arthur Smith,” Monds told Hodge. “I just wanted to get up there and see them operate the offense again. It was a great experience overall getting to meet Julian Sayin and all the receivers in that wide receiver room and see how much of a brotherhood those guys have.”
Ohio State was one of five spring visits scheduled for Monds, coming off trips to Florida and Florida State with upcoming visits to Miami and Notre Dame to follow.
Elsewhere, Ohio State made the top schools for one of the best pass-catchers in the 2027 class. On Sunday, five-star wide receiver Eric McFarland trimmed his list of around 35 offers down to 11, with the Buckeyes on the shortlist alongside Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Texas and others.
McFarland is the No. 5 WR and the No. 25 player overall in the cycle per the 247Sports Composite. The IMG Academy product has official visits scheduled with four of his finalists, with trips planned to see Georgia (May 15), Texas A&M (May 28), USC (June 5) and Ohio State (June 12).
The Buckeyes were previously pegged as one of the three schools making the biggest push for McFarland, alongside the Aggies and the Trojans. It also can’t hurt to be the school that gets the last visit, with position coach Cortez Hankton getting the chance to leave a lasting impression in this recruitment.
It isn’t like Hankton’s recruiting pitch should be all that difficult given the success of Ohio State wide receivers in the NFL, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba coming off an NFL OPOY season, Carnell Tate set to be a first round NFL Draft pick and Jeremiah Smith the next in line.
Monday’s visitor list
It was a big recruiting weekend for Ohio State, but a new week brings with it plenty of additional opportunities to impress some of the nation’s top prospects. Here are some of the guys who have confirmed their intentions to be in Columbus on Monday…
- 2029 OT Landon Ghea – Milton / Alpharetta, GA
- 2028 EDGE Asa Burch – Harding / Warren, OH
- 2028 WR Ryan Richmond-McDavis – Cardinal Ritter College Prep / St. Louis, MO
- 2027 EDGE Damion King – Westerville North / Westerville, OH
Quick Hits
As mentioned, a ton of players flocked to Columbus over the weekend to take in the festivities. Among those in attendance was the nation’s top wide receiver, Monshun Sales. The No. 1 WR and No. 7 overall player in the 2027 class per the 247Sports Composite, Ohio State has been heavily pursuing the Indiana native.
Sales is set to return to Columbus for an official visit on June 12.
Here are a couple other guys who made their way to the Woody over the weekend:
- Four-star 2027 DL Brayden Parks
- Four-star 2028 OT Antijuan Wilkes
- 2028 LB Griffin Lyons
- Five-star 2028 EDGE Kameron McGee
- Four-star 2027 TE Mason Oglesby
- Four-star 2027 DL Maleek Lee
