Ohio State football admits to 4 minor recruiting violations amid hot offseason
Ohio State has reportedly self-reported minor recruitment infractions involving Ohio State football to the NCAA, per Joey Kaufman of the Columbus Dispatch. The infractions are Level III by nature, which is the least serious among all tiers of NCAA violations.
The violations took place over the course of five months, during which Ohio State football reached out to an unnamed player before the player entered the transfer portal. An Ohio State football assistant reportedly contracted the
player, who had at the time only shown interest in entering the portal via a post on X (formerly Twitter). However, it’s clear that coaches can only reach out to transfer portal prospects AFTER a decision to transfer has been officially made. The coach immediately stopped communication with the player as soon as he realized it was against NCAA rules, according to Ohio State’s report.
Ohio State also reported a high school player getting a photo edit after a recruitment event back in July. The player, Chris Henry Jr, who is one of the top wideouts in the class of 2026, had an edited photo given to his legal guardian by Ohio State football offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline. Former NFL defensive back Adam Jones, Henry’s legal
guardian, and Hartline knew each other, but under NCAA rules, such materials are not allowed to be distributed to a prospect and their families before they reach junior year in high school. Henry was about to enter his sophomore year at the time of the infraction.
The other two violations involve a booster contacting a player before a game and an Ohio State staff member making a comment on a social media post by a transfer.
