Ohio State beats Alabama, USC, Miami for 5-star WR Brandon Inniss

Another recruiting cycle, another case of Ohio State cleaning up at receiver. Brandon Inniss, from American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., committed to the Buckeyes on Tuesday, becoming the second five-star receiver to join OSU’s 2023 class this week.

Inniss is the No. 2 receiver in the class and the No. 18 overall player in the 247Sports Composite Rating. He picked the Buckeyes from a long list of suitors, including Alabama, Miami and USC, among many others. He’s the third receiver in Ohio State’s 2023 class, joining five-star prospect Carnell Tate and four-star prospect Bryson Rodgers. Tate, who is a 7-on-7 teammate of Inniss on South Florida Express, committed Monday.

With Inniss in the fold, Ohio State’s 2023 class now features four top-100 players: Inniss, Tate, offensive lineman Luke Montgomery and cornerback Dijon Johnson.

The Buckeyes and receivers coach Brian Hartline have long made Inniss a priority, but the recruitment really started to pick up after Inniss decommitted from Oklahoma in November following head coach Lincoln Riley’s move to USC. Riley still made a run at Inniss from the West Coast. Alabama and Miami pushed as well. Ohio State won in the end, landing another of the premier prospects at the position — which is becoming a regularity with Hartline taking the lead in the recruitments. The coach has made Ohio State the top destination for the best high school receiver prospects. Inniss is just the latest example.

Assuming everyone in this class signs, Ohio State will have inked 13 top-100 receivers among the 16 that Hartline has signed since 2019. With Inniss and Tate in the fold this year, OSU has landed five of the top-15 receivers, regardless of class, since 2020 — more than any other program.

Ohio State’s class now features 12 commits and ranks No. 2 in the country.

(Photo: Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)