Ryan Day and Ohio State’s tryst with fate is complete. After a decade of longing, the Natty is finally back in Columbus. For these bluebloods to go on a drought without one only made the triumph sweeter and the hardware shinier. Moreover, winning it while traversing the inaugural 12-team playoff has got to feel extra rewarding. Especially because of the gauntlet they defeated en route. Tennessee- orange squashed. Oregon- flowers laid on their proverbial coffins at the Rose Bowl. Texas’ burnt orange hype stopped at a scarlet-red stoplight, and the Fighting Irish outfought. That Oregon win represented something greater than even the blowout scoreline could project. Oregon won the Big 10 and was ranked No. 1 in the country. Ryan Day snatched Dan Lanning’s chain that evening in Pasadena. But it’s exacted a cost. Lanning is out for revenge.
With fall still a distance away, Oregon is battling on the recruitment frontier. The Ducks currently have a top-3 ranked commit class for 2026. Those sweet Phil Knight-Nike dollars and Dan Lanning’s sustained progress are a deadly concoction. As an extension of their amazing efforts on the recruitment trail, Oregon commit Kendre Harrison has just made a massive announcement. The 5-star tight end has prematurely shut down his recruitment, reports On3’s Hayes Fawcett. Harrison is completely locked in with coach Lanning and has already made his mind up. “What’s understood don’t have to be explained, I’m HOME…SCO DUCKS” he said. For the No. 1 TE prospect in his class to show, this level of confidence in the Ducks is a battery up their backs. But how does this pertain to Ryan Day’s Buckeyes?
Scratch the conspicuous surface, and you’ll notice Oregon is coming for one of theirs. Kendre Harrison’s announcement just became the vessel for a major flip. Ohio State has a storied lineage of wide receivers. Jeremiah Smith is only the latest and arguably greatest of their history with the position. The likes of Marvin Harrison and Garrett Wison are a couple of others over recent years. The Buckeyes are all lined up to continue this succession of elite WRs with 5-star Chris Henry Jr. Or are they?
The Cali native has been committed to OSU since 2023 and is rated the absolute top prospect in the class of ‘26 by ESPN. A huge coup for coach Day. However, he may be getting twitchy feet. Just maybe, Oregon’s magnetic allure could be getting Chris Henry to turn his head towards his native Pacific coast. His interaction with the Kendre Harrison announcement, coupled with the location he interacted from, will not go down well in Columbus. Henry commented a subtle yet telling “” emoji under Hayes Fawcett’s post for Harrison’s announcement. This may not be much in insolation, granted. But there is no smoke without fire, and we quite literally have some fire.
To add to Ryan Day’s peril, Chris Henry was simultaneously in Eugene, Oregon as this news broke. He’s one an official visit to the Ducks’ campus. This flirtation with Oregon while taken a visit there mere hours ago doesn’t bode well for coach Day. Henry’s itinerary of OVs also consists of Miami, his in-state USC and Ohio State themselves. There’s a potential inclination to staying close to home with him scheduling visits to USC and Oregon. It’s not quite time to sound the alarm bells, but the Buckeyes need to be wary. Losing Chris Henry will hurt massively, but him flipping to another Big 10 contender will be a travesty. With all this said, the uninitiated may be wondering why all this fuss about Chris Henry. Well, he’s earned it and more.
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