Elite 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. commits to Ohio State

COLUMBUS — The Ohio State wide receiver recruiting success isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

In fact, it might just be getting started: 2026 in-state wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. has committed to the Buckeyes.

Henry Jr., the son of the late Chris Henry, chose the Buckeyes and made his announcement during the program’s Summer event on Friday night, announcing his decision to reporters who were on hand.

Chris Henry Jr. is the first prospect to commit to Ohio State in the 2026 recruiting class.

Offered by the Buckeyes before he even played a high school football game, Henry Jr. does not have a ranking from any of the four major recruiting services just yet. He is, however, largely considered a five-star caliber player by many recruiting experts around the country. When rankings do come out for the 2026 recruiting class, expect to see Chris Henry Jr. near the top of the board.

Henry Jr. sees the pipeline of wide receivers that Brian Hartline is putting into the NFL from Ohio State. And he also sees the next batch of them that will be making that jump at some point, most notably Marvin Harrison Jr. and 2024 Ohio State five-star wide receiver commit Jeremiah Smith.

“When I watch Marv and Jeremiah, I can see myself in that position,” Henry told Lettermen Row. “If I ever get to speak with them and learn some things from them I definitely will.”

Our Matt Parker wrote this about Henry Jr. in June:

Henry is one of two 2026 wide receivers with an Ohio State offer, the other being American Heritage standout Malachi Toney. Even with that, he knows he’s the clear-cut top priority for Hartline and doesn’t take that lightly.

With over 20 offers already, it would be easy for him to sit back, but Henry continues the work. He watches current Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. extensively. He will take the time to see what 2024 commit Jeremiah Smith is doing to improve his game.

Henry watches those two specifically as he knows if he chose Ohio State, that position is where he’ll end up.

Now Chris Henry Jr. is officially exiting the recruiting process early in his recruitment. He is choosing to lock himself in as the first commit in the 2026 Ohio State recruiting class.

And the Buckeyes have their first major step toward keeping the wide receiver pipeline alive and well for the extended, foreseeable future.

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