Buckeyes Signed Versatile Group Of Receivers In 2025 Class

Ohio State receivers coach Brian Hartline has made a name for himself as a top-notch recruiter and developer of receivers, and he once again brought in a solid haul of pass-catchers in the 2025 recruiting class.

The Buckeyes signed four receivers last Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period: Quincy Porter out of Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey; Bodpegn Miller out of Ontario High School in Mansfield, Ohio; Phillip Bell out of Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, California, and De’zie Jones out of DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, New Jersey.

That number does not include Carver High School athlete Turbo Rogers out of Montgomery, Alabama who head coach Ryan Day sees as a guy who can be a hybrid threat for the Buckeyes down the road.

Speaking on Wednesday, Day talked a bit about each of the receivers they brought in, starting with the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Quincy Porter.

“Quincy really is a bigger receiver. That is a different style than we’ve probably had,” Day said. “Obviously Jeremiah [Smith] is big, but Quincy really – we loved his film going into last year. We felt like the game that he had against Chaminade, against Jeremiah’s team the year before, was the one that really separated him for us. He really competed well, played well, and then you saw the season he had for Bergen Catholic this year. And Vito Campanelli does a great job with that program. It’s a state championship program, and he’s a big physical guy.”

As a senior, Porter caught 57 passes for 969 yards and 11 touchdowns in helping lead his team to a state title. Porter is a five-star prospect and the No. 2 receiver in the class per On3’s rankings.

Porter’s size stands out, but he’s also an effective after-the-catch guy.

“And when you look at those guys, you look at where Marvin [Harrison] was as a junior and senior in high school — Jeremiah’s a little bit different — but those bigger guys, they grow into their bodies and just become stronger and faster. We think all that’s going to happen with Quincy. Got a great work ethic, works really hard.”

De’zie Jones (6-0 195) amassed over 3,000 receiving yards in his DePaul career, catching over 50 passes in each of his final three seasons. He was very effective as a slot receiver and already appears to be an advanced rout runner. They see similar versatility in Phillip Bell (6-1 195).

“Des is the teammate with [signee] Deshawn [Stewart] at DePaul Catholic. We signed him early,” Day said. “We think, again, another versatile guy that can line up inside and line up outside, does a lot of great things. Phil Bell has had a challenging fall, has been through some different things, but is very mature. Our comp for him is probably Emeka [Egbuka], just with his physicality and the way he plays. He could line up inside or outside as well. So, again, versatility with him.”

Bodpegn Miller (6-4 185) has a kind of versatility all his own since he spent his career as a quarterback. He was a finalist for Mr. Football in Ohio as a senior, where he threw for 2,216 yards and rushed for nearly another 2,000. Miller was an all-state performer in the 200-meter dash and the 4×200-meter relay. He earned an offer from Ohio State at a camp last June performing in front of Hartline and Day, and impressing both.

“Bodpegn is kind of the wild card,” Day said. “He’s a local guy who came to camp, did some great things, ran some really good times. And then you watch him run some routes, which he hadn’t done a whole lot of in his high school career. You see some really high-end things that he was doing, especially with his size at 6’4″. And then you watch some of the games he had this season, very, very competitive, plays quarterback. So I don’t know if that will be a year one for him, but we think that he can be a very, very good receiver.”

Overall, the Buckeyes got a couple of outside receivers and a pair who can slide inside. Now they just need to be developed.

“So some different styles of guys in there,” Day said. “But, you know, you’ve got to have 10 or 11 guys on a roster, and you want to be able to develop some guys. So we have some guys that will probably be a little bit further along when they first walk in than some other guys that we’re going to develop.”

Ohio State has filled some needs, they’ve also replenished some numbers. If nobody else leaves for the portal — or arrives from it — Ohio State will open fall camp with 10 scholarship wide receivers. A freshman or two may need to be ready to fill a role in 2025.