Naeshaun Montgomery has been hoping for an Ohio State offer since he was a young child.
The four-star 2025 Florida wide receiver had the dream turn into a reality on May 24. Montgomery currently resides in West Palm Beach, Florida, but has only lived in The Sunshine State for a little under a year since moving from Rhode Island, where he said he grew up loving Ohio State.
“To be honest, I was mindblown when I first got it,” Montgomery told Eleven Warriors after picking up his OSU offer. “Because I’ve loved Ohio State since I was young. When I got that, I didn’t know what to say.”
Blessed To Say I Received An ffer From @OhioStateFB @ryandaytime @brianhartline @JackDan55847282 pic.twitter.com/eidsMWxYEr
— Naeshaun Montgomery (@NaeshaunM) May 24, 2023
Ohio State had been recruiting Montomgery for nearly a month before he received the offer, with tight ends coach Keenan Bailey stopping by his school to visit him a week before Hartline arrived in May. Bailey told the 6-foot, 160-pound wideout Hartline would likely be stopping by shortly after his visit to extend an OSU offer to Montgomery, and OSU’s new offensive coordinator was indeed the one that offered him. While visiting Montgomery, Hartline and the wide receiver had a productive conversation.
“He said he knows there’s a lot of coaches that are on me right now, but he wants to jump on me right now because I have a great skillset and I could definitely fit in their program,” Montgomery said. “I’m definitely grateful, because what I’m hearing from my coach is that Hartline definitely knows what he’s doing. He’s produced a lot of receivers to the league and I know he can definitely get me to the next level if I go there.”
Montgomery, considered the 78th-best prospect and 12th-rated wide receiver in the 2025 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings, has picked up more than 20 Division I offers so far.
Last season, Montgomery had 251 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 16 catches while helping Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach, Florida) win 11 games. On the field, Montgomery has lined up as both an outside and a slot receiver.
“I like playing outside more,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery said he plans on visiting OSU sometime this summer, but he doesn’t have a specific date set as of yet.
“Definitely their development, I love how many wide receivers they put into the league,” Montgomery said about the main thing he’s interested in regarding Ohio State.
Darrion Smith to visit OSU Tuesday and Wednesday
An Ohio State defensive lineman target in the 2025 class will be making his third visit to Columbus this weekend. Three-star Maryland prospect Darrion Smith announced he’ll be at OSU on Tuesday and Wednesday for a two-day unofficial visit.
I will be in Columbus June 6-7#gobuckeyes pic.twitter.com/7uCdGEDXTk
— Darrion smith (@Darrion_10kk) June 5, 2023
Smith visited OSU twice in the spring, once in late March and another on April 15 for the Buckeyes’ spring game. He earned his Buckeyes offer on his March visit.
“It felt great because coach Larry is a legend,” Smith told Eleven Warriors after the offer. “It was incredible to be offered by him. He said he loves the way I play and that he’d love to develop me as a player. I’d say Ohio State is definitely in my top schools, probably in my top three. I've always wanted to visit Ohio State. I loved being able to watch the team compete. It was really nice. The D-line moved fast and were always competing. They really had a lot of chemistry with each other.”
Dakoda Fields commits to USC
An Ohio State cornerback target is off the board. Four-star California cornerback Dakoda Fields opted to stay home on Monday, committing to USC.
Committed #FightOn @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/iXvWWeYeWj
— Dakoda Fields (@dkthegreat__) June 5, 2023
With Fields off the board, Ohio State will turn its attention to other cornerback targets including Bryce West, Aaron Scott, Kobe Black, Zabien Brown, Cai Bates, Corian Gipson, Miles Lockhart and Terhyon Nichols.
