The Hurry-Up: Five-Star Ohio State Wide Receiver Commit Mylan Graham Taking “Different Approach” to Senior Season, Tried to Visit Notre Dame So He Could Watch the Buckeyes

By Garrick Hodge on September 25, 2023 at 5:30 pm
Mylan Graham
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Mylan Graham’s Friday evening didn’t quite pan out as he expected.

Excited to take the field for New Haven High School in a rivalry game, the Ohio State five-star 2024 wide receiver commit suffered a minor ankle injury in the first half that limited him in an otherwise productive evening for his team. 

Graham, a former running back, lined up in the backfield in the second quarter and took a handoff, going for a modest gain, but a defender landed on his ankle awkwardly, causing a minor tweak. 

The Ohio State commit tried staying in the game but was clearly limited and hobbled after the injury. After Graham played two snaps to open the third quarter, he remained on the sideline for the remainder of the game save for one play where he was the holder on a PAT attempt. Graham’s teammates carried the load, though, and found a way to win 21-7 to maintain the team’s undefeated record and 6-0 start. 

“It means a lot,” Graham said of his team finding a way to grind out a win despite him having to watch from the sidelines for most of the second half. “I was very emotional throughout the whole game. Just seeing my team battle and go to war without me just makes me feel great. We’re really making history with our school.”

Graham said after the contest he didn’t believe the injury was serious and was hopeful to play in his team’s game next week. 

In six games this season, Graham has caught 34 passes for 496 yards and six touchdowns. When he was on the field Friday, Graham faced double-teams nearly every snap he lined out wide, which has been a common occurrence since last year, the New Haven resident said. Yet he still found a way to make two early catches before suffering his ankle injury. 

“It definitely (gets frustrating)”, Graham said of the double teams. “But our offensive coordinator does a good job of putting me in situations where they can’t double me, and we have other receivers and running backs capable of making plays.” 

Graham camped with Ohio State over the summer to get some work in with Brian Hartline and says he believes he’s bigger, faster, stronger and a more mentally sound player than he was a year ago. 

“This season, I’m taking a different approach,” Graham said. “I’m looking at it as like I’m getting ready for college. Really just that physical aspect has helped me a lot.” 

The Indiana native committed to Ohio State in early April and has since been fully locked in with the Buckeyes. He talks with Hartline and Ryan Day weekly, along with assistant coach Devin Jordan. 

Graham says some college coaches will still contact him and try to get him to visit their school, but says that possibility is “out the window.” Well, he did try to make one other visit: To Notre Dame on Saturday, but that was only because he wanted to watch Ohio State play. 

“They didn’t want to let me in,” Graham said with a laugh. 

Graham boastfully predicted a 20-point win for the Buckeyes the night before the contest, and while the point disparity prediction was obviously a bit off, his prognostication of an Ohio State win rang true with the Buckeyes’ 17-14 last-second win. 

He said he plans to visit Ohio State for the Buckeyes’ remaining four home games if he can, and since he still has an official visit to use, Graham plans to take his official visit to Columbus for the Penn State or Michigan State game. 

Graham said he occasionally talks with the two other wideouts committed to OSU in the 2024 class in Jeremiah Smith and Jeremiah McClellan, and thinks the Buckeyes are perfectly content with three wide receivers in the current cycle, though he’d be just fine if they added one more. 

“It feels great,” Graham said of his class being in line to continue the tradition of Ohio State producing elite receivers. “You obviously had Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, now Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Jeremiah (Smith) and I are bringing two completely different things to the table. He’s a bigger, more boundary-side receiver, more like an X-type. I’m more like a Z-type, more motion, stack receivers and stuff like that.” 

Graham has also spoken with Ohio State 2024 quarterback commit Air Noland a few times, and is impressed with his arm talent, decision making and his tight spiral. He acknowledged it “might be a little weird catching passes from a lefty” but maintained that’s nothing reps with him won’t fix. 

While Graham maintained the offensive recruiting class is in solid shape at the moment, he also said he wouldn’t mind if the Buckeyes could land four-star offensive lineman Jordan Seaton to the 2024 class and would lend his peer recruiting efforts to assist if needed. 

Naeshaun Montgomery puts OSU in his top 10

One of Ohio State’s priority wide receiver targets in the 2025 class has narrowed down his recruitment. 

Four-star Florida prospect Naeshaun Montgomery released a top 10 on Sunday, consisting of Ohio State, Miami, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Florida State, Oregon and Penn State.

Montgomery was offered by Ohio State on May 24 and told Eleven Warriors he plans to attend an Ohio State game later this fall.

“To be honest, I was mindblown when I first got it,” Montgomery said after picking up his offer in the spring. “Because I’ve loved Ohio State since I was young. When I got that, I didn’t know what to say.”

Last season, the 6-foot, 160-pound 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. Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, Montgomery is considered the 64th-ranked prospect and the 11th-rated wideout in the 2025 cycle. 

Ohio State commits react to Notre Dame win

Ohio State received no shortage of praise nationally for finding a way to pull out a road win against a top-10 team in Notre Dame last weekend. But national pundits weren’t the only ones impressed. 

Several of Ohio State’s 2024 commits were impressed with how the Buckeyes played against the Fighting Irish and took to Twitter to express their delight in the last-second win. We’ve compiled some of their reactions below.

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Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a touchdown against Michigan during the first half at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
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