Ohio State’s 2018 Recruiting Class, the Highest-Rated in Program History at the Time, Finishes with Six NFL Draft Picks

Among the 26 scholarship players in Ohio State’s 2018 recruiting class, only six of them became NFL draft picks.

The class included three composite five-star prospects and 20 four-star prospects, yet the only superstar of the class was three-star wide receiver Chris Olave. Despite being ranked as only the No. 399 overall prospect in the class, Olave went on to become one of the best wide receivers in school history, making a school-record 35 touchdown catches, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors twice and first-team All-American honors once.

Olave became the No. 11 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. He was the only member of the class selected in the first two rounds of an NFL draft, even though the class had players in each of the last four NFL drafts.

Ohio State’s 2018 class had its likely final draft selection on Saturday when Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who played his final season of college football at Notre Dame, was selected in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Washington Commanders after having his most productive season by far as a college football player in South Bend. Each of the 2018 class members who played a sixth season for the Buckeyes in 2023 – Josh Proctor, Matthew Jones and walk-on Xavier Johnson – went undrafted.

One class member is attempting to play a seventh year of college football in 2024 as Blue Smith – who already transferred twice from Ohio State to Cincinnati to Western Kentucky – entered the transfer portal again in December. It’s unclear whether he will play another year of college football, though, as he has not landed with another school. He would need a massive year to get himself drafted after catching just 10 passes for 118 yards at WKU, all in the Hilltoppers’ first three games last season.

Outside of Olave, the only other members of the class who became top-100 NFL draft picks were offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and tight end Jeremy Ruckert, who were both third-round picks in 2022. Petit-Frere, the highest-rated prospect in the class (No. 7 overall) to sign with Ohio State, joined Olave in earning first-team All-American and All-Big Ten honors in 2021 as the Buckeyes’ starting left tackle. Ruckert, the second-ranked tight end in the 2022 class, never put up huge numbers as a Buckeye but gave Ohio State reliable performance as both a receiver and blocker.

The only other draft picks from the class who completed their careers at Ohio State were defensive linemen Tommy Togiai and Tyreke Smith. Togiai, the only player in the class who entered the NFL draft after just three years, was a fourth-round pick in 2021 after earning second-team All-Big Ten honors as the Buckeyes’ starting nose tackle in 2020. Smith was a fifth-round pick in 2022 after he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021.

Tommy Togiai was the first of six players from Ohio State’s 2018 recruiting class to be selected in the NFL draft.

Eight other members of the class started at least five games for the Buckeyes: Jones, Proctor, defensive tackles Taron Vincent and Antwuan Jackson Jr., linebacker Teradja Mitchell, cornerbacks Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown and running back Master Teague III. None of them, however, ended up getting drafted; Proctor and Jones, who signed as undrafted free agents on Saturday (Proctor by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jones by the Miami Dolphins), are the only players among them currently on NFL rosters.

Jones was a two-time second-team All-Big Ten honoree at right guard for Ohio State while Teague earned second-team All-Big Ten honors once and third-team All-Big Ten recognition once. Proctor was a third-team All-Big Ten safety in 2023.

Nearly half of the class’ members (12 of 26) finished their careers somewhere other than Ohio State. Among them, the most successful transfers were Jean-Baptiste and linebacker Dallas Gant, who earned first-team All-MAC honors in both of his seasons at Toledo and landed an undrafted free agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Jaelen Gill landed an undrafted free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Chargers after finishing his career at Fresno State (for one year after three years at Boston College), while Marcus Hooker – who started four games at safety for the Buckeyes in 2020 – will participate in the Indianapolis Colts’ rookie minicamp after finishing his career at Youngstown State. None of the other transfers have made it to the NFL.

Although its composite recruiting ranking remains the second-highest in school history behind only the 2021 class, Ohio State’s 2018 recruiting class didn’t produce as much talent – especially when compared on a per-player basis – as the classes that preceded and succeeded it.

Ohio State’s 2017 recruiting class, which included only 21 signees, spawned seven All-Americans and 10 NFL draft picks, including two top-three overall picks (Chase Young and Jeff Okudah) and three second-round picks (J.K. Dobbins, Pete Werner and Josh Myers). Ohio State’s 2019 recruiting class has also produced only six NFL draft picks, but it included just 17 signees, nine fewer than the 2018 class. Ohio State’s 2020 recruiting class has produced just five NFL draft picks so far, but three of them were first-rounders – C.J. Stroud, Paris Johnson Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba – while 16 of that class’ 25 members are still playing college football.

Georgia’s 2018 recruiting class, the only class ranked higher than Ohio State’s in that cycle, produced 15 draft picks among its 24 signees, including four first-rounders – though one of those first-rounders was Justin Fields, who transferred to Ohio State after just one year at Georgia.

Ohio State’s 2018 recruiting class wasn’t necessarily less successful than the other top-ranked classes in its cycle. Texas’ third-ranked class had seven NFL draft picks out of 27 signees, while USC’s fourth-ranked class produced only two NFL draft picks out of 18 signees. Alabama’s fifth-ranked class produced six NFL draft picks, headlined by 2021 top-10 picks Jaylen Waddle and Patrick Surtain II, out of 2022 signees.

One comparison, however, will sting more than any other. Michigan’s 2018 recruiting class, which was ranked 22nd in 247Sports’ composite rankings, produced four more draft picks (10) than Ohio State’s with six fewer signees (20).