COLUMBUS, Ohio — The relationship of Jayden Ballard and Ohio State football wide receivers coach Brian Hartline didn’t start the way you’d expect, on the recruiting trail. Their relationship has grown since Ballard committed to the Buckeyes in June 2020, but it started about a decade before the four-star recruit was leading Massillon Washington to state championship games. “My my mom’s best friend used to date Coach Hartline,” Ballard told cleveland.com. “I used to go over to her house with my mom, and he used to be there all the time. I didn’t talk to him much because I was little, but I was always around him.” The two have a lot in common as Northeast Ohio natives who turned successful high school football careers into OSU offers and jumped on them. But the way they ended up at Ohio State reflects opposite recruiting philosophies by the Buckeyes’ previous two…
Continue Reading: Why Jayden Ballard may reflect a new reality of Ohio State football recruiting: The rare signing of an in-state receiver
