State of Ohio self-reports Four minor football-related NCAA recruiting infractions
Since last summer, the Ohio State athletic department has self-reported four minor NCAA football violations, according to a document The Dispatch was able to get through a public records request.
The five-month span of the offenses included recruiting; they included everything from reaching out to a player prior to their entry into the transfer portal to editing a high school athlete’s photo after a visit.
They received light punishments after being classified as Level III, the least serious level in the NCAA hierarchy, which was defined as isolated or limited in nature. After Ohio State took prompt action in response to the four violations, the association only took additional action in one of the cases.
In February of last year, OSU’s football team committed another infraction when, during a strength and conditioning session, they used a blocking sled. At the time, the team was not allowed to use any equipment designed specifically for the sport.The most recent infractions are listed below in the order that the NCAA was notified of them.
Unauthorized interaction with transfer
- A violation reported to the Big Ten and NCAA on August 18 involved an assistant coach calling a player prior to his appearance on the transfer portal.
The player had announced on X, the former name of Twitter, that he planned to add his name to the portal. However, coaches are only able to get in contact with prospects who are listed in the portal, an online database that gives programs permission to get in touch with potential players.
According to the report, he stopped communicating until the SA joined the NCAA Transfer Portal after learning that the student-athlete was not reachable.
This caused Ohio State to cut back on official visits and in-person days by three and four days, respectively, and to halt recruiting efforts for a week.
The assistant also had a meeting with Gene Smith, the athletic director, and the school sent a letter educating the rest of the staff about tampering and the recently instituted transfer windows. Both the player and the helper remained anonymous.
Given a photo edit, a breachNumerous high school prospects attended Ohio State’s SummerFest recruiting event on July 28 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Among them was Chris Henry Jr., a standout wide receiver in the class of 2026 who had committed to Ohio State University while on tour and was starting his sophomore year at Cincinnati’s Withrow High School.
The Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator, Brian Hartline, gave Henry’s legal guardian an edit at the end of the event that was shot during a photo session by the creative crew.
According to the story, Hartline had prior contact with the guardian, former NFL cornerback Adam Pacman Jones. They both participated in NFL play concurrently.However, prospects and their families cannot receive those resources until they are juniors in high school.
Hartline was barred from delivering recruiting materials to prospects for a week after reporting the infraction to the school’s compliance office the next day. Additionally, the rest of the staff was restricted from providing materials to Henry for a period of two weeks.
Booster talks with the recruit prior to the matchBefore a September game at Ohio Stadium, two anonymous boosters snapped a photo with a prospect on the sidelines and posted it to social media.During the first quarter, a member of the athletic department staff discovered the post and erased it.
The NCAA rules state that only approved university staff members may communicate with recruits and their families; so, the conversation between the boosters and the recruits—whose names were withheld from the report—is forbidden.Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Joey Kaufman and Bill Rabinowitz to learn more. Adam Jardy
The boosters were then instructed on rules, and one of them was not allowed to have a pregame sideline pass for the next two games. Though they had not led the conversation, the employees in charge of handing out sideline passes also received training.
Following Ohio State’s September 19 notice of the infraction, the NCAA eliminated two in-person recruiting days as an additional penalty.Social media transgressions
Last month, a staff member made a social media message in reaction to a verbal pledge made by a transfer who was reportedly identified as Alabama’s All-America safety, Caleb Downs.Excellent news! they said, resharing a statement.
The NCAA bylaw 13.10.1.1, which forbids schools from making public comments about a recruit until he signs an aid agreement, was broken.
The transfer’s identity is withheld from the report, but it does state that he committed on January 19 and that he logged into the portal two days prior—a timetable that corresponds with Downs’ hiring. On that day, no other transfer had committed to the Buckeyes.
Later, at the request of the school’s compliance office, the post was removed, and Ohio State gave the employees training on social media and recruiting.
