Ohio State Buckeyes Urged to Make Major Change to Dicey NIL Strategy

The Ohio State Buckeyes have long been known as one of the best recruiting teams in the country, and that has only gotten better under Ryan Day. Well, up until now.

Suddenly, Ohio State is having a hard time landing top recruits, especially when it comes to its defensive line. And while part of that may just be the luck of the draw, it also has to do with the Buckeyes getting outpaced in NIL spending.

Ohio State's NIL stance has been criticized in recent weeks, with the Buckeyes choosing to spend most of that money on their own players rather than recruits. Not only that, but Ohio State is also refusing money from outside sources, following the new House settlement to a T.

However, Ryan Stano of Scarlet & Game feels that the Buckeyes are making a mistake and are failing to recognize a loophole that other schools are utilizing.

"Ohio State has decided not to allow outside collectives to give them NIL money, instead funneling all of their NIL through the university," Stano wrote. "Other schools are not following suit, as they believe that there will be legal challenges coming for the House settlement that was agreed to."

Stano adds that the Buckeyes should reverse course, and quickly.

"That settlement is the main reason why so many NIL deals are being denied with current recruits, but that won't last," he wrote. "The Buckeyes should allow collectives to still help collect money so that they can afford their current roster in addition to top incoming recruits."

Things will certainly become more clear in the NIL landscape early next month, but Stano feels until then, Ohio State should proceed business as usual. Or in other words, do what it hasn't been doing the past month.