Currently, Ohio State lays claim to the No. 9 overall class in 247Sports’ composite rankings, putting the Buckeyes on track for what will likey be their seventh consecutive top-five class since 2020.
Ohio State’s success on the recruiting trail during that specific time period is all the more impressive, however, when considering the hurdles the program has faced.
At least that’s how Buckeyes general manager Mark Pantoni sees it when it comes to Ohio State having been a staple of Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff dating back to its inception in 2019. As the Big Ten’s most prominent program, the Buckeyes have been featured in Fox’s 12 p.m. ET timeslot on a seemingly weekly basis for the last eight seasons, creating inherent challenges when it comes to Ohio State’s recruiting efforts.
Asked on Thursday’s edition of The Ryan Day Show about the opportunity that home games afford from a recruiting standpoint, Pantoni replied: “They do when FOX doesn’t handcuff us with these noon games, as we have another one next week.”
That would be the Buckeyes’ Nov. 1 matchup against Penn State, which was originally projected to be one of Ohio State’s biggest home games of the 2025 season. Those are typically the type of games that programs like to load up with recruiting visits — something that can prove easier said than done with a noon start time.
While Pantoni said that next weekend’s list of visitors will include plenty of Ohio prospects, he also added that there will be Florida, Texas and California-based recruits taking red-eye flights after their own Friday night football games. He also noted that the program has run into issues with prospects not arriving in Columbus mere minutes before kickoff due to the early start times.
“Not landing until 11:30 (a.m.), 11:45, calling us and saying, ‘Hey traffic is really bad, what can I do?’” Pantoni said. “So you deal with a lot of crisis management on gameday right before kickoff trying to make sure it’s as efficient and smooth as possible.”
While very few outside of the Buckeye State are going to shed tears for the reigning national champions, it would be tough to argue that frequent noon kickoffs don’t create such logistical challenges. Sure, that hasn’t stopped Ohio State from remaining one of the nation’s most consistent programs both on the field and the recruiting trail. But it’s also easy to see why Pantoni’s former boss, Urban Meyer, preferred a healthy dose of night games (at least when they were played in Columbus).
Pantoni isn’t the first member of the Buckeyes’ operation to voice displeasure regarding the frequency of the program’s 12 p.m. kickoffs, and his comments are more specific than the ones that Ohio State AD Ross Bjork offered earlier this summer seeking more flexibility. But as long as Fox is the Big Ten’s primary media rights partner, don’t expect the amount of the Buckeyes’ noon start times to lessen, as the network has shown no indication it’s willing to shift from its current strategy.