Ohio State wide receiver commit Chris Henry Jr. transfers to California power program

The Buckeye commit will finish his high school career on the West Coast

In a move that a few saw coming, 2026 Ohio State wide receiver commit [autotag]Chris Henry Jr.[/autotag] has transferred high schools.

After starting his career at Cincinnati’s Withrow High School, the 6-foot, 5-inch, 185-pound No. 1 ranked receiver according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings will finish his career at California powerhouse Mater Dei. It’s a big move in talent, as Henry’s new school is annually one of the top programs in the country and plays one of the tougher schedules across the nation.

The good news for the Buckeyes is that according to this report by 247Sports Bill Kurelic, Henry is still locked into his Ohio State commitment.

The same report goes in depth on why the move was made, due to his mother being of Polynesian descent and having a big family presence in California and the West Coast.

Henry is an elite prospect that brings a tantalizing skill set to Columbus. The move can only be seen as a positive, not only does he get to play against tougher competition, but he can help Ohio State recruit some of his new teammates like running back Jordon Davison and defensive end Nasir Wyatt.

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Watch: Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. scores first touchdown of prep season

The future Buckeye Henry Jr. gets on the board in 2023 #GoBucks

Fresh off a top-10 ranking in the 2026 class, Ohio State football commit [autotag]Chris Henry Jr.[/autotag] got his sophomore season started with a bang.

The 6-foot, 5-inch, 185-pound receiver is a nightmare for opposing defenses, which is extremely impressive considering how young he is. Henry Jr.’s Cincinnati Withrow team didn’t hold back against Walnut Hills. The Tigers routed their hosts 42-0.

It wasn’t Henry Jr. doing all of the work, but he scored their final touchdown of the night toward the end of the third quarter. Check out his score below, the first of what we expect to be many this fall for the future Buckeye.

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Where Ohio State 2026 wide receiver commit Chris Henry Jr. landed on 247Sports rankings

Another elite level receiver is headed to Columbus #GoBucks

When [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] received a commitment from in-state 2026 wide receiver, [autotag]Chris Henry Jr.[/autotag], it was viewed as a massive recruiting win and great start to the class.

In my scout’s view, I fully expected Henry Jr. would be in the five-star range when the 2026 rankings came out. Well, 247Sports released its first rankings of that class and I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did indeed tell you so.

Henry Jr. was the No. 8 overall prospect, the top receiver and the best player in the state. Although there aren’t five stars next to his name, players ranked where he stands typically get that designation.

It is still years away until Henry Jr. suits up for the Buckeyes, but when he does, he will be the next in a long line of former five-star receivers to play in Ohio Stadium.

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Scout’s view: Ohio State’s newest commitment, 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr.

The ceiling is through the roof for Henry Jr. #GoBucks

[autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] got a magnificent start to their 2026 recruiting class when in-state wide receiver, [autotag]Chris Henry Jr.,[/autotag] made his verbal commitment while visiting campus.

The son of former NFL wide receiver Chris Henry, who passed away late in 2009, has his father’s size at 6-foot, 5-inches and 185-pounds. The younger Henry won’t follow in his father’s footsteps and attend West Virginia, choosing to stay home and play for the Buckeyes instead.

Ohio State’s wide receiver room once again adds another elite prospect at the position and after watching Henry Jr.’s freshman highlights, you can see why the Buckeyes wanted to add him.

I will undoubtedly do another one of these as Henry Jr. progresses through high school, but this is what I saw following his first year of football at that level.

BOOM! Chris Henry Jr. becomes first 2026 recruit to commit to Ohio State

First one in the class of 2026. #GoBucks

When you know, you know. And the son of former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, Chris Henry knows. Chris Henry Jr. has verbally committed to Ohio State.

Henry who will now be entering his sophomore year in high school was first noticed by the Buckeye coaching staff at a summer camp having just finished his eighth-grade year. Henry left that camp with a scholarship offer to wear the Scarlet and Gray.

Today, the son of the late NFL star spoke with reporters outside the Woody Hayes Athletic facility and shared the news. You can watch the young man give his thoughts on becoming a Buckeye courtesy of Garrick Hodge.

The 2026 class does not even have stars or rankings as of yet, but they’ll be coming soon enough. When the industry does get those rankings set, Henry should be a highly rated prospect. He was 6 foot 3 and 170 pounds when he garnered the offer from Ohio State. In a year’s time, he now stands at 6 foot 5 and weighs 185 pounds.

Henry will play high school football at Cincinnati Withrow this year.

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Chris Henry Jr. gets an offer from Georgia

Chris Henry Jr. has yet another offer as his journey continues.

Chris Henry Jr., adopted son of former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones, has another big-time college offer on his plate.

According to Jeremy Johnson of on3.com, Henry has an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs.

A year ago, the 2026 grad already had an offer from Ohio State on his resume. Both he and Adam Jones visited Bengals training camp as special guests last summer.

Henry tweeted about the visit recently and has also been spotted at visiting another SEC locale, Tennessee, as he works toward the college game and potentially more.

Only time will tell where Henry ends up, but Bengals fans will surely keep an eye on it every step of the way.

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Notre Dame offers 2024 wide receiver from California

The Irish have focused hard on receiver offers recently

[autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and offensive coordinator [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] have a laser focus on improving the wide receiver room in South Bend. It may seen like a broken record, but it’s just the position that the Irish have recently been offering.

Over the weekend offers went out multiple receivers: [autotag]Chris Henry Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]David Washington[/autotag] and [autotag]Bredell Richardson[/autotag]. All are big-time prospects that would be great additions to the program.

The Irish weren’t done however, as California receiver [autotag]Kwazi Gilmer[/autotag] was offered a scholarship today. The six-foot-two-inch and 180-pound pass-catcher has seen his recruitment blow up since entering 2023. Offers from [autotag]UCLA[/autotag], Michigan State and [autotag]Arizona[/autotag] already this year show that Gilmer is starting to make a rise among college recruiting boards.

Gilmer took a visit to USC over the weekend, but it seems like he is willing to go out of state to play at the next level. The Irish are in on him early and quarterback commit [autotag]CJ Carr[/autotag], one of the lead recruiting commitments, is behind the offer as well.

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Notre Dame offers a pair of stellar wide receiver recruits

These two would be nice additions to the program

If there is one area where the [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] football program has underperformed recently, it’s the wide receiver room. This past season the yardage leader, [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag], caught 25 balls for 361 yards and three scores. Not exactly tearing up the box scores.

Tight end [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] led the team in all receiving categories but he is now off to the NFL. Yes, he was the focus of the passing offense, but there was an obvious need for more pass-catching threats.

In 2021, the Irish passed for more than 1,000 yards than in 2022 but the group still struggled, with the exception of [autotag]Kevin Austin Jr.[/autotag]

How do the Irish fix this? By recruiting and developing players. The first part of the task is the recruitment and identifying prospects that fit what [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] is looking for. It looks like they found two players that fit the mold.

Each of them was offered a scholarship and find out below who they are and why they’re good fits with Notre Dame.

Adam Jones and Chris Henry Jr. attend Bengals training camp

Adam Jones and Chris Henry Jr. were some of the notables at Bengals training camp.

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The Cincinnati Bengals had a pair of special visitors at training camp on Sunday.

Former Bengals cornerback Adam Jones showed up to Paul Brown Stadium with Chris Henry Jr., who already has an offer from Ohio State as a freshman in high school.

Jones was there to shoot some footage for his “I Am Athlete” podcast and took the time to stress what the team and president Mike Brown still mean to him.

“Mike Brown saved my life. I owe him forever and forever,” Jones said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “I love Mike Brown. Mr. Brown and I have a relationship that is a little different than anybody else’s. The first thing he asked me is, ‘How is Trin?’ He still calls her the Miracle Baby.”

But the real star of the show was Henry, who Jones adopted and continues to help with his college visits:

On an otherwise uneventful day at training camp, the special guests — which also included Chad Johnson and Mike Zimmer — added some intrigue to the situation.

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Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones helping Chris Henry Jr. on college visits

Chris Henry Jr. already has an offer from Ohio State.

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Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones has played a key role in the life of Chris Henry Jr. since adopting him and taking him into his family.

Herny, the son of former Bengals wideout Chris Henry, already has a scholarship offer from Ohio State. He’s 14 and won’t graduate until 2026, but the offer is surely one of many.

The Ringer’s Kevin Clark recently shared an image of Pacman going on college visits with Henry.

“I don’t let it get to my head,” Henry said, according to Eleven Warriors’ Griffin Strom. “I just stay humble, but I’m very thankful and blessed to receive the offer. … It was a surprise, but I think I earned it because I worked for it. It just makes me want to get better.”

Rest assured this isn’t the last we’ll be hearing about Henry’s climb in the football world as he follows in his father’s footsteps, with an assist from Jones.

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