The nation’s No. 6 player and top quarterback chose the Bulldogs back in March, which wasn’t long after Ryan Ryan made changes to OSU’s coaching staff. Among them were parting ways with Corey Dennis after four years as the quarterback coach. Dennis ran the room, but his more important role was as a recruiter, often establishing relationships with the nation’s top quarterbacks even if it was Day’s reputation that sparked the interest in the first place.

Dennis’ departure left Curtis without much familiarity with Ohio State, even if Day brought in the much more established Chip Kelly to replace Dennis. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Curtis’ spring decision didn’t give Kelly a ton of time to make up for the lack of familiarity, though he’s never stopped recruiting the five-star behind the scenes.

That work seems to have paid off at least in terms of step one. Curtis is no longer planning to be a Bulldog. Now OSU can battle the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Oregon, South Carolina and USC to land Curtis.

Ohio State watched as every top quarterback target in the 2026 class came off the board over the spring and summer. Losing out on all of them left the Buckeyes needing to pivot their plan, while others thought that maybe this class would play out the same way as the 2023 class, where it eventually found Lincoln Kienholz.

Maybe it still plays out that way. But Curtis’ decision at least opens the door to the chance that it doesn’t have to be.

Day wanted an elite quarterback in every cycle. So far he’s managed to land at last one top 100 recruit at the position in all but one cycle since becoming the head coach. Sometimes he’s even done it more than once.

Thanks to the decommitment of a five-star recruit, the chance to continue that trend lives on in 2026, possibly to pair Curtis with five-star wide receiver Chris Henry Jr.